Zachary FenellJustice League: the New Frontier
January 8th 2009 19:41
Justice League: the New Frontier, 2008
Let me get these things out of the way first: Yes, it's a cartoon. Yes, it was a DVD-only release. No, it is NOT a kid movie. Yes, it's worth it to keep reading and definitely to see it, especially if you have even one atom of geekiness anywhere in your body.
The New Frontier takes place back in the 1950s sometime shortly after World War II. One of the first opening scenes involves Wonder Woman in a depiction that is more consistent with what you'd realistically expect from an Amazon - she's tall, beefy, and empowering the imprisoned women in a Korean camp to exact revenge on the soldiers who "used" them. It's not pretty (although historically quasi-accurate), and this grisly (although not terribly graphic) scene sets the tone for the rest of the film. (Not like the first progression that ends in messy suicide doesn't, but you'll see what I mean.)
True fans of the Justice League franchise in comics will be pleased to see the origin of Hal Jordan as well as the arrival of J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, to earth. The story takes great care to present each of the main superheroes (Superman, Batman, Martian Manhunter, the Flash, Wonder Woman, the Green Lantern, and many others) in their classical costumes and personalities in a distinct departure from the Justice League America/Unlimited television series.
What really makes this movie remarkable is that it potentially introduces a whole new generation to the grittiness of the Silver and Golden Age of comics. We tend to remember the cheesiness of old issues with Superdickery and the like, but there was a seedy underbelly that resonated with something more primal. This is the first time we really connect with J'onn's sense of isolation (despite several moderately effective attempts in the series), and we really get to know what makes Hal Jordan the absolute best Green Lantern ever. The Batman has absolutely no sentimentality at all - which is how he was supposed to be in the first place - but his behavior is more comfortable, it makes more sense with what we already know about the guy having seen his parents shot.
The main plot revolves around a Chthulhu-esque Source that is hell-bent on destroying all human life. It is one of the few down-points of the film that the budgetary or deadline constraints kept them from really getting detailed with the artwork. I would have found the final showdown more disturbing (and more consistent with the actual plot) if the monsters had been more than pseudo-dinosaurs and smooth-skinned somethings. There is the natural moral/theme of the story about having to band together as a race instead of drawing national lines, but there are no "happily ever afters", which is completely appropriate here. We see the origin of the Justice League as a team, but it is clearly out of necessity and not aggrandizement (as you might get from other versions).
This gets four stars easily, but it can't quite eke out the last one. The art style - although a nice variation from the series - is just a little too assembly-lined. If there was ever a story that I would like to see rendered in a more textured CGI (although not too much), this would be it. (Edited to add: the Hubster believes that the art style is straight-up Silver Age, just like the graphic novel this was based on. I don't see it, but maybe you will.)
4 Stars
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