|
 War.
What is it good for? Practically nothing. Based on the opening volley of DC
Comics' "New 52" reboot, Justice League: War tosses out the old (and not so old)
and ushers in the brand spanking new with aggressive indifference. Creatively,
this could be an exciting prospect; a bold, publisher-wide effort to cast eighty
years of familiar heroes and villains in a fresh light. Logistically, it's
struck many a longtime fan (including this one) as alienating; dividing an
already splintered DC fanbase into those hungry for radical change and those
tearing out their hair, shaking their fists at the comic book heavens and
cursing the DC Entertainment gods. War presents a very, very different JLA (more
so perhaps than even its New 52 counterpart), with Batman being the only hero
who seems to have escaped DC's scorched earth revamp relatively unscathed.
Superman is now an impulsive, arrogant titan with little concern for property
damage. You're not meant to like him, and you won't like him. At all. Green
Lantern is a quippy, joke-slinging crack-up with a raging ego. You'll laugh, but
visions of Ryan Reynolds' Hal Jordan might start to dance in your head. Wonder
Woman is an exotic, overbearingly enthusiastic and, above all, irritating off-lander
(with a taste for ice cream) who takes her cues from Chris Hemsworth's Thor.
Flash is a restrained, nose-to-the-grindstone crime fighter; a speedster with a
slug's charisma. On and on and on.
Of course, the JLA costumes are all mostly retooled. With the exception of the
Flash and Batman, whose wardrobe remains virtually the same from previous
incarnations, the concept is to have the costumes be more appealing to a modern
audience. Ok. Then why remake their personalities into something so unappealing?
War has some laughs and well choreographed wall to wall, punchety-punch-punch
action. But beneath all the bluster and bombast is a JLA that's difficult to
warm to, an animated original movie that lacks subtlety and depth, and a
launching point for a shared continuity that, at least at the moment, doesn't
seem all that appealing.
When alien creatures begin planting mysterious explosive devices in major cities
around the world, Earth's mightiest defenders come together to stop an invasion
led by a merciless planet terraformer named Darkseid (voiced by Steve Blum). But
first the heroes have to meet one another, not to mention work out their
differences. Green Lantern (Justin Kirk) is first on the scene, and soon
discovers that Gotham's fabled guardian, Batman (Jason O'Mara), isn't an urban
legend. From there, Lantern and Bats track down Superman (Alan Tudyk) in
Metropolis, enlist the help of Central City's Flash (Christopher Gorham), run
into Wonder Woman (Michelle Michelle Monaghan) while preventing Parademons from
destroying Air Force One, and eventually add Cyborg (Shemar Moore) and Shazam
(Sean Astin) to their reluctant ranks. Bickering, slinging barbs and overcoming
clashing egos, the inadvertently assembled JLA race to stop the alien invaders
and save the planet.
War's centerpiece is the Justice League's knock-down, drag-out fight with
Darkseid, a city-wide scuffle that chews up a sizeable chunk of the movie.
Outmatched and severely out-gunned, Batman and his fellow heroes have to put
aside their differences and admit none of them are capable of fending of an
invasion by their lonesome. In fact, it's only when the superheroes shut up and
get to work that War finds its footing. The first act is full of laughs -- if,
that is, you aren't seething over the drastic personality changes many of the
chara cters have undergone (don't get me started on Captain Marvel. OH! Sorry. I
mean Shazam)-- and Heath Corson's screenplay has plenty of spirit, channeling
the small amount of good from Geoff Johns and Jim Lee's 2011 six-issue Justice
League: Origin arc. The back-and-forth between Hal Jordan and Bruce Wayne keeps
things light, every hero is given a crucial role to play, and there are only a
few hints of reckless implausibility. (Watching Batman lunge at an alien tyrant
head-on -- the same alien tyrant who previously swatted Superman out of the sky
like a bug -- is a stretch.) It's all played to heavy-handed, feel-good ends,
sure, but it also serves as a fitting, arguably thrilling origin tale. (Even if
it's a bit difficult to believe Earth's superest superpowered beings are just
now meeting for the first time, seeing as Superman, Flash and Wonder Woman are
known to the public at large.)
Unfortunately, as is too often the case with DCU animated movies, the hit or
miss actioner that rises from War's shallow sea would have benefited from an
extra fifteen or twenty minutes. With a slim 79-minute runtime (closer to 70 or
75 if you toss out the opening and closing credits), there isn't a lot room for
backstory, supporting characters or subplots, and Cyborg is the only hero that
is given all three. Most of the JLA'ers don't earn any. Batman's tragic past is
only mentioned in passing and his relationship with Gotham is anyone's guess.
Lois Lane is MIA while the Daily Planet is a foregone conclusion. Wonder Woman
practically mounts Superman the second she sees him, and it's clear from his
reaction to Diana's advances that Lois isn't on his radar anyway. And Green
Lantern, Flash and Shazam's beginnings are never detailed, much less fleshed
out. All well and good when dealing with the superheroes we've come to know and
love through dozens of movies and animated series. Yet these are new heroes,
with new personalities, new motivations, new statuses and new stories. War
simultaneously asks you to forget everything you know about the JLA and lug
everything you know to the table.
But then every DCU project can't be a two-parter a la Dark Knight Returns. For
pure bang for your animated comic book buck, Justice League: War throws a
haymaker, follows out with a flurry of blows and doesn't stop swinging until
cities are saved, crowds are cheering and once-bitter allies are well on their
way to Super Friendom. And the voice cast is decent; especially O'Mara, who has
the thankless job of replacing fan-favorite Kevin Conroy, to the grumbling of
the masses. Just know this: if you stormed out of Man of Steel after Superman
put a stop to General Zod's reign of terror, be warned. War is guilty of that
and much, much more. Simply put, casual DC Comics readers and DCU animated
viewers will be more satisfied with director Jay Oliva's latest than JLA purists
and longtime comic book junkies. This isn't your mom and dad's Justice League,
kids. For better or worse...I'm leaning towards the worse. |
