by Matt Sernaker, Managing Editor
After the announcement of Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, fans knew it was only at matter of time before we would hear about the impending release of feature animated films set in The New 52 universe. Without skipping a beat, DC Comics and Warner Home Video have created their first installment based on their newly revised (and re-branded) stories: Justice League: War. It is time to throw away everything you thought you knew about Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the rest of the Justice League, because Justice League: War is a whole new ballgame.
Set in the early years of The New 52 continuity, the newest DC Universe Original Movie features the creation of the Justice League. When an alien invasion begins around the globe, the heroes of Earth must come together to stop the villains of Apokalips. Darkseid is on his way to Earth, and only the combined might of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Cyborg and… Shazam can stop him.
Based on the first installment of the 2011 rebooted Justice League comic by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee, these new versions of our favorite heroes have a lot of problems. As a fan of these characters, it was disheartening to see some of them portrayed in this manner. A perfect example of my frustration lies in young Billy Batson. Originally Billy was a young boy who faced massive hardships and was able to constantly retain a positive outlook on life. Thanks to this resolve, he was selected to hold the power of Shazam! In this universe, Billy has faced the same hardships, but is pretty much a punk kid who takes what he wants and defies the rest of the world…and he still becomes Shazam. Gone is the boy scout mentality, replaced with comments about how he wants to hook up with Wonder Woman. There are many moments where our heroes act so far out of character that it is ridiculous (Superman’s “smile for me!” comment didn’t work in the comics, and it sure as hell doesn’t work when animated). It feels like these are caricature versions of the people we have grown to love. Superman is pretty much a dick in this universe, Wonder Woman just wants to fight and have ice cream, Green Lantern is a cocky son-of-a…well…Green Lantern is still the same. Everything about this interpretation just feels off. We get that this is supposed to be a new first appearance for these characters, but even Justice League: The Animated Series treated our heroes with more respect. Now to clarify, I am not saying that the team behind this movie did a bad job. The problem really lies more with the source material. I may not be the biggest supporter of The New 52, but the issue at hand is the that quality of story and the overall dialogue were subpar to what we have grown to expect from DC Universe films.
While I was frustrated with certain elements of this movie, there were definitely things that I liked. Batman has some utterly fantastic moments with Green Lantern. Barry Allen was once again treated very respectfully, and remained consistent with his last animated appearance. The hints at Superman and Wonder Woman’s eventual relationship were perfect. Additionally, we were treated to a brand new cast of voice actors for this version of the Justice League. Alan Tudyk (Firefly), Sean Astin (The Lord of The Rings Trilogy), Christopher Gorham (Jake 2.0), Michelle Monaghan (Mission Impossible: III), Jason O’Mara (Terra Nova), Justin Kirk (Weeds), and Shemar Moore (Birds of Prey) admirably stepped into the roles as our heroes, while veteran voice actor Steve Blum (Spectacular Spider-Man, Transformers: Prime) voiced the villainous Darkseid. I also wanted to give a shout out to the talented Andrea Romano, who voices Green Lantern’s ring.
Getting past the problems I had with the story and the characterization, the animation style and direction of the film were damn impressive. Director Jay Oliva (The Dark Knight Returns: Parts 1 and 2), truly stepped up his game once again to provide us with a visually stunning series of battles. Without question, the fight sequences delivered on fan’s expectations for DC Universe features, and also managed to beautifully translate the artistic style of Jim Lee to the small screen.
Special Features:
- Creating Heroes: The Life and Art of Jim Lee
- Justice League: War – ACT D- From Animatic to Pencil Test – Director Jay Oliva reviews the process of creating this newest DC Universe Original movie.
- From the DC Comics Vault
- Deconstructing War- – Director Jay Oliva sits down with Jim Lee to discuss the original Justice League: Origins comic, and compare and contrast decisions made to bring it to animation.
- A Sneak Peek at DC Universe’s Next Animated Movie: Son of Batman
- 1080p HD Video
- Dolby 5.1 Audio
Overall:
After a series of truly impressive original animated movies, it is hard not to compare Justice League: War to its predecessors. Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox was without question the crowning achievement in the DC Universe franchise, and I feel like this one just fell short. This film is really just a setup piece for the animated projects to come, and does actually do a good job in that regard. The future installments planned for the DC Universe Original Movie series are exciting without a doubt, but I really wanted this one to be a grand slam as well.
Rating: 
ComicsOnline gives Justice League: War – 2.5 0ut of 5 Justice League origins.
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