DVD : Justice League - The New Frontier (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD]

In association with Amazon.com

Rating:

- Terrible - Glad I only rented it.
I am tired of these uninspiring, cheaply made, soulless DC animated movies and series. There were some really good things happening in the 90s and early 2000s. Now we have "The Batman" and this movie that are both painful to watch. It doesn't even keep kid's attentions. I guess I should be glad that Batman - TAS, Superman, Justice League and JLU all were out as long as they were. It means I have DVDs to play for the kids and myself since even they make fun of what's out now (2008). Maybe they'll make a new series as good in a about decade or two and the cycle can continue. I didn't mention Batman Beyond? I'm not its biggest fan, but it is much better than this movie or "The Batman" and the kids like it, so I'll end up buying the series soon.

Rating:

- HD-DVD features
The features on the the HD-DVD combo disc have been hard to come by; but the combo disc for Justice League the New Frontier includes all the features of the regular two disc special edition. Legion of Doom, Comic Book Commentary and the bonus Justice League episodes only appear on the HD-DVD side, but the rest of the special features appear on both the DVD and HD-DVD sides. With all the special features and a high definition release, this should be THE option for HD-DVD owners.

Rating:

- The Beginning of The Justice League
First of all, I will say this about this production...They cram a lot of DC comic history in less than 80 minutes of cartoon. The question is "Is it worth it?" I dont know

Second, I will say this has a big name cast to fill the boots of these Characters. Kyle Maclachlan bring a different to Superman. Neil Patrick Harris (who did the MTV version of Spiderman) is the Flash. Lucy Lawless (Xena) proves she is a vocal amazon as Wonder Woman. David Borenaz (Buffy's favorite vamp Angel) lifts the chracter of Hal Jordan to new heights. Miguel Ferrer and Kyra Sedgwick are wasted in the roles of the Martian Manhunter and Lois Lane. Law and Order Jeremy Sisco put a new spin on Batman.

They also have vocal stunt casting of great audio talent who have a throw away line or three. People like Joe Mantegna, Phillip Morris and Brooke Shields are part of this large cast, but are wasted with a few throw away lines.

The story is faithful to Darwyn Cooke's two part graphic novel. He also does one of the two audio commentary tracks. It still seems too rushed. Bruce Timm could have taken a bigger risk and done this as a three hour cartoon project, but I will take what I have

The production is a higher standard then most cartoons made for video, but when you push the envelope like Superman Doomsday (aka the Death of Superman), you need is push the time and the story past 80 minutes.

There is a trailer , on this DVD, for the next made for DVD animated feature, Batman Gotham Knight...It looks good! Dont forget to watch this!

On the Whole, it is worth giving this animated feature an airing

Bennet Pomerantz Audioworld

Rating:

- Sometimes Old is Better than New
I was looking forward to this new installment in the animated Justice League series. Having not read the D. Cooke graphic novel, I was not sure what to expect. I was disappointed by the slow pacing, the unremarkable villain, and the lack of chemistry among the characters. The voice talent here, seemingly upgraded from the regular actors from the regular series, is so lackluster. I like many of the actors, but found their voice acting to be so uninspired.

Having watched this, I wondered what made Bruce Timm's original JL and JLU series so good. I think the answer is its concise format: each episode (or double ep) tells a story and gets out. "New Frontier" does in this movie format what perhaps Timm would do in the first and last five minutes of his episode(s). The rest is just wasted time. I don't recommend any JL or JLU fans to watch this -- and yes, I agree, this (unlike JL and JLU) really is not for young children. Sorry Hal Jordan, but "Outstanding!"? Not.

Rating:

- Everything feels rushed, which is the main reason why the movie is average at best.
The opening couple of minutes gave me a lot of hope, but nothing has time to resonate. A major moment will happen, and then a split second later something unrelated happens, and it deflates the importance of whatever had just occurred. The editing is really poor in this regard... with four or five stories occurring at the same time, everything seems chopped together and unfocused. Way too much is packed into 70-minutes.

That's not the only problem here, though.

In a lot of the other DC animated material (while more mature than most cartoons) the target audience is usually still very young. In something like Batman: The Animated Series there are flaws that can usually be forgiven because it is understood that the cartoons are intended for a younger audience. They often make things way to easy, fast, and simple considering the circumstances. But that show is not made for the mind of a 30-year old. Its made for a kid. And I go in understanding this... so my expectations are different. I can totally respect and thoroughly enjoy those shows.

THIS movie, though, is too violent and adult themed to be intended for children. The PG-13 rating they went for backs up that this was not intended for young children... yet the simple, easy, clunky stuff that I often forgive Batman: TAS for doing is still present. The producers should have made a decision... either the movie should have been geared towards a younger audience (but in a way that adults could still appreciate, like most of their shows), or the movie should have been consistently mature... meaning that if there is going to be , violence, coarse language, and decidedly adult situations the storytelling and editing should be respectful of that audience. Since this movie IS supposed to be intended for adults and young adults, they really insulted my intelligence by using the same easy methods that they do on children's programming.

I saw a comment that said "I loved the movie and fans of the DC: The New Frontier comics all seem to love it."... I think there's a reason for that. People who were fans of the comic were able to plug in all kinds of ideas that were missing from this sloppy production. Ideas are introduced, and never followed up, over and over again in this movie. Important moments never have time to breathe. Maybe it works on some sort of a "companion" level to those who are fans of the original work, but as a standalone movie it leaves a lot to be desired.

The performances are generally fine, with the exception of Jeremy Sisto, who may be the worst incarnation of Batman I've ever heard (the only one I'm not familiar with is the THE BATMAN interpretation). His voice just does not have the tonal qualities I'd like in a portrayal of the Dark Knight.

Go in without your hopes too high. There are individual sequences that have their merit (such as when Batman makes a threat towards Superman that long-time comic fans will appreciate, or the scene where Wonder Woman returns after a long absence), and for many it will be worth watching for those good sequences... but as a whole it doesn't work.

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