All For None
I just picked up the Justice League: The New Frontier DVD. This is the second straight-to-DVD animated movie released by Warner Bros and DC in the past year, the first being The Death of Superman. This movie is based on Darwyne Cooke’s comic series of the same name, which is collected in two trade paperback volumes and one over-sized hardcover Absolute edition.
The basic premise of the comic/movie is to look back to the early comics of the DC characters like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Cooke wanted to portray the characters as they were originally were in the 40s and 50s, but to infuse their origin stories with the absent historical events of the time, like McCarthyism and the Korean War. There is nothing wrong with this. It is a great premise - super heroes interacting with the history they are a part of.
While I have not read the comics, I will not judge them directly. My criticism comes from the film and while it may reflect back onto the comics, my issues are with the movie, not the comics.
The movie was really cool visually. This is the same animation style we’ve seen on Justice League Unlimited and Death of Superman DVD. Of course, this may confuse the casual viewer into thinking this movie is an extension of the DC Animated Universe, which it is not. I have to say though, seeing the old style costumes was really neat. When you look at old Batman and Green Arrow comics, their costumes are much more simplistic than today’s and here we see Batman’s long pointy ears and the Robin Hood rip-off of Oliver Queen. The movie encapsulates the Golden/Silver Age feel.
As for voice acting, we have an all-star cast. David Boreanez (Angel, Bones) plays Hal Jordan the Green Lantern, Lucy Lawless (Xena) plays Wonder Woman and Brooke Shields, Neil Patrick Harris, and Joe Mantegna are also featured. This is cool in theory, but the voices don’t… fit? It’s hard to write what I mean, but the voices don’t go with the characters. Listen to Batman. His voice isn’t Batman. This is not a rational criticism, of course, but I can’t help thinking it.
And I can excuse the above, but five seconds into the movie you are hit over the head with the “moral stick.” We get it, America is bad. The government is bad. Politics are complex and “good” and “evil” are hard to define. Let’s move on. But no, since the plot jumps from character to character, no real development can be reached, so each hero ends up spouting the same basic ideology over and over again. It gets so transparent at points, like when the Flash goes on TV and gives the “Good night and good luck” speech.
The problem with this political posturing, while probably from the earlier comic and meant to refer to historical concepts like McCarthyism and government surveillance, this movie message follows the anti-Bush bandwagon. I swear, it would take two semesters to cover Bush-lit that has come out in the past few years. To release something like this now expounds a cliché message.
And really, how seriously can we take this movie? Of all the comics that they could turn into a cartoon, they picked a really bad one if their mission was to bring fans into DC. The movie hinges on your knowledge of the DC Universe and it’s history. The random cameos, various undeveloped character and the Center, the big bad floating island that’s innards are an acid trip alienate the casual observer.
New Frontier is a movie made for DC comic fans. The core gimmick of a realistic historical world, unlike the cheesy Golden/Silver Age comics, is appealing to us nerds. But, comic fans are used to suspending disbelief in the face of aliens juxtaposed with Greek myths; the Average Joe is not. The serious nature of the film is undercut by the inherent campiness of super heroes. The Batmobile has a bat face on the front, Flash’s costume comes out of a ring, and Green Arrow has a stand-off with the army armed only with a bow and arrow while a dozen guns are pointed at him.
Flash says it: “I’m just a guy who runs after jewelry thieves and talking gorillas.”
These are childish creations, and I love them, but other people don’t. I’m fine with that. Forcing “literary” political commentary down our throats is intended to show non-readers, “Hey! Look! We can be grown-ups, too!” But you can’t. Not with non-corporeal Martians and dinosaurs exploding out of a bigger dinosaurs’ chest.
And where the f&$@ are the Metal Men! They are on the cover of the single disc edition, as are Captain Marvel and Supergirl, but they are only in a Ken Burnsed panel at the end of the movie!
The only good part of the DVD was the special feature documentary on the history of the Justice League. But that’s probably not worth a price north of $15…
Matt Knicl: My name is Matt Knicl. I'm a U of I alumn and one of those unemployed English majors Garrison Keillor likes to make fun of. I've been reading comics since high school and one day I would like to write them. My goal is to expose readers to what is out there in the world of comics and using my English powers, show what is worth reading or not. I can be reached at buzz.comics@gmail.com.
Comments
Matt Knicl (Matt Knicl) says:
(Posted February 29th, 2008 at 12:00 pm)
Hey Vas! Thanks for commenting.
I did like Lucy Lawless’ voice-acting. It was spot on.
As for the Bush parallels - I know this is about the 50s and 50s’ references. But I turned on the news today, FoxNews and CNN, and both had commentators talking about Bush using fear to monitor and oppress the people. Regardless of how history actually played out or what the comic originally showed, putting comments (Superman says these) about not allowing fear to be justification for oppression into the mainstream is inextricably linked to Bush criticism. Superman was speaking anti-Bush sentiment, even if it was *meant* for McCarthy or the Cold War.
And sure, comics can speak to older people, but how seriously? You’ve got guys in tights and big-breasted women in scantily-clad uniforms suddenly being “serious” by reiterating basic political ideology, like “America bad.” It’s the same way with Marvel’s registration and DC’s Checkmate program too - the government holding super villains without trial for indefinite times as enemy combatants. It’s just silly. It’s also allegorical - there’s no Alan Moore Watchmen/V For Vendetta complexity or alternate readings to these Bush-fables.
When I watched this movie, I did so in a public place. I asked people to watch with me and tell me what they thought. “This is stupid” one guy said. Several girls were confused and other guys had the same impression. Justice League Animated was great because it was was limited to a select few members. Justice League Unlimited failed, and ultimately ended, because it was just side-show of B-List heroes getting their own episodes. I half expected Constantine or Ambush Bug to show up and flip off the crowd - it was that ridiculous. You’ve got up to twenty random characters, most who never talk, flitting around. These are the times in movies where the person next to you leans over and asks, “Who’s that? Did I miss them earlier?” The end is a synthesis of every DC comic from that time. It speaks in a language that can only be read by the serious DC reader.
I mean, of course it goes to basic opinion, but I feel that if you look at the film through the eyes of a non-reader, or heck, get your friends to watch it, you’ll see their reaction. They’ll ask you questions the whole time. And for “why is it over all ready?” you won’t be able to answer.
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Matt Knicl
My name is Matt Knicl. I'm a U of I alumn and one of those unemployed English majors Garrison Keillor likes to make fun of. I've been reading comics since high school and one day I would like to write them. My goal is to expose readers to what is out there in the world of comics and using my English powers, show what is worth reading or not. I can be reached at buzz.comics@gmail.com.
Vas (Vas) says:
(Posted February 28th, 2008 at 11:41 pm)
I’ve got to disagree with you on the review. First of all, I thought Sisto’s Batman was actually quite good. And not having watched Xena at all, Lucy Lawless definitely worked as WW for me (although I can see why fans would have a problem with it). Sisto had a great, deep, gravelly voice, and I think Boreanz, NPH, and MacLachlan did a GREAT job as their respective characters.
The rhetoric was bald at times, but that what’s the book was set in. And I didn’t draw any parallels to the Bush era, mostly because of the complete lack of anachronisms. The creators (Cooke and the movie’s) went through painstaking detail to set it in the time period it was set in, and it worked.
And to say that comics can’t engage in some sort of commentary, or look beyond the 12-year-old demographic is short sighted to say the least.
If anything, this DVD was a HUGE improvement on Superman: Doomsday.
I also disagree that it’s only a movie for fanboys. There needs to be relatively no understanding of any of the central Justice League characters (besides knowing who they are), and they don’t use any existing villains with complicated backstories. The only knowledge necessary is a basic understanding of what was going on in America during that time period (much more common than a knowledge of the intricacies of the DCU).