In Review: Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons (2020)

Synopsis: Mercenary and master assassin Slade Wilson leads two lives: one as the relentless killer known as Deathstroke and the other as a dedicated family man. When these worlds collide, it is the killer in Slade who must fight to save his loved ones, as well as what remains of himself. With his soul torn apart and his young son held captive, Deathstroke will have to atone for the sins of his past to fuel the battles of his future!

Review: This contains spoilers.

After what seems like forever on CW Seed, Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons is finally available in its entirety. Is it worth the wait? Yes.

The Story

That said, there’s a significant caveat for Arrow fans only familiar with Manu Bennett’s powerful portrayal. This film offers a more comic accurate version  of Slade Wilson and his family. The gulf between the two iterations is large, but it’s definitely traversable. As someone who hasn’t read the comics myself, I appreciate this story for context and contrast.

I also appreciate this story for giving us a better understanding of Slade Wilson’s family than Arrow did. For better or worse, Arrow had a myriad of moving parts over the years, so the Deathstroke family saga never really had room to play out. As a result, Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons finally allows fans to meet  Slade’s ex-wife, Adeline Kane, and two of his children, Rose and Joe. I imagine Grant will get his own spotlight in a sequel — a sequel I’d very much like to see.

Voice Acting 

Michael Chiklis crushes it. He defines the comic canon variation of Deathstroke in the same way that Manu Bennett owned every second of screen time on Arrow. For their parts, Sasha Alexander, Faye Mata, and Griffin Puatu are equally excellent playing Adeline, Rose, and Joe.

However, the extra treat for Arrow fans will be hearing Colin Salmon’s familiar voice. He does a marvelous turn as Slade Wilson’s long-time partner and literal ride-or-die, William Wintergreen.

Overall

As long as Arrow fans regard Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons as a tale from a different part of the multiverse, they’ll enjoy it immensely. I have one request, though. Please stop putting these stories on CW Seed as frustratingly piecemeal advertisements for eventually completed films. Just give us the completed films when they’re ready. Thanks.

Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons is available on DVD, Blu-ray, and V.O.D. now.