Month: March 2019

Over the past few weeks I’ve been on a real DC movie kick.  I’m a huge fan of comic book movies in general, but over the past decade I’ve really tuned into the genre.  I absolutely love what Marvel has done with their Cinematic Universe and how it ties over 20 movies together.  But like many people, I started watching superhero movies with DC’s line-up because they were the first to be successful at it.  From Superman to Aquaman, DC’s live-action films have always had a particular look and feel that separates them from other films.  Over the past few weeks, I’ve been watching a lot of DC’s movies.  I haven’t been watching just the live-action films, but DC’s animated stuff too, but I’ll save the animated films for another day.  For this post, I want to go over some of the best moments in DC’s live action films.  My requirements are fairly simple for this one:  Only one moment from each movie.  There are many moments from each movie that are amazing, but there is really only one that kind of defines that film in my eyes.  Sequels and reboots are also allowed.  So…let’s get this party started.

Superman: The Movie

There is no doubt in many people’s minds that Superman: The Movie is one of, if not, the greatest superhero film of all time.  It’s really hard to argue that point.  This film is damn near perfect in terms of casting, characterization, direction, music, and visual effects.  So, picking one great moment out of many was not necessarily easy, but not as hard as you would think.  This scene in which Superman reveals himself to rescue Lois Lane sets up the rest of the film for what we can expect.  This scene pretty much has it all.  It’s thrilling, scary, funny and a lot of fun.  It’s also done to John Williams’ iconic score.  This scene is worth the entry price alone.

Batman(1989)

Like Richard Donner’s Superman, Tim Burton’s Batman is an iconic piece of film-making.  Not just because Burton jettisoned the overly campy tones of previous incarnations of the character, but also in how he reintroduces Batman to the audience and takes a much darker approach to the material.  A superhero is only as good as his villain, and Batman has a lot of villains.  His most infamous villain is the Joker.  It’s important to not only introduce the main character, but you also have to introduce the villain, or in this case, a rebirth of sorts.  In the film, Jack Napier is a gangster working for Carl Grissom in Gotham City only to be dropped into a vat of chemicals and becomes the maniac that everybody knows and loves.  This scene is the first one in which the Joker appears in all his glory, killing Grissom and taking over the crime syndicate.  It’s wild.

Man of Steel

Re-introducing a character as popular as Superman was never going to be an easy task, but for director Zack Snyder, he succeeded.  Not only did he take a different approach to Kal-El that made the character more flawed, but also more relatable.  He makes mistakes and his actions have consequences, but he still ends up trying to bring hope to the people of Earth.  This sequences where Superman learns how to fly is going to go down as one of the most iconic sequences in DC’s movies.  It’s also the first scene in which Clark steps out in his iconic outfit for the first time.  It all happens while Jor-El is still speaking to his son with Hans Zimmer’s rousing music playing in the background.  While the overall film isn’t perfect, this scene is, because it shows that Superman isn’t perfect but strives to do better.

Wonder Woman

Setting Wonder Woman during World War I was a brilliant idea.  Not only does the film sidestep the errors that Batman V. Superman made, it also gives Gal Gadot’s character her first movie and it’s a hell of a starter.  This particular scene is extraordinary and will become one of the most well-known sequences in comic book movies for decades.  By all accounts, No Man’s Land was a terrifying place to be for soldiers on either side.  After seeing a good deal of suffering, Diana decides to take action and steps onto the field blocking bullets and paving the way for Trevor and his men as well as their battalion.  Not only is this her first appearance in the film with her full outfit, she does it with confidence and it’s a powerful sequence.

Aquaman

While a lot of the moments that I’ve shown so far have featured some pretty big action, sometimes it’s the smaller character moments that make the most impact.  Aquaman, while cheesy and a boatload of fun(pun intended), there are some moments that have some real emotional weight.  This little quiet moment between Arthur and Mera is fantastic.  Obviously, there’s definitely a connection between the characters, as the banter between the two over the course of the film bordered on antagonistic, but this boat sequence brings it down to a more personal level.  It’s a turning point for these characters.  Arthur finally admits that he’s not really good at being anything but a blunt instrument as he puts it, but Mera finally sees who he is and what he is capable of becoming.  You can have all the spectacle and big battle sequences in the world, but they don’t mean a thing if you can’t connect to the characters.  As goofy as Aquaman is at times, there is definitely a focus on the characters….mostly, and it does it well.

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut

If you haven’t seen this little sequence before, that’s okay.  It wasn’t in the theatrical release of Superman II when it was released.  In fact, a lot of what Richard Donner had filmed for Superman II was redone when he was fired by the Salkinds following the original film’s massive success.  Donner had about 70 percent of the film completed when he was fired.  All the footage that he had filmed wouldn’t be seen again until 2006 when Richard Donner was able to release a version of Superman II that was closer to his vision of what it should.  What we see in the 2006 release is almost a completely different movie, especially in how Lois Lane confirms that Clark Kent is Superman.  The theatrical release had Superman accidentally stumble into a fire in a hotel.  It was a pretty stupid sequence, but the original plan was what you see in this scene here.  This was actually footage from a test screening between Margot Kidder and Christopher Reeve.  It’s flawed for sure as consistency between shots is all over the place.  One second, Reeve has longer hair and in the next, it’s a lot shorter, but the effect of the scene remains the same.  This is actually a very clever move on Lois’ part by shooting Clark.  She then tells him that it’s a blank, meaning that she outwitted Superman.  It’s one of the many changes that you will see in the Richard Donner cut of Superman II.

Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice

As much as I enjoyed Batman V. Superman, I’ll be the first to admit that the film has a lot of problems.  While the Extended Cut is a much better film than the theatrical release, it still has a lot of problems.  Leaving Doomsday out of the equation would have been a much better option, as the main conflict was supposed to be between Superman and Batman.  That being said, this final battle with Doomsday is absolutely bonkers.  The biggest moment in the movie and it’s one that a lot of people have been wanting to see for decades is when Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman step into the same sequence together.  It would have been better had this team-up been in a better film, but even so, it’s really awesome to see the Superhero Trinity together for the first time in a live-action film.

Justice League

Like Batman V. Superman, Justice League has a lot of problems.  Some of those problems were a result of Zack Snyder being forced to leave the project, but there was also a lot of studio interference involved.  When Snyder left the project, Joss Whedon was brought on to lighten the film up with more humor and action.  It worked to a certain extent, as the film is a lot more fun than BvS was.  The chemistry between the heroes is fantastic and is easily the best part of the film.  This scene where Cyborg, Batman, The Flash, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman are on a transport heading into battle against Steppenwolf is one of the funniest scenes in the whole film.  Aquaman goes into this whole speech about going out with a bang until he decides that he doesn’t want to die.  Batman then points to Arthur’s leg, as Diana’s lasso is tied around it forcing him to tell the truth.  Moments like these make the movie worth watching.

The Dark Knight

Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy is one of the best movie trilogies ever released.  It’s the second film that really sells the whole thing.  It’s the darkest and most brutal of the three.  It pushes the PG-13 rating to its absolute limits.  While this is the second time that the Joker has appeared on this list, Heath Ledger’s take on the character is far more terrifying than Jack Nicholson’s character could ever hope to be.  You can’t even recognize Heath Ledger here.  He IS the Joker.  Every time he’s on screen, he steals the show.  This interrogation sequence illustrates the Joker’s brilliance and insanity all at the same time.  There’s no rhyme or reason to why he does the things he does.  He’s an anarchist/terrorist.  This scene is absolutely intense.  From what’s been revealed about the scene, Heath Ledger actually had Christian Bale punch him in the face.  THAT is serious dedication to the craft.

Those are just a handful of outstanding moments from DC’s live-action movies.  While Warner Bros. and DC have definitely stumbled a few times with their movies over the years, I think they got more right than they got wrong.  I honestly can’t wait to see what they’ve got coming on down the road.  Shazam! is set to be released in the next week or so, so I’m looking forward to that and the Wonder Woman sequel that’s coming next year.  If there are any moments that you liked from DC’s line-up, feel free to share them in the comments below.

Anybody who knows me will know that I’m a huge fan of comic book movies, be it Marvel or DC-based.  Superhero movies tend to be a lot of fun for me.  There have been a lot of really good comic book movies over the past 40+ years.  From the Marvel side, we got movies like X-Men, Blade, Iron Man, and The Avengers.  They’ve also gotten their fair share of bad movies like Elektra, Fantastic Four(all of them), and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.  Like-wise, DC has seen their share of ups and downs with movies like Superman: The Movie, Tim Burton’s Batman and Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy.  Much like Marvel, DC has stumbled a bit with movies like Superman IV, Green Lantern, and Jonah Hex.  DC’s movies would be rejuvenated with Christopher Nolan’s take on Batman, but work on an expanded universe wouldn’t take place until well after Marvel’s MCU had been established.  The film that would kick off the Extended Universe would be Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, a modern reboot of Superman for a new generation.  While there were some people that felt that the film was a little too dark for the Last Son of Krypton, it still managed to be successful in terms of audience reception and box office numbers.  Personally, I loved the hell out of it.  The casting was fantastic with Henry Cavill taking on the role that made Christopher Reeve a household name, and Michael Shannon as General Zod.  I dug the approach that Zack Snyder took to realize a new version of the Man of Steel.  Yeah, it was darker than most people were expecting and the final battle’s conclusion definitely got people talking, but it was still good enough for DC and Warner Bros. to move forward with a follow-up film.

Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice is WHERE the DCEU(DC Extended Universe) fell on its ass.  WHY it happened is a bit more complicated.  Instead of moving forward with another solo Superman film, which is what they should have done, DC and Warner Bros. decided to bring Batman and Superman together for the first time in a live-action film.  It wasn’t really a bad idea, as it was probably going to happen at some point.  What went wrong was that not enough time was spent writing a proper way to bring these two titans together.  What I feel happened was that DC took The Dark Knight Returns story-line and combined it with The Death of Superman.  You have two of the biggest story lines in DC comics and you try to mash them together in a 2 and a half hour film?  The theatrical release of Batman V. Superman was disastrous.  Warner Bros rushed the film out the doors before it was truly ready and left a lot of threads just flapping in the wind.  That’s why Zack Snyder was given the OK to release an extended version of the film which would fill in a lot of the gaps and plot holes that plagued the original release.  The Ultimate Edition of Batman V. Superman made it a much better movie, even if it didn’t fix all of the problems.  It was still a humorless affair that went to some really dark territory.  It was action-packed and had some pretty serious star power, and it also introduced Wonder Woman to the proceedings which was totally cool.  But there were a lot of missteps.  For one, the casting of Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor was ridiculed by audiences and critics world-wide.  There was also the whole battle with Doomsday in the third act which while cool to look at, was tacked on and didn’t need to be there.  I personally loved Batman V. Superman, the extended version anyway, but even I noticed that this was not the right direction for this series to go just yet.  We needed more time to really introduce the principle players into the Death of Superman story-line.  The fan reception to Batman V. Superman was BRUTAL.  While a Justice League film was a certainty at this point, Warner Bros. commissioned Zack Snyder and his writers to do a re-write of the upcoming Justice League to better suit audience expectations.

During the production of Batman V. Superman, Warner Bros announced a number of stand-alone films in the DCEU that featured Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, Green Lantern, The Batman, and possibly another stand-alone Superman film.  Wonder Woman, starring Gal Gadot, was released in 2017 before Justice League.  The film was very well-received by both audiences and critics and ended up not only being very successful, but also the first live-action film adaptation of Wonder Woman.  While the film had its dark moments, it was much lighter film than Batman V. Superman.  Wonder Woman succeeded because it mostly ignored the events of the previous film and focused more on developing Princess Diana as a character.  In November, Justice League was finally released to audiences.  The reception was fairly positive as the film had a much lighter tone and had more jokes than Batman V. Superman, but there were definitely issues with the overall tone of the film.  Zack Snyder had to leave during the middle of production because of a family tragedy, so Warner Bros. brought in Joss Whedon to finish up and redo a good chunk of the movie, which explains a lot of the humor.  However, the conflicting tones in the film and a lackluster villain did more harm to the film than one might have expected.  The encounter with Steppenwolf was supposed to lead in to a major confrontation with one of DC’s biggest and most powerful villains: Darkseid.  Unfortunately, Justice League failed to perform to Warner’s expectations so any plans to continue this story-line were scrapped.

There was a huge mess going on at DC’s film division and Warner Bros. with certain execs being shuffled around in order to try and get DC’s Extended Universe back on track.  During this point, James Wan’s Aquaman was in development and with Jason Momoa returning in the role that he made famous in Justice League, it looked like things were starting to look up.  Guess what?  Aquaman was a smash hit.  While the film had some serious moments, it was a blast to watch.  Visually, it was spectacular and had some really strong casting with Amber Heard as Mera, Willem Defoe as Vulko, Patrick Wilson as Orm and Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus.  It was Jason Momoa as Arthury Curry, however, that brought it together.  This was HIS movie and people responded very well to it, as did critics.  Aquaman and Wonder Woman were the shots in the arm that DC and Warner Bros. needed, and with Shazam right around the corner, things are looking pretty good for DC and Warner Bros. and I’m genuinely excited for what’s coming.  When they decide to tackle the Justice League again, I think they’re going to be in a much better position to deliver a much stronger film.

So….why did the DCEU fail as it did?  Bad decision-making and bad timing.  Marvel’s MCU was well into Phase 3 with Avengers: Infinity War on the horizon.  DC and Warner Bros. wanted to try and compete with the MCU, forgetting that Marvel had a 10-year head-start.  There was absolutely no way that DC’s Extended Universe was going to be able to compete.  DC would have been wise to focus on their own thing and do the solo movies before doing Justice League.  Marvel had laid out the map for how to get it done right, but DC decided to do it backwards and look what happened.  Now, it looks like the right people are in place and with the stand-alone movies doing very well, it looks like the DCEU is making a comeback, albeit in a very different form.  Will we ever see villains like Darkseid show up on the silver screen?  It’s entirely possible, as is a sequel to Justice League, but right now DC is wisely focusing on stand-alone movies to put them in a much better position to be successful, should they do another ensemble film.

So, where does the DCEU go from here?  Well….let’s take a look at what’s confirmed to be coming and what’s also being planned.  Shazam! is literally right around the corner.  The new Joker film starring Joaquin Phoenix is due to be released this October.  The film is said to focus on who the character was and how he came to be the Clown Prince of Crime.  It sounds pretty interesting and I hope that Mr. Phoenix does the character justice.  Birds of Prey is set to include Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn as well as the characters of Black Canary and Huntress as they take on the infamous Black Mask.  Wonder Woman is getting a sequel releasing next year that takes place in 1984.  I’m looking forward to that as the first movie was fantastic.  These are the ones that are currently in production.  What’s being planned?  Aquaman 2 is a certainty considering how well the first movie was received.  There is a spin-off planned called The Trench which supposedly will deal with the creatures from the Kingdom of the Trench in Aquaman.  A DC horror movie?  Sounds great to me.  We’re getting a new Green Lantern film, which is needed because the Ryan Reynolds-led film was a disaster.  A new Supergirl film is also being planned.  I hope they take their time and get it right, because the 1984 film left much to be desired.  A new Suicide Squad is in the works and is being directed by Guardians of the Galaxy helmer James Gunn, so it should be a lot better than the first movie.  For those wondering if Darkseid will make in appearance, a new film called New Gods is in the planning stages which will focus on Darkseid as the main villain, so it seems that we will be seeing Darkseid at some point.  But that’s a ways off.  Henry Cavill is still attached to play Superman in whatever film they decide to bring him in on, but I have to say, Henry’s not getting any younger, so I would say give him at least Man of Steel 2 before he decides to move on.

It seems that Warner Bros. and DC have learned from their mistakes with Batman V. Superman and Justice League.  The future of DC movies looks pretty bright to me, and if they play their cards right, DC’s movies could really become something special.  I’m actually looking forward more to DC’s line-up than I am Marvel’s at this point.  These are just DC’s live-action films.  Their animated line-up is as strong is it ever was, but that’s going to be a topic for a different day.  So…yeah, DC and Warner Bros. hit some rough patches with Batman V. Superman and Justice League, but they are setting themselves up for a comeback that’s long overdue.

Released: March 2019

Director: Jesse V. Johnson

Rated R

Run Time: 96 Minutes

Distributor: Well Go USA

Genre: Action

Cast:
Tony Jaa: Payu
Celina Jade: Xian
Iko Uwais: Jaka
Scott Adkins: Collins
Michael Jai White: Devereaux
Tiger Chen: Long Fei
Jeeja Yanin: Mook
Michael Bisping: Joey

In the arena of the independent action film, there’s a name you really should start paying attention to, if you haven’t already:  Jesse V. Johnson.  Basically starting out as a stuntman/coordinator, Mr. Johnson has since made a name for himself directing action movies.  While some of the first movies that he’s directed really weren’t that good, he’s made a bit of a comeback in the past decade.  Savage Dog, while not perfect, made me pay attention to the kind of action that he brings to the screen.  After that, he teamed up with Scott Adkins again with Accident Man and The Debt Collector, both of which released in the same year, and both movies were absolutely fantastic.  Most film directors will have a film that defines their career.  George Lucas had Star Wars, Francis Ford Coppola had The Godfather, and Ridley Scott had Alien.  For Jesse V. Johnson, that movie could very well be Triple Threat.

Triple Threat opens as a group of mercenaries attack a small compound in Indonesia to rescue their leader, Collins.  During the attack, Jaka’s wife is killed and the entire camp is blown sky high.  Later, two former members of the mercenary group, Payu and Long Fei, are trying to raise money through illegal fighting so they can regroup and take out Collins’ people.  They team up with Jaka and try to plan their next move.  Meanwhile, a billionaire’s daughter, Xian, is attempting to rid the local city of a ruthless crime syndicate when a hit is put out on here and Collins’ group takes the contract.  There’s something to be said for a story that likes to keep things as simple as possible.  It’s not the most original story, but it keeps things moving really quickly and doesn’t deviate.  I, like many other action fans, have been waiting for this one for a long time.  When it was first announced along with the cast that was going to be involved, my hype level skyrocketed.  Not only was Triple Threat worth the wait, it blew my expectations right out of the water.

Let’s talk about the cast that Mr. Johnson rounded up here.  Anybody who is a dedicated action/martial arts movie fan will recognize the names that Mr. Johnson brought together.  Scott Adkins plays the merc leader with ruthless accuracy.  Scott Adkins is probably the most well-known of indie action stars.  He’s worked with everybody from Jet Li to Jackie Chan.  The guy has some serious screen presence and knows how to be intimidating, which he is in this film.  Michael Jai White plays Collins’ second in command and is clearly having a bit of fun playing a bad guy.  Mr. White is one of the most underrated action stars that America has to offer.  Not only is he an amazing martial artist, he’s a pretty damned good actor to boot.  Jeeja Yanin makes an appearance as Mook, and while she doesn’t have the most screen time, she still makes an impression and I think she’s phenomenal.  I don’t think Tony Jaa really needs an introduction.  If you have the slightest interest in martial arts movies, you’ll already know who he is.  Tony has come a very long way since Ong-Bak.  Not only has he improved in terms of acting ability, he’s also developed quite the sense of humor.  Most people may not know who Tiger Chen is, and for that I would suggest watching Man of Tai Chi.  He’s worked on a lot of movies including training Keanu Reeves for The Matrix movies.  He hasn’t done a lot, but I think he’s got real potential here.  Iko Uwais is another awesome actor.  He’s an expert in silat and he’s made some of the best action movies I’ve ever seen.  He plays Jaka, whose wife was killed in the opening attack in the film, so he sets up a plan to get revenge.  He’s a damn good actor.  Celina Jade plays Xian, but she’s not just another pretty face.  While her character isn’t trained in the martial arts, she’s got more than enough charm and personality to match.  When it comes to ensemble casts, Triple Threat is one of the best.

Do you actually come to a movie like this for the story?  No.  You come to a movie like this for the action, and boy does this movie deliver.  With the talent involved here, there’s no absolutely no way that you wouldn’t take advantage of that.  Jesse Johnson gives each of these folks a chance to shine, whether they are playing a good or bad guy.  The fight choreography is handled by none other than Tim Man, whose previous work includes Accident Man, Ninja: Shadow of a Tear, and Kill ’em All!.  This guy knows how to put together a fight scene and the fights in this film are second to none.  There’s not much in the way of wire-work, at least as far as I can tell, so it’s all grounded in reality.  But Tim really allows each actor to take advantage of their particular style: Tony Jaa’s Muay Thai, Tiger Chen’s kung fu, Iko Uwais’ silat, Scott Adkins’ Taekwondo, and so on and so forth.  There are so many fights that I could pick from that are amazing, but I’m going to pick only two:  One: The fight between Tiger Chen and Iko Uwais.  It’s not entirely one-sided, but man does this one hit really hard.  The other one is Scott Adkins vs. Tony Jaa.  This is the one that a lot of people have been wanting to see for a long time, and it doesn’t disappoint.  Tony and Scott match each other blow for blow and it is one of the more spectacular fights that I’ve seen recently.  I would absolutely love to see these guys take each other on again.  Mr. Johnson’s approach to action is one that I find to be refreshing.  He  doesn’t let the camera get in the way of the action.  He keeps it close enough so we can see the actors, but he keeps it back enough so that the action is easy to see.  This is definitely a violent movie and Mr. Johnson brings a lot of grit and grime to the proceedings, but keeps the tone light enough so that it’s not bleak and dreary.

There are a few minor nitpicks that I have with the film, however.  For one, certain actors like Ron Smoorenburg and Jeeja Yanin don’t get enough screen time, but you can only do so much with a 96 minute run time.  The overall plot and story is pretty basic.  It’s not bad, but it is one that we’ve seen before.  The only other thing that I can really say is that when the film finally ends, you’re left wanting more, and I mean that in a good way.  You get a lot of great stuff here, but you really don’t want it to end.  It’s one of those action movies that you really want more of and that’s a testament to how incredible this film is.  Jesse Johnson has crafted what could possibly be an iconic action film.  It’s well-paced with tons of hard-hitting action and a sense of humor.  When it comes to the whole East-meets-West deal, Triple Threat gets it right and then some.  If you’re a big fan of action movies, Triple Threat is essentially required viewing.  It’s incredible in every single way.  Currently, Triple Threat is available on VOD with a DVD/Blu-Ray release following in May.  Check it out.  It’s definitely worth your time.

My Final Recommendation: See it.  See it now.  See. It. Now. 9.5/10

Released: February 2012

Director: Lauren Montgomery

Rated PG-13

Run Time: 75 Minutes

Distributor: Warner Bros.

Genre: Action/Animated

Cast:
Kevin Conroy: Batman/Bruce Wayne
Tim Daly: Superman/Clark Kent
Susan Eisenberg: Wonder Woman
Nathan Fillion: Green Lantern/Hal Jordan
Carl Lumbly: Martian Manhunter
Michael Rosenbaum: The Flash
Carlos Alazraqui: Bane
Paul Blackthorne: Metallo
Phil Morris: Vandal Savage

While most people would look at comic books and comic book movies as mindless entertainment, nothing could be further from the truth.  A lot of the time, many of these comic stories generally have some form of social commentary that deals with certain situations during a particular year or decade.  Sometimes, a story deals with drugs, aids, being gay, or whatever certain people are going through.  What these stories allow is for audiences to identify with characters and situations that may seem familiar to them.  Other times, people just want to escape into a full on fantasy story to escape the harsh realities of every-day life.  Some of the finest stories in comic books don’t necessarily deal with political issues, but rather social and personal ones.  For example, The Death of Superman takes a look at what a world would look like without hope, which is what Superman brought to the world.  While these stories are fiction, they’re often a reflection of our consciousness and what we hope to be.  This is why people read comics and watch these movies.  This is also why Justice League: Doom is one of the most significant and important DC animated movies to come along.

As the film begins, we see Batman and the Justice League take on the Royal Flush gang during a heist in which the gang is stealing diamonds.  After Batman takes a massive beating, the Justice League eventually prevails.  Afterwards, each hero leaves and Batman, while bruised and beaten heads back to the Batcave to recuperate.  However, a mysterious figure appears and takes some information from Batman’s computer.  Afterwards, each member of the Justice League comes under attack and nearly destroyed.  As it turns out, the information that was stolen was Batman’s contingency plan in the event that one or all of the members of the Justice League would go rogue.  The people behind the attack is a group of super-villains known as the Legion of Doom, led by the immortal Vandal Savage.  While the story in Justice League: Doom definitely goes into the whole “save the world” bit that we’ve seen so many times before, what’s most significant about this story is that Batman had the foresight to come up with a plan should any Justice League member, be it Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, or even Superman himself go off the reservation.  In the real world, especially in that of politics, we have a system of checks and balances and a separation of powers to prevent one person from taking absolute power.  What would happen if a group of remarkable and extremely powerful individuals such as the Justice League decided to go down a much darker path?  How would we be able to counter something like that?  That is the question that the Tower of Babel series of Justice League comics asked.  The story here is remarkable that deals with issues of trust, betrayal and accountability.  It’s also good because we get to see the Justice League at some of their lowest points, before they come back to beat the bad guys.  This is one of the best stories in the DC universe, as far as I’m concerned.

The Justice League has seen a large number of members of the years, but the most important ones here are Wonder Woman, Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Cyborg and Superman.  Each villain in this film was chosen to be the antithesis to the corresponding hero.  Bane to Batman, Star Sapphire to Green Lantern, Cheetah to Wonder Woman and so on and so forth.  Each villain has a very personal connection to the hero that they are targeting.  The only villain here that feels somewhat out-of-place is Vandal Savage, a 50,000-year old immortal from the dawn of mankind.  He’s served as one of the most powerful super-villains that the Justice League has ever encountered, but I don’t think the film-makers really took advantage of the character.  Granted, he was used as a replacement for Ra’s Al Ghul from the original story, but he strikes me more of a back-ground villain.  That being said, he’s very intimidating, mostly due to the fact that he can’t be killed, at least by any normal means.  The voice-acting in this film is fantastic.  You have Kevin Conroy and Tim Daly reprising their roles from their respective 90s shows, and they haven’t lost their edge.  Nathan Fillion plays Green Lantern(and he would continue to do so for a number of films).  Michael Rosenbaum, who was known for his role as Lex Luthor in the Smallville television series plays a hero this time around: The Flash.

If you want action, you’ve come to the right place.  Justice League: Doom is pretty much packed, but it leaves enough room for character and story development.  That’s not an easy thing to accomplish in a film that runs less than 80 minutes.  There’s big explosions everywhere and enough hand to hand combat that fight movie buffs will appreciate.  The art-style and animation is really top-notch.  The music score is fantastic as well.  The film is well-paced and it’s extremely well-written.  Despite the fact that Justice League: Doom goes to some fairly dark areas, it’s not without a sense of humor.  There’s some pretty solid one-liners and quips from everyone.  Overall, the production values on Justice League: Doom are pretty damn good.

The Death of Superman was an important story for Superman, and the Tower of Babel story is no less important.  It brings things down to a more personal level and how it affects those around the central character or characters.  Justice League: Doom is one of the most mature and powerful Justice League stories ever written, and I would love to see it adapted into a live-action film if Warner Bros. would pull their collective heads out of their ass and put some effort into making a really solid live-action DC universe.  As it stands, the DCEU that was created to compete with Marvel’s universe, is pretty much dead.  You don’t need to have all these movies interconnect with each other directly to have a compelling universe.  While DC and Warner Bros. have made a bit of a turn-around with their live-action films with Wonder Woman and Aquaman, their animated movies are leagues above and beyond what their live-action counter-parts can achieve right now.  Do I recommend Justice League: Doom?  Very much so.  It’s entertaining, thought-provoking, and powerful.  Definitely check it out.

My Final Recommendation:  Here’s hoping that Batman doesn’t have any information on MY weaknesses.  9.5/10