Director: David Bullock
Stars: David Boreanaz, Miguel Ferrer, Neil Patrick Harris, Lucy Lawless, Kyle MacLachlan, Phil Morris, John Heard, Kyra Sedgwick, Brooke Shields, Jeremy Sisto
Justice League: The New Frontier is a story about the JLA set in the 50s. It mostly focuses on Hal Jordan and Martian Manhunter but features all your favourites like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash etc. A mysterious force is reaching out to people’s minds and spreading fear, leading to an assault on the coast of America. Meanwhile, people are skeptical of the mysterious costumed vigilantes roaming the streets, but the government is forced to work with them as they’re the only hope to save America…and the world!
I’m starting to work my way through the DC animated movies because I have a feeling they will be more satisfying than the live-action movies. I quite enjoyed The New Frontier. It showcased everyone pretty well, although Martian Manhunter and Hal Jordan were the focus, which is fine because in my opinion the more attention the Manhunter gets the better. Everyone has nice moments though, especially Batman, as we get an explanation for why he took Robin under his wing (Bat-pun intended).
I feel like this is more of a celebration of the Justice League and what they represent rather than a story in its own right because a lot of time is spent on the origins and backgrounds of the characters. As such the central conflict is ill-defined and I’m still not too sure who/what the Centre is and what their ultimate goal was. But it provided and excuse for the heroes to strut their stuff, although I didn’t like how Superman was taken out of the fight.
I enjoyed how the costumes harkened back to the old versions and the style of the animation was retro but retained some coolness. The action was good, and fairly gruesome in parts. It’s a fun love letter to the JLA and there’s a moment where Superman gives an inspirational speech and it’s almost spine-tingling. It covers a lot of characters in a little over an hour and I must say I was impressed. I am looking forward to working my way through them. Next up is Wonder Woman!
