'Justice' Is Served

New DC Universe animated film keeps quality high

We've said it before and we'll say it again: While DC Comics (through its studio parent, Warner Bros. Pictures) has had a difficult time launching its collection of superheroes besides Superman and Batman onto the big screen, its direct-to-home-video arm of DC Universe Animated Original Movies has been doing the job very nicely, albeit on a smaller scale. The 13th and latest in the series, "Justice League: Doom," maintains the general high quality of the series while delivering what could be its most epic tale yet.

Bing: More about 'Justice League: Doom'

Loosely based on Mark Waid's "Tower of Babel" story line than ran in DC's "JLA" comic book in 2000, the film follows a plot by the Legion of Doom to take down each individual member of the Justice League by implementing plans developed by Batman himself (Kevin Conroy) to neutralize each member of the League in case any of them go "rogue." With each member of the League immobilized, the Legion -- led by Vandal Savage (Phil Morris) -- is free to launch an operation that will eradicate most of humanity from the world.

More from Across the Universe:
Going For the Gold
'Justice' Is Served
A Tangled Web
Wake-Up Call
Split Decision

With its two grand teams of superheroes and villains, "Justice League: Doom" strives for an epic sweep and often achieves it. The movie takes a lot of liberties with Waid's story (making Savage the lead villain instead of Ra's al Ghul, for instance), but the cross-cutting between each hero's downfall is as cinematic as it gets, and the final battle is immense and satisfying. The clash between Batman and Bane (Carlos Alazraqui) is also surprisingly violent, not to mention a kind of neat little preview of what we'll see this summer in "The Dark Knight Rises."

The movie acts as a reunion of sorts for many veteran voice actors of the DC Universe: In addition to Conroy as Batman, we also get Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern, Tim Daly as Superman and Susan Eisenberg as Wonder Woman, along with Michael Rosenbaum as the Flash, Carl Lumbly as Martian Manhunter and Bumper Robinson as the newest member of the League, Cyborg (Aquaman is, sadly, absent this time). Conroy, Daly and Fillion are comfortable in their roles at this point and their interaction both effortless and entertaining.

There's plenty of action and superhero drama in the film, the latter especially evident in the tense scenes between Batman and the rest of the League when they discover that he's been keeping secret files on them. Much of the story's sophistication is thanks to the script by Dwayne McDuffie, the acclaimed and pioneering comics and animation writer who, sadly, died at the age of 49 in February 2011. "Justice League: Doom" was McDuffie's final work and stands as a bittersweet tribute to his many talents.

A moving 36-minute documentary on McDuffie's life and career is included as one of the bonus features on the Blu-ray, and it's a must-see for anyone interested in both a career in writing and the evolving role of African-Americans in comic books. Also included on the disc are a featurette on Cyborg, a second featurette on Batman's strained relationship with the JLA, two episodes from the "Justice League" animated series (co-written by McDuffie) and a preview of the next DC Universe animated movie, "Superman vs. the Elite."

Not every entry in the DC Universe series of films has been top-notch, but they do have consistent production and storytelling values and continue to grow in overall quality, with titles like "Batman: Under the Red Hood" and "All-Star Superman" leading the way. "Justice League: Doom" can proudly take its place alongside others on the series' top shelf, showing that a DC team-up movie is possible -- even if it's not live-action yet.

For more movie news, follow MSN Movies on Facebook and Twitter.

Write a comment...

0Comments