If you’re looking for a non-kiddy cartoon with top-notch animation and a solid selection of voice ac tors, look no further than Justice League: War. The latest film from DC Anima tion is a knockout for comic book gurus and newer fans alike.
The movie is the first adap tation of a comic series from DC’s New 52 reboot, which launched in 2011. Based on the graphic novel Justice League: Origin by writer Geoff Johns and artist Jim Lee, the film chronicles the formation of the superhero team in the midst of an ex traterrestrial invasion.
As Batman, voiced by Jason O’Mara, investigates a series of mysterious sightings of an unidentified species in Go tham City, the dark knight crosses paths with the hot headed and irritating Green Lantern, voiced by Justin Kirk. Though the two don’t hit it off on a good note, they’re nonetheless forced to work together in order to evade the authorities hunting them down and to get to the bottom of the mystery.
In addition to showing how these characters first meet other established heroes such as Superman, voiced by Alan Tudyk, and Wonder Woman, voiced by Michelle Monaghan, the story also features the origin of Vic tor Stone/Cyborg, voiced by Shemar Moore, the league’s legendary half man/half ma chine persona.
As the film reaches its cli max, this group of extraordi nary outcasts must learn to put aside their differences in order to overcome the wrath of the tyrannical Darkseid, voiced by Steve Blum, lord of the planet Apokolips.
Director Jay Oliva once again proves his mastery of modern animation with an array of aesthetically com posed images and brilliantly stylized action sequences. His most recent DC animated film is Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, which this reviewer would argue is the best superhero movie of 2013. Also inspired by a Geoff Johns story arc, that film has more to offer than any of the big comic based blockbusters that came out in the last few months.
The script, by relative new comer Heath Carson, is for the most part a faithful ad aptation of the source mate rial. Having read the comic series twice, it is safe to say that Oliva and Carson pulled many scenes straight from it.
The only major change DC animation made was replac ing Aquaman with Shazam, voiced by Lord of the Rings star Sean Austin. While this may come as a surprise to fans, it should be noted that a solo Aquaman film is al ready in the works. And if you haven’t followed the comics lately, know that the charac ter has come a long way from being the guy who can talk to fish.
One of the strongest aspects of the New 52 is the manner in which it has revitalized some of the most iconic char acters in pop-culture. To an extent, this direction has turned off a number of older fans, who still haven’t been able to adjust to things like a modernized version of Super man. That said, it’s no doubt there will be viewers who will criticize this film for that very reason. Those in that boat should just stick to watching re-runs of the classic Batman cartoon from the 90s. It’s all a matter of preference.
My only quarrel with the film is with a couple of the voice actors. Kirk’s version of Green Lantern is just pain fully annoying to listen to. All I thought throughout his performance was how much I wanted Nathan Fillion to come back.
Then there’s Michel le Monaghan. While I am glad that they finally gave Won der Woman a new costume he way Monaghan delivers her lines sounds blatantly forced, as if she never really embraced her character. It’s easy to tell how hard she’s try ing to give an effective perfor mance and how miserably she fails. And while I would’ve preferred Firefly veteran Alan Tudyk to play Green Lantern, he does a formidable job as Superman nonetheless.
Whi le not without its f laws, Justice League: War is a thoroughly entertaining addition to the DC animated universe, and it’s no doubt a door-opener for more New 52 adaptations.
Justice League: War is avail able on DVD and Blu-Ray and on iTunes.
