- I imagine it must be frustrating having to adapt the oldest and most iconic comic book characters for today's audiences. Although modern writers seem more worried about continuity than writers, say 50 years ago, the eventual accumulation of self-contradictory origin stories and adventures is surely an inheritance no writer wants to claim. Likewise, it must be challenging to recast these seemingly sacrosanct characters in a manner novel enough to be interesting, but not so radical as to elicit death threats from the dastardly Legion of Comic Book Superfans. With Justice League: The New Frontier, writer/artist Darwyn Cooke and the producers of the DC Animated Universe have succeeded in walking this fine line by presenting a new and exciting, yet familiar and reverential, take on the world's most famous team of superheroes.
- In The New Frontier, we are transported to a time when superheroes are just starting to question whether truth, justice, and the American way really belong together in the same sentence. While some of the heroes retain their fictional environments, such as Central City, Themyscira, and Gotham, it is clear that their universe also includes the real locations and events of the mid-20th century. Some of the heroes, like the Flash (Neil Patrick Harris), Batman (Jeremy Sisto), and Martian Manhunter (Miguel Ferrer), are starting to run afoul of the authorities, and even Superman (Kyle MacLachlan) begins to wonder about a government that requires loyalty oaths. In the meantime, Wonder Woman (Lucy Lawless) is becoming a somewhat violent champion of women's rights in Southeast Asia, and an initially ringless Hal Jordan (David Boreanaz) is busy competing in the space race.
- Certainly the most interesting parts of The New Frontier follow the superheroes' occasionally rocky interactions with the real world. The origin stories, too, were well chosen to show how two unlikely heroes become convinced that the citizens of Earth are worth their efforts. I think the writers were wise not to grant equal time to all members of the League, instead focusing on how their stories naturally intersected the overall narrative. Unfortunately, the primary villain of this tale, a malevolent entity known as The Center (Keith David), proves to be the least interesting aspect of the film. Although his presence is intriguing enough when being channeled through toppled badguys and schizoid research scientists, his final appearance as some sort of "dinosaur island" was confused and somewhat rushed. In fact, the entire final battle seemed disorganized, particularly with the early disappearance of Superman and last-minute Aquaman antics.
- Despite these minor complaints, however, the artwork, animation, and voice acting were all outstanding, and the film as a whole was unexpectedly rewarding. From the Saul Bass-inspired opening titles to the final hero/villain montage set to a Kennedy speech, it is obvious that more care went into this production than has been seen since the days of the Batman or Superman animated series (the former being, of course, the pinnacle of American animated drama). One particularly admires the brave, perhaps even bold, choice by the producers to introduce a universe that is completely distinct from that of the recently retired Justice League TV series. I hope their future direct-to-DVD projects are as well-crafted and successful.
- There are too many cameos to list off, but Captain Cold, Gorilla Grodd (or a robot version of him), and Lex Luthor are all featured.
