Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This reimagining of the Justice League sees the eponymous superheroes inserted into a cold-war ready 1950s America and puts much more emphasis on its lesser known members, to the point that the 'big three' are actually pretty sidelined. 'Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)' spends a lot of time setting up its characters to make them feel believable in its world, with some given lengthy origin stories and others shown as being well established already. The issue is that this set-up both runs too long, eating too much run-time without being focused enough to feel properly 'worth it', and essentially leads straight into a disappointing finale - all but missing out the second act. This final movement sees an ominously foreshadowed but ultimately bizarre and unthreatening 'villain' face our protagonists in a battle that should be much more entertaining, and less silly, than it is. 6/10

Synopsis: This animated feature is set in the 50s during the era of cold-war paranoia with a population that doesn't trust superheroes and a government that doesn't trust anyone. There is a malevolent force which has watched humanity grow in strength and violence and it has decided it has to eliminate it. Also included in the plot are shortened versions of Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern's origin stories.This film's setting is really used to great effect and the heroes have a classic Golden Age look about them (though their attitudes remain anachronistically modern, especially Wonder Woman). I'm sure there references to many of the other DC characters that I'm just not very familiar with.Overall the main story was fairly routine. There may have been just too many characters and the story tried to do too much. Aquaman got one line and I don't think Green Arrow even got that. Even though I liked it I think it's going to mainly be one for the comic book fans

There is nothing new about the stunning visual of an small army of brightly garbed superheroes taking to the skies together to fight a common threat. But what this revolutionary animated film does is to put this scene into a context, which correspondingly gives it an added depth it previously lacked.Justice League: The New Frontier is not so much about the origins of a superhero team (a subject already dealt with in the pilot episodes of the JL animated series) as it is about the dawn of a new era of heroism and both the excitement and apprehensions associated with such revolutionary change. It tells the tale of heroes against the historical backdrop of the early Cold War, a period of time when America was eternally suspicious of the world both around and within it; fearing its friends almost as much as it feared its enemies.The story is set in the 1950's. The 'Golden Age' of costumed heroes has ended with the US Government outlawing all 'mystery men'. Superman and Wonder Woman have signed loyalty pacts with the government and work as agents for them while Batman is declared an outlaw. An atmosphere of paranoia and suspicion pervades everywhere and this manifests itself as a fear towards the unknown. This fear is symbolically represented by the death of a scientist, Dr. Erdel, from shock following his initial confrontation with a martian. The martian blends into human society as a detective named John Jones but the ignorance and hopelessness he perceives leads him to wonder whether he truly wants to live among these people. Parallel to his story is that of Hal Jordan, a pilot emotionally scarred from his experiences during the Korean War, who now feels he has the chance to fulfill his boyhood dream of becoming an astronaut, only to become aware of a wider conspiracy. Also notable is the subplot involving Barry Allen AKA The Flash, a new superhero who has emerged only to be greeted by the hostility of the government and the fear of the public.But as the story moves forward circumstances begin to transform all the protagonists as they begin to embrace their morals and their dedication to humanity above petty fears and 'loyalties' and unite to combat the seemingly insurmountable threat of the being known as 'The Centre' who is essentially a personification of the 'enemy within' the American people feared at the time. The heroes however succeed in battling against all odds and emerging victorious to become torch-bearers for a new generation of heroism (which sees the rise of the Justice League). What we have is ultimately not just a story about good guys beating bad guys but a deeper story about freedom and of belief in one's self and one's ideals. The characters may be super powered beings, but they are ultimately all human with human weaknesses and strengths.The animation is top notch, with a nice 50's feel to it. The characters are designed to resemble their comic book counterparts from this period. The visuals are stunning and so are the character voices. A particular mention must be made of the scene featuring Batman's debut of the film, where the Caped Crusader is seen engaging a small army of opponents simultaneously; a brilliant exercise in animation! The New Frontier is ultimately, as the name suggests, a new frontier for DC's animation and one can hopefully look forward to more great projects along this line...

I will start by telling people that this film is NOT for those of you who are not comic fans. I will also say that this film is not for people who are just fans of the DC animated universe (yes people the original GL and the current GL in the comics are not African American). Those who come at this film from outside those worlds will be very disappointed because this is about the original incarnation of the JLA set in the actual time in which the heroes would have formed the team.With that out of the way on with the review.I must say I was greatly excited about this film. I love the original story and how it perfectly showed us the creation of the current heroes we love.The movie did a fantastic job of capturing the art style of the book and showing it in motion. The characters looked just like their original versions from the 50's and 60's comics making it a treat to my years of collection.The voice acting was a mixed bag at times. Some characters were perfectly done and others were hit and miss at times. The greatest example of this is David Boreanaz as Hal Jordan/Green Lantern. At times he had the character down and then a line would slip in that you could tell he just read instead of acted. This was a problem because Hal Jordan/Green Lantern was the focus for most the story. Over looking his flaws the rest of the cast did a good job, especially Jeremy Sisto as Batman and Neil Patrick Harris as Flash.The biggest flaw with the film is that it was to short. While the makers were faithful to the story some what the main reason it deviated and we missed out on some essentials was because of how short the film was. many of the things that would have helped the film bridge the gap between fans of the book and new comers were left out because there just wasn't time. We needed more of the story to help us grasp everything that was happening (unless you read the book) and we never got it.While I liked this movie I suggest that DC and WB get rid of the time limitations and just make a quality movie. If they can do that they will bring in many more fans.