Writer: Stan Berkowitz, Darwyn Cooke
Director: Dave Bullock
Cast: David Boreanaz, Miguel Ferrer, Neil Patrick Harris, John Heard, Kyle MacLachlan, Kyra Sedgwick, Lucy Lawless, Vicki Lewis, Brooke Shields, Jeremy Sisto
Rating: PG-13
Studio: Warner Bros.
Release Date: February 26, 2008

I’m incredibly picky about the superhero cartoons I like. This includes the various Justice League television shows and movies that have been released. I like the idea of the Justice League, but some of the shows have been incredibly cheesy and cliche, such as the The All-New SuperFriends Hour. Others are slightly more entertaining like Legion of Super Heroes and The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians. Needless to say, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I received Justice League – The New Frontier to review.

I had seen the trailer for Justice League – The New Frontier on another Warner Bros. title I reviewed last month. What I saw from the trailer looked good. As a fan of Batman and Superman comics/cartoons, I was looking forward to at least checking Justice League – The New Frontier out. What I received was a well animated, well written take on the excellent DC:The New Frontier series, by Darwyn Cooke.

Release Information:
Justice League – The New Frontier was one of Warner Bros. straight to DVD releases. Of course, just because it didn’t have a run in the theaters doesn’t mean that it is necessarily a bad movie. There are many cartoon-inspired movies that are released right to DVD, so I didn’t necessarily let the fact that it was one of these releases ruin my expectations for Justice League – The New Frontier.

On February 26, 2008 (today), Justice League – The New Frontier is being released through the distribution of Warner Home Video. The DVD is available for purchase at local, national and online retailers. You can purchase Justice League – The New Frontier at Amazon for $16.99 USD.

The Justice League – The New Frontier Plot
One of the things that I like most about Justice League – The New Frontier is the fact that it takes place in the 1950s. The plot for Justice League – The New Frontier doesn’t stray far from the plot of the DC: The New Frontier comic book series. The story is enjoyable, solid, and there aren’t any plot holes or flaws that stand out and make the story fall apart.

In the beginning of Justice League – The New Frontier, the Korean War is just about to end. Young pilot, Hal Jordan (David Boreanaz) and his veteran flying buddy, Ace Morgan (John Heard) find out the war has ended when they come under enemy fire. As Jordan refuses to fire back, since they are no longer at war, he tries to communicate that the war has ended, but not before his plane is destroyed and he must evacuate via parachute. On land, he must kill or be killed; this is the one thing that will get him to fight back.

Prior to the beginning of the movie, there is a brief epilogue in which a writer paints a dismal picture of what The Centre (an entity that’s pretty much right out of a comic book) will do to the world. As soon as the manuscript is finished, the writer commits suicide. This makes way to a story where many of the superheroes are disliked by people who see them not as there to help, but more as outlaws, taking their own form of justice into their own hands. Batman (Jeremy Sisto), for one, is in hiding because of this.

There are many interwoven stories that overlap and intermingle. The Flash (Neil Patrick Harris) has a central role. After saving his beloved, Iris West (Vicki Lewis) and finding out the government is trying to kidnap superheroes, like himself, Flash decides to turn in his mask. There is Superman (Kyle MacLachlan) who isn’t sure what’s wrong with Wonder Woman (Lucy Lawless), who has found justice for victims in unorthodox and unacceptable ways. He also has some touching moments with Lois (Kyra Sedwick), who, as always, is in the heart of all the action.

Back to Hal Jordan. After spending some time in a mental hospital, no one will hire him to be a test pilot. Not shooting at the enemy doesn’t help. After Ace pulls a few strings, he gets Hal into Ferris Enterprises as their test pilot. He’ll also be making an unusual mission to a foreign planet, though he doesn’t know that yet. He has the chance to get to know his boss, Carol Ferris (Brooke Shields). This also explores how Hal becomes the Green Lantern (through Abin Sur (Corey Burton)), despite what he sees as his flaws.

There is a Martian, J’onn J’onzz (voiced by Miguel Ferrer, for me, this was reminiscent of the storyline on The Batman), that can transform into human form. He works with Batman to find out more about the Centre. He also spends the daytime working as a police officer, in human form. J’onn and the government will both have a pivotal role in the plot of Justice League – The New Frontier. As you might imagine the superheroes do team up and when they do, it’s a great gathering of DC’s best comic book heroes in the ultimate showdown of good versus evil.

The action level is high. It is balanced out by excellent dialogue and exposition. There isn’t a scene that feels rushed, pushed or out of place. The entire 75 minute experience was engaging. Anything longer would have ruined the movie. I love how the pieces to the puzzle that make up the plot of this movie, fit together, and the Justice League showdown is simply brilliant. I didn’t find anything too cheesy and the story was believable in the context of a comic book setting.

One thing I would recommend is that young kids not watch Justice League – The New Frontier. This isn’t made for kids. It’s a cartoon geared towards an older teen and adult audience. I do know many adults enjoy comics and comic book movies so it’s nice to have something to compare to all the kiddie fare. Just don’t mistake this for being kiddie fare, because its not. Some of the dark themes aren’t suitable for kids and the language has its offensive moments.

Storyline/Plot:
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:

Audio/Visual:
The animation for the Justice League – The New Frontier movie is stunning. There are bright, brilliant colors, and there doesn’t appear to be any apparent digitization of the animation. Free of visible, visual flaws, Justice League – The New Frontier is an all around, excellent production. The film is presented at a 1.66:1 aspect ratio, in a widescreen format. The clear picture is another Warner Bros. shining achievement.

Justice League – The New Frontier has two audio tracks. There is the Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track in English and the same quality in Portuguese. The sound effects, music, and dialogue all comes through perfectly. I hate having to toggle my volume. I didn’t have to do that with Justice League – The New Frontier. Overall, I was quite pleased with this audio mix. Subtitles are available in both English and Portuguese.

Visual:
Audio:

Bonus Features:
Justice League – The New Frontier is loaded with bonuses. This is a two disc, special edition set, so there are plenty of bonuses that have been included and made specifically for this DVD set. Justice League – The New Frontier starts things out with audio commentaries. There are two of them. The first is quite interesting because it is with the original creator of the DC: The New Frontier comic book series, Darwyn Cooke. You can expect to hear plenty of interesting tidbits on the development of the comics, find out about what part Cooke had in helping to develop Justice League – The New Frontier, and how the final product for this movie turned out.

The second commentary has multiple individuals involved in it. There are producers, a movie/comic liaison, David Bullock (the director), Stan Berkowitz (the screenwriter), and the voice director. I really enjoyed the commentary with so many thoughts on the Justice League – The New Frontier production. It’s amazing how complex the development process is and how many layers go into making one animated feature. Both commentaries are great, but I think I favor the second one slightly more than the first.

The rest of the bonuses are divided by disc. Here is what is offered on each disc.

Disc One

-Featurette: “Super Heroes United!: The Complete Justice League History” – This lasts for close to 40 minutes, as I’m sure you would imagine a history of this sort would be fairly complex. They bring in everyone from Stan Lee to Joe Kelly for this amazing feature, which chronicles from the Golden Age to Present day. It heavily explores DC’s obsession with bringing it’s most popular heroes together into one team.

-Featurette: “Batman Gotham Knight” – This shows an extended trailer for the new animated feature, Batman Gotham Knight. This feature offers the trailer and the production is discussed. The animated feature is going to be released in conjunction with the release of The Dark Knight sometime this summer. There is information on the production, with plenty of clips and a discussion with Dennis O’Neil (if you don’t know who he is, then shame on you!).

-trailers for other Warner Bros. cartoons and animated movies

Disc Two

-Episodes of the Justice League television series – The episodes included are: “Dark Heart,” “To Another Shore,” and “Task Force X”

-Featurette: “The Legion of Doom: Pathology of the Super Villain” – This features plenty of contributors to DC comics and movies as they discuss DC villains

-Featurette: “Coming Book Commentary: Homage to The New Frontier” – This is a special with Darwyn Cooke, creator of DC: The New Frontier. This featurette looks into the creation of the original DC series, what was cut from the movie and Cooke’s vision for The New Frontier.

Bonus Features:

Bottom Line:
Justice League – The New Frontier was the best animated feature film I saw, so far this year. I enjoyed the story, the voice actors all fit their roles and did a fantastic job with their dialogue. The entire DVD package is an excellent bargain for what you’ll pay. If you’re a fan of DC Comics and especially The New Frontier series, you’ll love this film adaptation. Justice League – The New Frontier is highly recommended.

Overall Rating:

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