Justice League: Doom [Blu-ray + DVD]

I have been an avid fan of JLA and all things Bruce Timm for some time, but this truly was a superb effort. The animation was top notch, the story solid and most importantly the voice work beyond reproach as it featured the originals for the most part, Tim Day (Superman), Susan Eisenberg (Wonder Woman), Carl Lumbly (Martian Manhunter), and of course, the incredible Kevin Conroy (Batman). Nathan Fillion is Green Lantern and has been since Emerald Knights..in the opinion of many, should have been Hal Jordan in the live action version, though I will reserve judgement there..the addition of Cyborg is very much a 52 relaunch plot device, but is nonetheless a solid performance by Bumper Robinson. The tone fluctuates between quick, humorous wit, and dark peril. The pace is quick and I can say without fear that the 75 minutes goes by in a blink. Your attention never wavers when either villian or hero are on screen. The Batman portion of the tale is uncompromising and brutal and unquestionably portrayed and depicted by folks who know their Batman..you do not have to be a long time fan to appreciate this most recent foray, but if you are you certainly feel respected. This is a solid effort, perhaps the most solid movie version to come forth since Public Enemies: Batman/Superman. Make no mistake, however, this is an ensemble piece and worth the time of any DC Comics or Comic fan overall. Simply outstanding.

There's not a whole lot to say about this one.

Maybe Bruce Timm set the bar too high with Batman: Animated Series, Justice League, and its follow up series, Justice League Unlimited. Because a great deal of what he's done since then doesn't even comes close to that standard. This piece, for example.

On a purely sensual level, the work is as good as it ever was. The art, the music, the production values: they're all still there. If anything, the artwork's grown still more lavish. We even get to see the old cast of voice actors re-united.

Yay.

But on any kind of deeper level, we're a long, long way from Timm's heyday. The characters are one dimensional, there's no emotional or moral depth whatsoever, and... Just...

Meh.

There are some supervillains who attempt to pull off a diabolical master plan. A diabolical master plan with a twist. If that's enough for you, then yeah, sure. Why not.

Otherwise, I'd have to say we've reached the point where the stuff Timm's putting out really is just for kids. It pains me to say that, more than you can know. But this isn't a film I could honestly recommend to adults.

Theo.

Justice League Doom is definitely one of the better of the DC movies out there. Starting out with a bang it never really slows down and both looks and sounds superb on this Bluray Combo edition. The plot is pretty straightforward with the Justice League under attack using plans developed by Batman himself and it's up to him plus Cyborg to make things right! This is definitely one of the better DC ensemble pieces.

The English audio is a true DTS-HD 5.1 track that will rattle your windows. There's also a good Dolby Digital 5.1 French and Spanish 2.0 audio tracks as well. Extras include a touching 30 min. tribute to the late Dwayne McDuffie who pioneered the inclusion of multi-ethnic superheroes in the DC universe and created the Justice League TV series; a 20 min. commentary on the relationship between Batman and the J.L. (who watches the watchers); a 6 min. documentary on Cyborg and his origins and two of the better episodes from the Justice League series. ALL of these extras are also in HD with HD audio! Very impressive!

The DVD is more spartan as it is one of those rare DC dvd/digital copy combo discs. All it contains is the movie and a handful of trailers. However it does have extra audio tracks including English, French & Spanish DD 5.1 and Portuguese & Thai Stereo Pro-logic.

Overall I'd rate this as one of the better DC movies. Four stars out of five!

J. A.