Thursday, January 23, 2014

Justice League War Is Another Winner From DC Animation



Every character rings true and the animation, story telling and vocal talent is all top notch. It was much better than I expected it to be given the failure that I have found the NEW 52 comic book universe. This is not the origin story you have read before (from DCs Golden Age) but the changes all make sense. I miss the Martian Manhunter and Aquaman but Cyborg and Shazam are cool additions.

The story is very compelling and the story ending in victory for the heroes is never certain. The fight scenes are very creative but not for the littlest ones. There is ONE swear word (shit) but it makes sense in the context of the story. This is first and foremost a cartoon for adult fans who still have the little fanboy living inside them. The Parademons are a pretty scary bunch of monsters too and seeing them get sliced and ripped apart and burned and blown up is pretty intense for younger kids. Teenage fans of superheroes, however will LOVE IT. You really get to see the heroes of Earth using ALL their powers to defeat a pretty formidable opponent.

Even with all the great stuff going on, the film still has time to include the best characterization of Wonder Woman that I have ever seen. Her warrior persona mixed with her total naivety about the World of Men leads to many comic moments. That whole 'fish out of water' identity is how they should approach the live action Wonder Woman movies to come. I mean think about it. She spent her entire life on a tropical island covered in Greek temples. She was raised and lived only with women. Her fascination with everything (often to distraction) about the world she has been sent to as an ambassador is a nice touch. It's like seeing the world in a totally new way through Diana's fresh eyes. She is also tough and strong and brave and takes Girl Power to a whole new level. I loved every second she was on screen. For such a fan of the character, I was reminded of all the reasons I love Wonder Woman in the first place. This film justifies one's love of the Superhero and their 'never ending struggle'.

In fact, I wouldn't mind a bit if this animated feature served as the template for the live action Justice League Movie. I you are a fan of THAT concept then this is the story you been waiting for. The tale of their first team up as heroes fighting the evil threat of Darkseid (the only villain powerful enough to bring them all together) is as good as the great series of DC animated movies get. Remember I RAVED about Flashpoint but this is just as good. Can Kingdom Come or Red Son be far behind?

I like the version of Superman also. He's got a bit of a edge to him that you don't normally see from the Kansas farm boy. He's a little bit of a bully around everyone like he forgot the manners his Pa taught him. All in all this one was impressive as once again the animation division of DC Comics continues to put out top quality superhero adventure after superhero adventure. It's a golden age my friends. Lets all be thankful we live in it.








 

 
Batman doesn't smile often but when he does he get's the full effect.
 

3 comments:

Erik Johnson Illustrator said...

Speak for yourself, this movie was far to cynical for me to digest. They seemed to make it their mission to make sure everyone looked like a jerk.

The lady barking at Lantern "whats it going to cost me?". Then there was the little kid sitting by the window broken by Batman with rushing in and rather than "Holy Crap are you alright?" their first reaction is "What the hell did you do?" (These animated movies are really starting to sound like they were written by an 8-year-old who just discovered swearing)

Next we had Wonder Woman, pointing a sword at her protester asking what his issue was with her was (which I think should have answered her question), then she followed that up by assaulting him. Oh but its okay, because she deflated his trumped up ego by revealing his embarrassing fetish, because that completely resolves his totally valid point about her destructive capability.

By the time we got to Superman and Batman's death match at the twenty minute mark I was just angry and exhausted and just gave up on it.

Kal said...

Wow. I had no idea this one would be so polarizing.

Erik Johnson Illustrator said...

I know, I was expecting a run of the mill animated action flick, I didn't think I'd be so mad about it.