Justice League: The New Frontier (DVD)
Darwyn Cooke's Silver Age-Inspired Comic Comes to Life
Jun 1, 2009
For fans of the DC universe--especially fans of the DC animated universe (DCAU) --Justice League: The New Frontier is as good as it gets. The film is directed by relatively inexperienced Dave Bullock, but on the plus side, one of its producers is Bruce Timm, the man behind the Emmy Award-winning Batman: The Animated Series from the 1990s. Like previous DCAU features, this film is a direct-to-DVD release--but don't let that fool you. This is the best DCAU film since Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000).
Hal Jordan and J'onn J'onzz Lead the Justice League's Battle Against the Center
The film is based on Darwyn Cooke's limited comic series DC: The New Frontier, which is set in America during the Cold War. Americans have lost faith in their leaders, and are becoming increasingly suspicious of superheroes. Much like in Alan Moore's Watchmen (to which Cooke is partly indebted), the American government has outlawed masked superheroes. Those who once worked together have gone their separate ways. Erstwhile cohorts Superman and Wonder Woman are at odds over Wonder Woman's liberation of a village of women in Indochina. Superman himself is a puppet of the government, and Batman is nowhere to be found.
Then one day a tentacled Leviathan-esque entity called The Center appears off the coast of Florida, destroying all those who fight back, and even spawning more creatures such as dinosaurs and monsters. The threat is so huge that all heroes, as well as the American militia and paramilitary, must unite to destroy it. (And in case you don't get that The Center is a big-time, end-of-days, apocalyptic kind of baddie, references are made to its "Biblical" size, and there are a few allusions to "The Second Coming" by Yeats.)
The battle against The Center culminates in the formation of the Justice League, but the movie does not focus on league stalwarts Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Indeed, Wonder Woman is out of commission before the big battle starts, and Superman's biggest contribution is to give a rah-rah speech about patriotism and cooperation.
In fact, what saves the film from being a typical superhero movie is how it gives more time to the less popular--though still first-string--Justice League members. Hal Jordan is the film's protagonist, and he isn't even aware of the Green Lantern Corps until well into the film. He appears at the onset as a self-doubting and shell-shocked Korean War vet, but by the end of the film has embraced his destiny as a hero. J'onn J'onzz assimilates into American society as hard-boiled detective John Jones, but in the midst of McCarthyite fervour, he yearns to go back home to Mars. And the Flash ponders giving up his role as superhero to protect his loved ones, but is persuaded to return to his calling. All three play pivotal roles in the battle.
A Strong Cast and Historical Significance
The New Frontier boasts a cast of well-known actors, led by David Boreanaz as Hal Jordan, Miguel Ferrer as J'onn J'onzz, Kyle MacLachlan as Superman, Lucy Lawless as Wonder Woman, and Neil Patrick Harris as the Flash. Even though he has little screen time, Batman is one of the more compelling characters. He steals the few scenes he's in, which is due in no small part to actor Jeremy Sisto (who plays another taciturn detective, Cyrus Lupo, on television's Law & Order).
Though the film doesn't adhere strictly to the source material and suffers from a few pacing issues in its second half, its crisp visuals and solid voice acting make it a worthwhile viewing for DC fans. Cooke's art--which combines clean lines, bright colours, and some aspects of Silver Age style--is rendered beautifully on film.
In contrast to its moody beginning, the film ends with a montage set to part of JFK's 1960 presidential address*. The montage includes shots of numerous DC alumni--both good and bad--and symbolic scenes such as industrialist Lex Luthor looking at a row of smokestacks from his Lexco building, the Flash receiving a medal from JFK, a Doomsday Clock with a few minutes left before midnight, and school children learning about heroes. Like the hope and promise of the JFK address, the film shows that there will always be problems, and it's up to people to work together to solve them. Times are arguably more complicated now, but the cautious optimism of Justice League: The New Frontier is as relevant as any contemporary fable.
Note: The film has a PG-13 rating; it contains some bloody/violent war scenes that are not suitable for young children as well as a few lines of suggestive dialogue.
*"We stand at the edge of a New Frontier--the frontier of unfulfilled hopes and dreams. Beyond that frontier are uncharted areas of science and space, unsolved problems of peace and war, unconquered pockets of ignorance and prejudice, unanswered questions of poverty and surplus.” (See entire speech.)
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