Where to watch Justice League: The New Frontier
2 1/2 Stars
We meet ace pilot Hal Jordan on the eve of the end of the Korean war, unbeknownst to the opposing soldiers who are trying to shoot him from the skies. Cut to Indo-China, a small village populated by Amazonian women in control after a violent rebellion led by Wonder Woman. Obviously this doesn’t sit well with Superman and his Puritanical thinking. At this time Batman is a fugitive the whole justice society has been retired and the members spread out across the globe.
A scientist from Gotham city has used the observatory to contact Mars, tele-porting an alien life form to Earth in the process. The villain is a shape shifter that can assume the look of anyone in an instance. It is this foreign creature that judges humanity as having too much hate, ignorance and mindless conformity. In a reactionary measure a shadow branch of the federal government has recruited Hal Jordan to man a flight to the red planet in search of other alien contact that will help us understand this visitor. Meanwhile back in Gotham City cults are forming claiming to be united by a psychic force and calling themselves ‘The Center’.
There are references to McCarthyism and violence towards children that is unacceptable in terms of younger viewers. They will most likely want to see this because it boasts the ultimate line-up of superheroes, but this sophisticated tale is approximate for older audience members. The script strains to include all the characters and at times feels like a Green Lantern origins story above all else. This mediocre outing hangs on the middle rungs of the animated D.C. comics universe. It’s much better than the dreadful Emerald Knights picture, but not nearly as good as the solo Batman features.
Director: Dave Bullock
Stars: David Boreanaz, Miguel Ferrer, Neil Patrick Harris