DVD : Justice League - Starcrossed: The Movie

In association with Amazon.com

Rating:

- EXCELLENT!
This is a terrific Justice League "movie." It has all the elements that make a great cartoon: a compelling story, pulse-pounding action, intriguing characters, a beautiful design, and lots of surprises. The ending may leave fans feeling heart-broken, but it is a conclusion that will resonate with viewers.

Rating:

- Better than nothing, but hardly the best
Any JL is better than no JL, and this one does have some great character bits -- Batman and Flash, in particular, as well as the last five minutes.

That said, the traditional animation feels crude, the computer animation is jarringly different, someone did way too much cut-n-paste to simulate an armada/army, and the ostensible focus of the episode -- the growl-n-bop-em Hawkgirl -- spends most of her time looking conflicted.

Any number of better episodes that WB could release (the season 2 *opener*, "Twilight," comes to mind) -- but all that said, until they do release others, it's a lot better to have something only fair than nothing at all.

Rating:

- Great ending to the series as we knew it.
Ah well, they had to end the series at the end of the season that really had the fans cheering. The animation was great. Hawkman proved to me an interesting foe and the Thanagarians were more than just the run of the mill alien invader race. The action is well paced and there are several amusing bits with Flash and Clark Kent. A bittersweet end to the Hawkgirl/GL relationship and a promise that more JL is too come.

I hope that Justice League Unlimited will have the time to focus on the relationship between the heroes. Some of the best parts of the finale dealt with the heroes in civilian garb and the warm scenes between Batman/Wonder, Superman/Batman GL/Flash, and the guys with GL. It's a must have for all Justice League Animated fans.

Rating:

- 1 star for Superman, 1 star for Batman, etc, etc, etc
Hey, it's the Justice League for Pete's sake. How could it not be good? That would be like saying an animated Batman cartoon would be lousy. Oh wait, that Batwoman dvd was simply aweful. Nevermind.

Yes its good. Yes the action is fun and the fight scenes well done. Batman flying the watchtower into the atmosphere was perfectly type casted. A friend asked why Martian Manhunter didn't fly it because he could then phase out before the collision. Because on re-entry the station would burn and the Martian Manhunter is afraid of fire. He'd be flying all over the place like a high speed chase on a crowded freeway. What I'm saying is, the characters were well done. Based on their powers, the actions of the Leaguers was plausible and the whole Green Lantern/Hawkgirl romance storyline has been tied up. Good choice.

Rating:

- These are not you father's superfriends.
The Timm/Dini/Burnett/Murakami style DC animation stuff is one of my guilty pleasures. These guys understand the characters, respect them, mix it up enough to keep it new, but remain true to the core spirit that has made them enduringly popular. The series and this "movie" make the old Superfriends series look like a bingo mixer at the rest home.

This is a collection of 3 episodes which constitute the final story arc of season 2 of the "Justice League" cartoon. The show will be taking a slightly different turn next season as the standard stable of 7 heroes is expanded to bring in many more of the DC universe characters. "Star Crossed" does a pretty good job of book-ending what has gone before, and makes way for the new.

There are some very in-character moments in the movie, like how Batman who is very protective of his secrets, immediately gives up a big one when it's needed to save the rest of the team. There is a lot of on-screen action as well. Swarms (or flocks) of aliens and their equipment fill the sky and multiple combats occur simultaneously, and are for the most part well thought out.

It's kind of foolish to discuss inconsistencies in this genre, but things like ordinary humans taking a punch in the face from superstrong aliens about as well as they'd handle one from a teamster stands out as kind of glaring. It seems action-ey, but it undermines the vulnerability of the characters which is what makes them sympathetic. Inexcusable too when a few moments of extra thought could've written around it seemlessly.

As for DVD presentation, the JL cartoon has been airing some of it's episodes in "Letterbox", and it's an option here as well. Unfortunately they aren't adding extra material at the sides, they simply crop the normal TV picture, blocking out the bottom and the top. Kind of disengenuous. The tour of the watchtower is simply a collection of quick clips with annoying narration. The deleted scenes were interesting, they showed 3 or so extra or extended scenes in various stages of completion; educational if nothing else.

Now, if they'd just release complete series DVD sets and a few more Batman BTNAS style DVD's, I'd be a happy guy.

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