Customer Reviews

Justice League: The New Frontier (2-Disc Special Edition)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Justice League: New Frontier is the second in a series of stand alone animated films (the first was Superman: Doomsday), and is a direct to video adaptation of the New Frontier comic by award winning writer and artist Darwyn Cooke, who was involved with this film as one of the writers and producers. Producer Bruce Timm was involved (the man behind the Justice League TV series) but this is a very different effort.

Set in the 1950s, the story features the origins of the Justice League heroes during an optimistic but still troubled time, with acknowledgments of the civil rights movement and paranoia about communism. We follow the origin story of Hal Jordan as Green Lantern as well as the Martian Manhunter, though Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Flash are also prominently featured. And of course, we get their formation as a team for the first time against a threat too great for anything but a combined effort.

Cooke is a fan of the "Silver Age" of comics, and there are a few more obscure comic characters making brief appearances too. As far as the main cast, it's Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks) as Superman, Jeremy Sisto (Six Feet Under) as Batman, Lucy Lawless (Xena) as Wonder Woman, Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser) as The Flash and David Boreanaz (Angel) as Green Lantern. The voice work is terrific, and even though Batman isn't in much of the film, Jeremy Sisto makes a huge new impression. The animation ranges from excellent to outstanding, and I think the retro montage created for the opening credits is worth the price of admission alone.

It should be noted this isn't for very young children, there's no swearing but there's an opening where an unknown character finishes writing a book about the malevolent force, and then shoots himself in the head. None of the bloodshed is terribly graphic, but it's there so the film is rated PG-13 for violence. Personally, I'm glad to see animation being produced for adults, and I think it's a great idea to adapt completely different comics and graphic novels into animated films, giving us different perspectives on these timeless characters. This is a sincere effort to make a worthwhile film, and I hope it finds some support out there.

Available as a single disc, with commentaries and some extras, or a 2-disc special edition, which adds two more documentaries (I can't find online how long they'll be) and three episodes of the Justice League animated TV series.

This is a great adaptation of the comic book. The animation mirrors the art of the book. The acting is good, especially Jeremy Sisto's interesting take on Batman. What a voice! Yet, the film felt a bit too short. If you have read the book, it takes its time building up the story and the characters, so that at the climax we actually feel for them. The book produced a lot of emotion for me. The film just didn't quite achieve that feeling, and that is a shame. If the producers had just allowed more time for the story, this could have been a truly great film -- a classic. That's why I'm giving it 4 stars.

It is a lot (a lot) better than the other animated comic book adaptations out there though. Worth purchasing. If only the Justice League animated series had taken some notes from this work.

I enjoyed this! It was nice to see the justice leaguers done in a newer fashion where even Superman was done differently than the numerous other intrepretations had dipicted him.
Nice to see an animated Flash Barry Allen, I love Wally West, but the use of Barry made the Flash a little more serious in tone.
It was cool to see Wonder Woman as a physically intimidating person, & not the really sultry character potrayed in her own movie.

drawback- Once again, I wish WB would make these movies about 20-30 minutes longer.

The Justice League purists will probably dislike this movie. But I for one, rank this in my top three of all time for animated films. I crave movies that are driven by storylines, whether they are fiction or non fiction or both. This movie takes place in the 50's and touches upon real life issues such as the cold war, racism, ignorance etc. Basically, anybody whose politically right wing will probably hate this film. If you like real issues mixed in with your favourite heroes...you'll be like me and love this film. It's not for the young kids though. I really hope they make "Kingdom Come" as the next Justice League movie.

In recent years, these 1st releases served more as appetizers for more adventures for well-known super-heroes.

As usual the package is well-worth the price you pay, mainly due to the excellent extras. The history of the Justice League is a welcomed treat. The animation is not as Artsy as in other animation films, but it delivers enough finesse and punch to satisfy anybody.

The story drags a bit, as it describes all about the reunion of heroes or their origins. It all sets the table for a sequel The producers gave the heroes a quite arrogant look (the squarest jaws in the universe), but you get use to it after a little while. All in all, the DVD is very entertaining, but it may upset the Super Friends nostalgics.. I hope that there will be a next one.

i may be in the minority here,but i found this animated movie
disappointing.it's basically about the origin of The Justice League but
i didn't feel it was worthy of an origin story.i also thought it was
slow,and i didn't like the story.there isn't a lot of action in this
one,and there's no real threat to the world.there is a threat of
sorts,but i think it was lame.there isn't much in the way of character
development either.i do think the voice talent was right on in this
one,though.i felt the characters and their voices really suited each
other.i have no idea if this origin story reflects the actual origin
from the comic book,since i haven't read the comic.i just know that,for
me, the movie was lacklustre.my vote for Justice League league:The New
Frontier is a 2/5