Cinema Trips: 'Teen Titans Go! To The Movies'

I grew up in a time when the 2003 Teen Titans show was still airing, and it is one of the very few shows that I have finished all the way through more than once. Therefore, I was extremely disappointed when it was cancelled.

When the rebooted Teen Titans Go was announced, I was excited, and after seeing the trailers, I was hesitant. However, I chose to judge after watching. After watching the first couple of episodes I realized it was a show that I absolutely hated to my core.

It is then to my surprise that after watching this film, I did not hate it. If anything it had me engaged through a majority of it, and there was even a moment or two when the humor actually hit.

The basic premise is that the Teen Titans want their own movie made about them to prove that they are real heroes like most of the other DC characters are. Along the way we are treated to a paint by numbers plot we have seen dozens of times before done with a surprising amount of heart. Which is a surprise in itself considering the film starts with a 15-second-long fart.

What is fantastic about this film for a hard core comic book fan are all the references that are peppered in across the film. The film moves forward at the pace of a 12-year-old hyperactive child on a powerful dose of caffeine and sugar, so I'm certain I actually missed many of the references, and would find it fun to see how many I can pick out on a second viewing.

The film is also intensely colourful, and vibrant at every frame unless it was directly making fun of another film. Therefore, it was always enjoyable to watch as what was on screen was always visually pleasing.

This film also has the added glory of finally giving us Nicolas Cage as Superman, even if it is in a pure vocal sense. So it was wonderful to imagine what the failed Superman Lives film would have at least sounded like.

The soundtrack for the most part was serviceable, and at times irritating as it would never actually stop, however saying that, I did find quite a bit if Robin's superhero theme to be quite epic.

There was also a subtle commentary present in the film about how Hollywood actually operates when it come to their comic book properties. You know, how they're trying to create countless spin offs based around a popular character, and overindulging in visual effects. (Which, I do find fun when done well.)

One aspect of the film that I still hate is the fact that all the members of the Teen Titans essentially had the same personality, which is a shame when you are a long time fan and know just how nuanced these characters actually are, with the voice acting providing the variation to make them somewhat distinct. To that end, the voice work deserves a lot of praise.

There was one thing that got me beyond excited, one thing that made the entire film worth it. During the mid-credits scene they set up a tease that had me far more excited about the possible future than anything this film had offered. That one short scene for me was worth the price of admission alone.

Ultimately this is a film I would recommend watching on streaming as the type of humor and manic pace would not be for everyone. I feel comfortable recommending it for at least a watch because it got me, someone who hates the series with a burning passion, to enjoy himself while watching it, and that deserves a lot of credit.