Justice League: Doom – Film Review
The latest animated film from DC, ‘Justice League: Doom’ was finally released this week and having had the chance to watch it, I thought to share thoughts and opinions on the newest animation and give a brief review.
Based on the comic arc, ‘TowerofBabel’, Batman’s files on how to defeat every member of the Justice League are stolen from his own personal database that the other JLA members do not even know exist. The mastermind behind the theft is Vandal Savage. A billionaire with an interesting history and a man who we come to learn has a personal agenda, recruits a host of villains including Bane, Star Safire, Metallo and Cheetah and offers to pay them 100 million dollars each to defeat Superman, The Flash, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern. After they accept his more than lucrative offer, he dubs them ‘The League of Doom’.
The first thing to impress me were the opening credits to the film where it is set to the backdrop of the computer in the BatCave detailing the JLA characters and their profiles, as well as the actors/actresses voicing them. What may seem like a minor thing struck a chord with me, and set the tone for what was to come for the remainder of the film.
The voices themselves are spot on with the likes of the legendary Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly and Smallville actors, Michael Rosenbaum and Phil Morris lending their talents to the heroes and villains of the story. Each actor and actress was able to give their respective characters a personality of their own and make them stand out in their own unique way.
Each character is given sufficient time for fans to gain a general knowledge of them, their powers, and personalities without focusing too much on any one person. For example, the relationship between Batman and Bane is done well both in the physical altercation(s) as well as the psychological effects they have on one another. The Broken Back arc is referenced, verifying that it has already occurred, and an act involving Bruce’s parents plays into the story. Further demonstrations can be seen in the way the JLA has their powers exposed and used against them in order to beat them.
Some of the characters weaknesses may be obvious, such as Superman being weakened by Kryptonite, whilst some of the other characters such as The Flash and Wonder Woman have more elaborate and well constructed methods to defeat them. Batman did come up with all these plans after all, so there is no doubt they are effective. I actually learnt that Flash could do something with his powers that I had no idea he could do so the role it played in being used as a way to beat him was done in a very impressive and well thought out way.
Without ruining the end of it, I’m pretty sure I saw what was a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ cameo from someone who looked a lot like Charles Xavier inside a building resembling the Xavier institute… or was that just me? But, typical of a film based with teams, there is the inevitable showdown between good and evil.
Anyone who has read ‘Tower of Babel’ knows what to expect, and already knows the changes that occur as a fallout of recent events, but as usual DC have given us an animated film that does not disappoint in any way and depicts twists and turns in a dramatic fashion.
Personally, my favourite DC produced animated films are still ‘Batman/Superman: Public Enemies’ and ‘Under the Red Hood’, but Justice League: Doom solidly delivers the goods and is ranks highly amongst my animated picks.
