Review of Justice League: The New Frontier (2008) by Geoff T — 02 Jul 2012

As far as animated original movies go, 'Justice League The New Frontier' tops my list. It's rare that we see movies, let alone animated movies rise to the challenge of illuminating morals, raising ideas, backing patriotism, and pushing the boundaries of a cartoon like this film does.

~Minor spoilers used~.

Prequels for big named series like Justice League tend to fall short when not done correctly. Many times we see big names attempt to go back into a series in order to make more money, or in order to again beat into our heads the importance of that particular item. Unlike a majority of prequels out there, 'Justice League The New Frontier' does not feel like just another prequel bent on making a few more bucks until they think of something new (in this case Young Justice League).

'TNF' takes a dramatic turn from the traditional feel, flow, representation, sequence, and overall atmosphere of a usual Justice League featurette. 'TNF' looks very different than our traditional view of a comic book show, movie, clip, whatever. While we go back to before there was a Justice League, the film also goes back and looks much older, but not in a way that would compromise the integrity, the feeling, or the look of the movie. Knowing that it is a prequel makes the look of the movie add a whole new dimension to the viewing experience.

We also see a much different approach to presenting this movie compared to others. As if piecing together the Justice League we all know and love, this movie takes on one character at a time developing, perfecting, setting the stage for the Justice League and then moving onto the rest of the plot. It's a much different feel when we look at just Flash, and then just Wonder Woman instead of flying through a whole movie not really emotionally connecting to the characters.

On the note of representation we see our characters actually heavily tied into the world in which they live. By saying this I mean the setting in which the movie takes place is not created to better fit the Justice League; rather the Justice League with all of their uniqueness somehow blends with the real world as it was. For an animated movie to be able to do that is a check plus in my book. And like almost every other Justice League movie out there, the voice actors are beyond amazing, something I know I beat into every single one of my Justice League reviews.

I absolutely recommend anyone, Justice League fan, animated movie fan, comic book fan, super hero fan or not to watch it. The film is border line revolutionary and for a comic book movie really makes you sit back and think about your life in the context of the society you live in... and that's powerful.

5 Newly Formed Stars out of 5!