Deathstroke Knights & Dragons: The Movie เดรสโตรก: ตำนานอัศวินกับมังกร (2020) [บรรยายไทย]

Hot on the heels of Justice League Dark: Apokolips War’s epic conclusion to the former DC Animated Universe, Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons has more humble ambitions, seeking to carve out its own piece of relevance amid unclear goals for a rebooted animated universe. Despite having a clean slate, Knights and Dragons feels familiar despite its cast of lesser utilized characters. However, there’s an edge here in the character motivations and genuine interpersonal drama that delves deeper than general platitudes of heroism and sacrifice.
 

For anyone unfamiliar with Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke, the film does a great job of filling in his backstory without slowing the film down with an excess of exposition. In fact, the film starts without much set up at all besides some marital squabbles between Slade and his wife, Adeline Kane, as he’s out on a “business trip”. Immediately, the film flexes its R-rating with some light male nudity in a frank depiction of Deathstroke’s infidelity early in their relationship. Unsurprisingly, their argument comes to an end when their son, Joseph, interrupts to ask his dad to read him a bedtime story to quickly display Slade’s softer side. This is where the title of the movie comes into play as Slade reads a bedtime story that deals with a lone knight who fights hordes of dragons alone for the good of his people. It’s the film’s blatant attempt to create parallels with Slade’s own profession. This beginning is filled with tropes, almost an absurd amount, but it does give a good idea of Slade’s sense of morality. He’s trying to be good, but can’t help being bad.

 

Fortunately, solid voice acting across the board helps this less than original material work. Michael Chiklis’ Slade is actually one of the weaker links as he never wanders too far from his lower register, creating an impression of a tortured man more than a fully fledged personality. On the other hand, Sasha Alexander’s Adeline is extremely potent and she handles the thankless role of the scornful wife with more grace than was afforded in the writing, at least in the early scenes. Once Adeline’s own set of fighting skills is revealed, Alexander’s voice acting imbues the character with the most range of the entire cast. There’s an argument to be had that she’s the more compelling character as she finds herself continually drawn to Slade despite his flaws as a father and husband.