Justice League: New Frontier reviewed

From AICN, Darwyn Cook’s DC: The New Frontier is a six issue mini-series published in 2004 about the birth of the Justice League in the Cold War-ridden America of the 1950’s. It is without a doubt one of the most brilliant comic series ever made (superhero or otherwise). So, when it was announced last year that DC’s new animation division would be adapting it as their second direct-to-DVD feature film, re-titled as Justice League: The New Frontier, I was absolutely beside myself with excitement.

Warner Bros. Animation’s first foray into adapting a major comic storyline was last year’s Superman Doomsday, a film that I enjoyed even with all of its flaws (and there were many…). Ultimately, though, it just wasn’t a story that I was entirely interested in. The New Frontier, on the other hand, had me foaming at the mouth.

I obtained a copy of the film recently, and just had to take the time to tell fans to forget about the exceedingly average Superman Doomsday, because when New Frontier is finally released on DVD next month, it’s going to blow you away. This literally is the comic come to life, so much so that at times it seemed they used the comic for storyboards, but it’s still not without its changes.

There are a lot of things that have been taken out of the story, or shortened, but just about all of it is mentioned in some capacity. The Losers storyline that opens the comic is missing from the film, but is mentioned in newspaper clippings that Batman is looking over during a scene he shares with John Jones. The John Henry stuff is also missing, but he is still given his due in the form of a news report about his death, as well as a gravestone at the end of the film. The Challengers of the Unknown are completely absent from the film, but Ace Morgan wears the uniform during the climax of the film. There are also a lot of other characters that are shortened to brief, dialogue-less appearances (Green Arrow, Ted Wildcat Grant, etc.), but they’re really only missed in afterthought.

A lot of plotlines were folded into each other as well, which didn’t really bother me either, as I felt they really worked in the film’s favor. Things like Hal Jordon going on the Mars mission that ends in tragedy rather than being removed from it at the last minute like in the comic. Instead of there being an entire crew, it just ends up being Hal and Rick Flag, with Superman saving Jordon when Rick punches his ticket. But, changes like that really didn’t harm the story at all.

This really is Hal Jordon’s movie. He doesn’t become the Green Lantern until the climax of the film. He still receives his power ring from Abin Sus in the middle of the film, but doesn’t put it to use until the final battle with The Center. David Boreanaz worked really well in this role, getting the fearless, willful Hal Jordon just right.

Most people have been very weary of the casting of Jeremy Sisto as the voice of Batman, and I won’t lie to you, it is really jarring hearing such a different voice coming from Batman. And while, it took me nearly the entire film to get passed it, in the end I feel that Sisto really did offer up a commendable take on the character. Especially considering the only Batman most fanboys ever want to hear is Batman the Animated Series’ Kevin Conroy.

The real shining star in the film is Neil Patrick Harris as Barry Allen/The Flash. His performance was fantastic and every scene he was in just made me wish more and more that Bruce Timm would produce a Flash animated series. I just hope, at the very least, we get a Flash-centric direct-to-DVD film in the near future because NPH’s performance was far too dead-on to only be seen here. I would even go as far as to say he should be seriously considered to play Barry Allen in a live action setting, but unfortunately it seems that Hollywood is dead set to make a Wally West film, a role that he wouldn’t be right for.

Lucy Lawless was pretty much born to play Wonder Woman, so I just can’t help but wonder why it’s only just now we’re getting what could be one of the most obvious casting choices ever. Kyle MacLachlan’s Superman was a vast improvement over Adam Baldwin’s oddly gruff Supes from the Doomsday feature. He brought a 50s charm to the role that hasn’t been heard since the old Fleischer cartoons. Brooke Shields, Miguel Ferrer, and Kyra Sedgwick all do very adequate jobs in their respective roles as well.

Overall, if you were on the fence about picking this up when it comes out next month, don’t be. This was a great adaptation of an even better comic book. It’s obvious that the producers had a lot of love for the source material, and I really couldn’t be happier with the end result.

Thank you Bruce Timm, you didn’t let me down.