Justice League - The New Frontier (Two-Disc Special Edition)
by Dave Bullock
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DVD details
Actor: David Boreanaz, Keith David, Lucy Lawless, Miguel Ferrer, Neil Patrick HarrisDirector: Dave Bullock
Brand: Warner Brothers
Producer: Bruce W. Timm
Producer: Darwyn Cooke
Writer: Darwyn Cooke
Producer: Gregory Noveck
Producer: Kimberly Smith
Producer: Michael Goguen
Writer: Stan Berkowitz
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); Portuguese (Original Language)
Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 75 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-02-26
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product features:
- Inspired by the best-selling graphic novel by Darwyn Cooke and produced by the multiple Emmy? award winning animation legend, Bruce Timm, The New Frontier is the epic tale of the founding of the Justice League. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are all here of course, and so are Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and Flash - whose incredible origins will be told for the very first time. Strangers at
DVD Reviews of Justice League - The New Frontier (Two-Disc Special Edition)
DVD Review: "And what was with that red costume? Red's for commies!"
Summary: 4 Stars
Batman, to the Martian Manhunter: "I have a $70,000 sliver of radioactive meteor to stop the one from Metropolis. With you, all I need is a penny for a book of matches."
Some SPOILERS here.
JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER is the latest from the direct-to-video line of DC Universe Original Animated Movies, being the second offering after Superman - Doomsday (DC Universe Animated Original Movie). THE NEW FRONTIER is Warner Brothers' adaptation of Darwyn Cooke's brilliant, critically-acclaimed 2004 two-volumed graphic novel series. And, in fact, Cooke, is on board as a creative consultant. So many chances for him to even more influence the project (this is a good thing).
First, a little set-up: After the second world war, things changed in the way that mystery men were perceived by the public and by the government, both having grown fearful and suspicious, thanks to rampant McCarthyism. Buffeted by paranoia, the capes had become unpopular, deemed untrustworthy, and soon fell out of favor altogether. The government's insistence that the superheroes unmask leads to the disbanding of the Justice Society. As the film opens, former JSA members Superman and a growingly disgruntled Wonder Woman had signed loyalty oaths to the American government. Batman hadn't and thus had become a fugitive. And the Hourman is dead.
It's 1953 now, and reporter Lois Lane, broadcasting over the Armed Forces radio, heralds the end of the Korean War. And for Air Force fighter pilot Hal Jordan, the news immediately gets him one step closer to his dream of becoming an astronaut. But, then, one tragic, life-altering event throws a wrench into his plans.
In a Gotham observatory, a scientist lies crumbled to the floor, expiring of shock and asking forgiveness from the extraterrestrial visitor he had unwittingly brought forth in an attempt to contact the red planet. The Martian Manhunter has come to Earth.
Meanwhile, a primordial psychic entity known as the Centre has begun seeping into an ever increasing fragment of the public consciousness. A crazed artist had even created a story about the Centre, before blowing his brains out. On occasion, this malevolent presence had even briefly possessed those it had influenced. The Centre's scheme, when it's finally revealed, will place all of humanity in total jeopardy and will force the mystery men to come out of hiding and once again save the world.
I wish JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER had been longer. But what there is of it is pretty terrific. It's told as a period piece, the story set in the backdrop of the 1950s, as racial injustices and xenophobia heavily impacted the American culture. A heads up: this flick is rated PG-13 (there's a suicide, one instance of cussing, and Hal Jordan commits an act which parents maybe shouldn't let their younger kids see). At a running time of 75 minutes, NEW FRONTIER covers a hectic, sprawling span of eight years (1953-1960) in the lives of its characters. DC Comics' Big Three take a back seat as, instead, Hal Jordan, J'onn J'onzz, and Barry Allen (to a lesser extent) do the heavy lifting in terms of focus and onscreen time.
So we get to see these three characters develop the most. If there's a leading man in NEW FRONTIER, it'd have to be Hal Jordan. Sucks for me as I'm not really into Jordan (I think he's a bit too smug). However, David Boreanaz, who voices him, goes a long way into making him palatable. Thru the course of the film, we get to learn of Hal's fearlessness and his high regard for human life (traits which would make him the ideal choice as a Green Lantern, which we do see late in the game). Ample time is also given to the stranded Martian, J'onn J'onzz (or John Jones), and his attempts to acclimate to his strange new world. But it's very hard going as he's repeatedly exposed to man's meanness, ignorance, and mindless conformity. When J'onn hears of a space mission to Mars, he jumps at the chance to return home. Meanwhile, the Flash is also spotlighted. The Flash is a newcomer and one of the few superheroes who still does his crimefighting in public. He quickly becomes a target for government agents, who attempt to capture him to see "what makes him tick." Also touched on is Flash's feelings of inadequacy in the presence of the more established superheroes. But, no worries, he gets a chance to shine.
So, it turns out, the good old days maybe weren't so good. The film does a decent job of reflecting key aspects in the political and cultural climate of the '50s, and of how the DC characters react to these times. When the Flash, having had enough of government persecution, decides to publicly hang it up, he draws snide comments from the man on the street ("And what was with that red costume? Red's for commies!"). I do wish we could've seen more of John Wilson a.k.a. John Henry, a black vigilante whose battles with the Klan ends in tragedy.
The retro-style animation is certainly dynamic and is reminiscent of the recent DC animated television shows (BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, JUSTICE LEAGUE). It also closely resembles Darwyn Cooke's clean, nostalgic-style artwork. In fact, certain of the film compositions and imagery are lifted directly from the limited series.
The spectacular voice cast is an acting who's who, beginning with David Boreanaz as the daredevil flyboy Hal Jordan. Jeremy Sisto's vibrant voice does Batman a solid (but Kevin Conroy still rules), while Neil Patrick Harris is simply spot on as the Flash. Lucy Lawless (XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS) is a no-brainer as Wonder Woman (there's just a shade of that New Zealand accent). Also here are Brooke Shields (Carol Ferris), Kyra Sedgwick (Lois Lane), Miguel Ferrer (pretty good as the Martian Manhunter), and, surprisingly okay, Kyle MacLachlan as Superman. Oh, and Keith David voices the Centre.
Tons of bonus features here, in this 2-disc Special Edition. Disc 1 not only contains the movie but also the in-depth documentary "Super Heroes United!: The Complete Justice League History." At 41 minutes, this is a must see for JLA fans as it covers the different periods of DC's premiere superteam. There's an exclusive sneak peek at the upcoming animated DC Universe line's BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT (an anthology supposedly composed of 6 stories and told mostly in manga animation style; think ANIMATRIX). There are 2 audio commentaries, both insightful, one with the animation filmmakers (including Bruce Timm), the other with comic book writer/artist Darwyn Cooke.
Disc 2 has the documentary "The Legion of Doom: The Pathology of the Super Villain" (which I found boring since I'm not that into the baddies); the 10-minute-long featurette "Comic Book Commentary: Homage to the New Frontier" (Darwyn Cooke goes a bit more behind the scenes and talks about stuff in the original mini-series which were left out of the film (the Losers, Ted Grant's last boxing match; the Challengers of the Unknown, etc.)); and 3 bonus Justice League episodes ("Dark Heart," "To Another Shore," and the very cool "Task Force X").
It's not a perfect movie. Superman and King Faraday, for example, come out with hokey battle speeches. And, no doubt, longtime fans will get more of a kick from this film as there are plenty of cameos made by lesser known residents of the DC Universe (the Blackhawks, the Golden Age version of Green Arrow, Adam Strange, etc.). So newcomers or the more casual fans just might spend a busload of time playing the "Okay, now who's that?" game. It's a sprawling film, with an abundance of characters. The storytelling in the film's first half tends to be non-linear and is a bit disjointed as various story arcs take turns on camera, none of 'em initially having much to do with one another (with the exception of the Centre thread, which fairly early on impacts the Flash, Batman, and J'onn J'onzz). It's not until the second half that NEW FRONTIER gains a focused narrative drive. And, again, this really needed to be a longer film. So those are my gripes, and, really, compared to what's good and awesome about the film, the negatives are negligible.
All hail Bruce Timm and his nerdy posse! There's such an infusion here of that joy in superheroes and in the Golden and Silver Ages of comic books, translating to an exuberant, if dark, picture. It's an action-packed production (check out Flash's run-in with Captain Cold), climaxing in an all-out effort from the heroes as the Centre makes its end move to obliterate humanity. And, by gum, there's dinosaurs! And, to top it all off, this story also paves the way for the eventual forming of the Justice League.
If you end up liking this film, then do yourself a favor and check out Absolute DC: The New Frontier, as well as James Robinson and Paul Smith's excellent JSA: The Golden Age (Elseworlds) and Dan Jolley and Tony Harris's JSA: The Liberty Files (Justice Society, Elseworlds).
Film fun fact: Wonder Woman is significantly taller than Superman. I think that rocks.
Description of Justice League - The New Frontier (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Inspired by the best-selling graphic novel by Darwyn Cooke and produced by the multiple Emmy® award winning animation legend, Bruce Timm, The New Frontier is the epic tale of the founding of the Justice League. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are all here of course, and so are Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and Flash - whose incredible origins will be told for the very first time. Strangers at first, these very different heroes must overcome fear and suspicion to forge an alliance against a monster so formidable, even the mighty Superman can not stop it. If they fail, our entire planet will be "cleansed" of humanity.Bestsellers in DVD
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