World Famous Comics: Justice League - The New Frontier (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Justice League - The New Frontier (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Starring: David Boreanaz, Miguel Ferrer, Neil Patrick Harris, John Heard, Lucy Lawless Directed By: Dave Bullock Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: DVD Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Special Edition, Widescreen, NTSC Label: Warner Home Video Number of Items: 2 Region Code: 1 Release Date: February 26, 2008 Running Time: 75 minutes Theatrical Release Date: February 26, 2008
Description: Inspired by the best-selling graphic novel by Darwyn Cooke and produced by the multiple Emmy® award winning animation legend, Bruce Timm, The New Frontier is the epic tale of the founding of the Justice League. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are all here of course, and so are Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and Flash - whose incredible origins will be told for the very first time. Strangers at first, these very different heroes must overcome fear and suspicion to forge an alliance against a monster so formidable, even the mighty Superman can not stop it. If they fail, our entire planet will be "cleansed" of humanity.
Good movie but too much of a political message I really enjoyed this movie. It's a great homage to the golden age of comics. The artwork was right on target. The dialogue and voices are also in line with that era.
The story starts out great, but the finishing sequences were disappointing. Somewhat anticlimactic.
There are political messages within the movie which spoiled that "golden age" feel for me. Yes, those old comics had anti-communist leanings, but this movie's message was clearly the antithesis of that era, or should I say "rejection" of that era. I think Bruce Timm should have avoided the anti-anti communist message.
This movie is worth buying and watching for those who like the Bruce Timm's work.
Thanks.
DC Makes Great Animated Movies I'll be the first to admit that outside of Batman, DC has always ranked as a bunch of second-rate superheroes in my book. Superman was no fun because his only weakness was Kryptonite. Wonder Woman was no fun simply because her story was so flippin' ridiculous. The Green Lantern? Hated his origin story. You get the picture. But today that's changed; Justice League: The New Frontier presents the greatest team of superheroes to ever walk the planet in a new approach that really caught my eye. The story dispenses with cheap kiddy tricks and pulls out the stops.
Martian Manhunter (a character whose story I knew virtually nothing about) comes to Earth on a mission to seek out and destroy the one who calls himself the Center. Sporting a typical green-skinned alien physique he quickly realizes the necessity of changing his appearance to fit within the comfortable norms of his human compatriots. On his quest to track down the all-seeing foe his path intertwines with everyone's favorite caped crusader of the night.
Meanwhile, Hal Jordan finds himself in the middle of a top-secret government mission. Years after his combat duty behind the lines Hal begins training for a space program with an unspecified destination.
The stories of the separated Justice League begin to intertwine placing the heroes together in the middle of a conflict despite their increasingly polarized viewpoints on heroism in the United States. Superman. Batman. The Green Lantern. Wonder Woman. The Flash. Martian Manhunter. Everyone has a part to play despite the aforementioned two receiving a majority of the focus.
For those coming from an entirely outside and uninformed perspective Justice League: The New Frontier creates the perfect mix of quick introductory explanations of each hero's philosophy while at the same time diving deep into some of the key values of the Justice League series. For the long-time fans of Justice League, I think The New Frontier will satisfy the thirst for a Justice League movie that all reports indicate is being pushed further and further into the realm of woulda-coulda-world. The concentration on Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern truly was a stroke of genius. Anyone not living in a cave for the last 30 years at least knows who the main members of the Justice League are. I mean heck, each of them either had their own TV show, movie or both. For me The New Frontier encapsulates the best of both worlds.
Animation-wise I thought the approach was very interesting. While maintaining the well-known style of the Justice League cartoon, The New Frontier's look is slightly more angular and bold giving it a fresh feel. Certainly a wise choice.
Now, let's talk about the sheer volume of stars attached to this project. Lucy Lawless, David Boreanaz, Neil Patrick Harris, Jeremy Sisto, Kyra Sedgwick and Brooke Shields are one goddamn hell of an ensemble. While I've always thought Neil Patrick Harris is hilarious, I didn't even realize he was the Flash's voice until the credits rolled. While I was surprised when I found out it made so much sense considering how funny he was. The oddest choice in this ensemble was the casting of Miguel Ferrer as Martian Manhunter. Now if you were to Google Miguel you'd undoubtedly recognize him from countless films where he played a sniveling weasel of a man. Truly, an odd choice.
If Justice League: The New Frontier is any indication of what this team can put together for a full-length live feature - then I am truly more excited for a live-action JL movie than I've ever been before. The characters here were spot on in the conflicts between their differing viewpoints.
Justice League: The New Frontier is for the new and old fans alike. With enough JL 101 material to hook the rookies the plot offers enough play between the darker themes of the team to keep the diehard fans attached without a chance of boredom.
Overall worth the view.
Brilliant! Well, at the Box Office Marvel may have the edge on DC, but when it comes to animated films and series, DC rules. This is a prime example. Great story from an awesome graphic novel. Known voice talent that makes watching it so much more enjoyable, great editing. New Frontier is just a brilliant adaptation of Cooke's excellent graphic novel (and miniseries before it). It could have actually been a little longer and it wouldn't have bothered me at all. I'm eagerly awaiting the animated Wonder Woman now. Go DC!
Surprisingly good Its not what u have to expect after years of batman, superman, justice league. But if u can get past that fact then its surprisingly good.
Great adaptation, could be longer Justice League - The New Frontier is an adaptation of the award-winning comic series by Darwyn Cooke. It retells the origin of the Justice League against the backdrop of the 1950s cold war and McCarthyism. A new generation of heroes must come together to defeat an approaching alien threat known as 'The Centre'.
This is a very good entry in DC's new Original Animated Movies series. Like any adaptation some scenes have been trimmed and others tweaked to streamline the narrative, but the result stays true to Cooke's original series and packs in lots of drama and action. The animation is excellent - it really helps that Cooke's original art style translates very well to the screen, and stylistically the piece nails the period look its going for. Definitely some of the best animation yet to come out of the DC line, which has been consistently high in quality. The voice cast is an ensemble of animation veterans and celebrities like Lucy Lawless (who else would you get for Wonder Woman?) and David Boreanaz (Hal Jordan).
If there's one complaint, and this applies to every Direct-to-DVD release in both the DC and Marvel lines, it's that the film could stand to be longer. The story is very tightly paced at 75 minutes, and sometimes it jumps rapidly between multiple scenes and characters. There are multiple plot threads that run through this film - from the establishing of Superman and Batman to origin stories for Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern. The Flash feels somewhat shortchanged (if you haven't read the graphic novel, it's not made clear until the end that he's still a relative unknown), and Wonder Woman's role could be defined as small but vital. Aquaman's cameo at the end seems to come from nowhere until you realize the film is about setting up the Silver Age of DC comic history.
If all that seems a bit confusing, the film definitely comes together nicely in the end, and I've gained more appreciation for it on repeated viewings. The single-disc DVD comes with two commentaries (one from the creative staff, one from Darwyn Cooke) and both are very informative. There is also a strong documentary on Justice League history, and combined these make for a strong set of bonus features. There is also a 2-disc set that packs in episodes from the Justice League Unlimited - Season One (DC Comics Classic Collection) series, but most of the best stuff is here. Highly recommended.
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