Released: March 2019
Director: Sam Liu
Rated PG-13
Run Time: 77 Minutes
Distributor: Warner Bros. Animation/DC
Genre: Action/Fantasy/Animation
Cast:
Elyes Gabel: Starboy
Diane Guerrero: Jessica Cruz/Green Lantern
Kevin Conroy: Batman
Susan Eisenberg: Wonder Woman
George Newbern: Superman
Daniella Bobadilla: Miss Martian
Kevin Michael Richardson: Mr. Terrific
Peter Jessop: Tharok
Tom Kenny: Bloodsport/Salaak
Matthew Yang King: The Persuader
Sumalee Montano: Emerald Empress
Philip Anthony-Rodriguez: Mano
Here I am again, talking about DC superheroes and their movies. While DC movies have seen their ups and downs, I’m still a huge fan of those movies, ever since I first saw Superman: The Movie. While the live-action films have definitely seen their fair share of bumps over the past decade or so, the animation side of things has been….less rocky, even though some of the animated films aren’t as good as others. Even so, the quality of the animated films tends to be a bit more consistent than their live-action counterparts. The first animated DC film that Warner Bros put out was back in 1995 with Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. While it wasn’t financially successful, as it went up against the live-action rendition of Batman Forever, Phantasm has since garnered a huge following and many people consider it to be the best Batman film ever made. Since then, we’ve seen a lot of animated films based on DC’s superheroes like Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and the Justice League. Yesterday, I watched the latest and one of the best entries in DC’s animated film line-up: Justice League vs. The Fatal Five
Opening in the 31st century, the film sees three members of the notorious Fatal Five gang, Tharok, Mano, and The Persuader travel back in time to the 21st century to find Earth’s Green Lantern so they can free their remaining members, Validus and Emerald Empress. One of the members of the Legion of Superheroes, Starboy, manages to follow them back in time so he can help prevent them putting their master plan into motion. The overall plot of the movie is pretty simplistic at its core. It’s basically another “group-of-super-powered-bad-guys-trying-to-destroy-the-world” routine. It’s one that we’ve seen time and time again. While the main plot is what I consider to be the weakest part of the film, you really can’t do anything less than a potentially apocalyptic story-line when it involves the Justice League. Those two concepts tend to go hand-in-hand. There are aspects about it that are pretty good. First of all, these guys can’t get their comrades without the aid of a Green Lantern, and the only Green Lantern in this film is Jessica Cruz, who is relatively new to the whole superhero gig, as a result, the film actually revolves around her, and that actually makes it far more compelling.
One of the best things about the new DC movies, both live-action and animated is that the superheroes are flawed characters, even Superman. Everybody knows Batman is flawed, because he’s strictly human. Everyone knows about his problems. The writing in this film is surprisingly strong, especially when it comes to characterization. While the film has Justice League in the title, the film actually focuses more on Green Lantern and Starboy. Jessica Cruz is the latest Green Lantern, but the character went through a very traumatic experience in her past, so she’s struggling with that. Throw superpowers into the mix and you’re already adding to a list of stressful things that the character has to contend with. As a result, she struggles with anxiety, admitting to Wonder Woman that most days she fights just to get out of bed. On the other side of the coin, we have Starboy, a 31st century superhero that was diagnosed with acute paranoid schizophrenia so he has to have medication in order to keep his head clear. Having superheroes that actually have to live on a daily basis with these issues makes them far more relatable as people. Ultimately, I think most people will relate more to Cruz than Starboy, because not everybody is schizophrenic, but everybody has dealt with anxiety issues stemming from PTSD or some other trauma. Putting these issues into a superhero movie is a pretty risky thing, as the film-makers could inadvertently have their “issues” be front and center. Thankfully, the folks behind Justice League vs. The Fatal Five acknowledge that these characters have these issues, but focus more on the characters themselves and their struggle to overcome these problems. There is also humor to be found here as well. Miss Martian bugs the hell out of Batman at every chance she gets and it’s kind of funny. Each superhero gets a few of their own one-liners that feel natural. Batman has one that’s my absolute favorite when he’s taking on Mano, the guy that burn things to bits when he touches them: “Bring it on, Skeletor.” It was awesome.
For the characters to work, you need to have a strong cast, and this film definitely has that. Diane Guerrero is the voice of Cruz/Green Lantern, and she’s absolutely fantastic. She brings a real vulnerability to a character that should be confident, but Cruz isn’t. Susan Eisenberg and George Newbern voice Wonder Woman and Superman respectively and they’re pretty good. Kevin Conroy IS Batman as far as I’m concerned. He’s been voicing the character for well over twenty years, so he knows the character inside and out. While the character is straight-faced throughout the whole movie, some of those moments tend to be some of the funniest moments in the entire movie. I can’t say for sure that I care for the villains though. I have nothing against the actors that portray them, as I’m not overly familiar with the Legion of Superheroes comics or TV show, but overall the acting is pretty solid. I also like the way the movie looks. Instead of the New 52 universe, the character designs are based on older and more familiar look that most people would be familiar with. The action is also pretty solid, with stuff blowing up and people doing superhero-y things. Some of the best fights are towards the end of the film when the Justice League goes up against the Fatal Five. While the film is PG-13, it does get a little bloody. The pacing in the film is perfect. While it is action-packed, Fatal Five does slow a bit to give us some more character development.
Make no mistake about it, despite the fact that the film has Justice League in the title, this is definitely a Green Lantern story. More specifically, it’s Jessica Cruz’s story. Having a character that’s dealing with some pretty heavy stuff and having her overcome that adversity makes for a very strong and more humanized character. That’s even a lot more than I can say for somebody like Superman, who for the 70+ years has pretty much been invincible and have to deal with any form of mental illness. I really do like the way they approach mental illness in this film. Cruz’s reaction to her past, and the fact that she’s a superhero adds on to an already overbearing stress load. Everybody experience anxiety at some point. Sometimes it CAN be crippling or at the very least, overwhelming. I know. I’ve dealt with it, which makes me relate to Jessica Cruz’s plight that much more. Starboy’s schizophrenia is also approached fairly seriously and in an honest fashion. When Starboy doesn’t take medication, he has problems remembering things, saying stuff that makes absolutely no sense and seems out of touch with reality. When a superhero suffers from schizophrenia, it makes for a far more unpredictable and intense situation, because you have no idea what he’s going to do. It’s the same thing with a relatively normal person that deals with the same condition, except they’re less likely to destroy the world. Mental illness is not something that can be easily diagnosed or even talked about, because not everybody suffers from the same kind of disease, if at all. It’s a discussion that needs to be brought up, but I really like the way that director Sam Liu and his writers approached it here. Putting it in a superhero film not only brings attention to the issue, but it can also be entertaining while treating the audience and folks who suffer from some form of mental illness with respect.
Justice League vs. The Fatal Five is one of the best animated films in DC’s line-up as far as I’m concerned. It’s not perfect, as no film is, and the overall plot feels pretty same-y when put up against other films of this type. That being said, the film’s focus on certain characters and their internal struggles is a welcome change of pace. I would definitely recommend checking this one out.
My Final Recommendation: 9/10.