User reviews

"The Justice League: The New Frontier" has some exemplary roots. The original comic miniseries is one of my very favorites. It's a great story, sure, but Darwyn Cooke's art is what really sells it. Thankfully, the movie takes a lot of inspiration from that, his post-war Americana especially. and the cast is impressive; seriously, some of the names on that list.

My problem is it's too damn short. New Frontier told a far-reaching story in two separate volumes. This should've done the same instead of jamming it into 75 minutes. I mean, really, if WB could stretch The Dark Knight Returns into two movies, this should've been a no-brainer.

6/10

Synopsis: This animated feature is set in the 50s during the era of cold-war paranoia with a population that doesn't trust superheroes and a government that doesn't trust anyone. There is a malevolent force which has watched humanity grow in strength and violence and it has decided it has to eliminate it. Also included in the plot are shortened versions of Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern's origin stories.

This film's setting is really used to great effect and the heroes have a classic Golden Age look about them (though their attitudes remain anachronistically modern, especially Wonder Woman). I'm sure there references to many of the other DC characters that I'm just not very familiar with.

Overall the main story was fairly routine. There may have been just too many characters and the story tried to do too much. Aquaman got one line and I don't think Green Arrow even got that. Even though I liked it I think it's going to mainly be one for the comic book fans

This reimagining of the Justice League sees the eponymous superheroes inserted into a cold-war ready 1950s America and puts much more emphasis on its lesser known members, to the point that the 'big three' are actually pretty sidelined. 'Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)' spends a lot of time setting up its characters to make them feel believable in its world, with some given lengthy origin stories and others shown as being well established already. The issue is that this set-up both runs too long, eating too much run-time without being focused enough to feel properly 'worth it', and essentially leads straight into a disappointing finale - all but missing out the second act. This final movement sees an ominously foreshadowed but ultimately bizarre and unthreatening 'villain' face our protagonists in a battle that should be much more entertaining, and less silly, than it is. 6/10

This wasn't exactly what I wanted out of a Justice League movie. It was made over 10 years ago, but still, some of the stuffs were pretty flat - even by the standards of the genre over 10 years ago. The movie called "The Dark Knight" which came out a couple of months later did set the bars way too high for the genre in general, so if you watch it today it seems to be way below the line it actually is.

There is little to no dynamics between any of the characters. All of them seem to be in a different movie of their own, forcefully crammed into this single movie. All the characters are introduced, except for Wonder Woman, by showing the most generic things they do. The best part of this movie was Hal Jordan becoming Green Lantern and his origins was, for me, the best part of the movie. Although it was the best part, it did feel incredibly shoehorned into this. The Flash has his own plotline, that was quite good too, but it felt that this storyline was shoehorned into this movie as well. Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman - THE TRINITY - don't have much to do in this, Superman is just shown to be too strong (which we already know), I barely remember what Batman did and Wonder Woman was just doing nothing in the movie. Aquaman literally has a few seconds of appearance in the movie.

It wasn't a Justice League movie but a Green Lantern Origins + a Flash movie with the cameos of the other popular characters. But on the whole, whatever they did, was passable and entertaining enough for a single viewing. My main problem was with the villain. He felt like he belonged to the list of generic MCU villains. He was undercooked and didn't feel like much of a threat. But he was supposed to. There are scenes which show what he can do. But all we know is that he wants some apocalyptic stuff to take place. So, we know what he can do, but not exactly why he is doing what he is doing. He is just a blant and dumb supervillain wanting the world to end, quite comparable to Apocalypse from "X-Men: Apocalypse" (2016). None of the plotlines meshed together to form one coherent storyline for the movie. I like it more than DCEU's live action Justice League movie (not the Snyder Cut), but that's just because it wasn't so ill conceived and rushed.

One more thing, Batman's voice sounds kind of weird. I don't want everyone to be Kevin Conroy but this is one of the oddest Batman voices ever.

Rating : 6.3/10, Grade : B.

The original comic New Frontier was a lavish, loving tribute to both the heroes of DC comics and the spirit of 1950s America, and this movie captured both almost as well. Many of the comments here that are critical of this film apparently are not at all familiar with comics of that era, and don't realize what this story tries to evoke. Some of the incongruities (Batman and Superman's costumes, the white Green Lantern) are NOT errors or sloppiness. These were depictions of the characters as they were nearly a half century ago. Remember, there were visions and versions of these heroes that existed prior to the Cartoon Network, and this is their story.

I love the Justice League cartoon, and this movies stands shoulder to shoulder with the best of that show.

After the short but highly entertaining and surprisingly deep "Superman: Doomsday", we have "Justice League: The New Frontier", advertised as a adaptation of the acclaimed graphic novel of same name. I've never read the graphic novel so i shall not go into the differences between the print and on screen portrayals of this epic tale, though many other reviews claim it is quite a faithful adaptation.

The story is an intriguing but short one. Superheros in the 50s are frowned upon by the people and the government, Cold war paranoia is at an all time high, and into that melting pot comes "The Center": an evil entity bent on destroying human kind. I like how there is a element of mystery that builds to the climax as the movie goes along. The decision to leave the origin of "the center" ambiguous was a good one for which i applaud the producers.

Another excellent decision was to not just mimic the look of cold war era superhero comics, but the feel, dialogue and even music of that era's movies and TV shows. Green Lantern and Martian ManHunter are given the most character development and portrayed really well by the voice actors. For example, You can really feel for Hal Jordan as his pacifist ideals are challenged by the dire situations he is put into. It is easy to connect with the characters and to lose yourself in the wonderful set design, well written dialogue and thought provoking themes. The film seems to be social commentary about discrimination, conflict due to differences and fear of such differences perpetuated by the media and governments of that time. The moral, that if humans were to put aside their differences and work toward a common good, is a timeless one that would even apply to our society today

On the other hand, Justice League: New Frontier is far from perfect. For starters, the producers made a similar mistake that Marvel Animation did with their "Ultimate Avengers" movie: Too little time was spent on too many characters. You never get to feel a sense of threat from "The Center" and aside from Hal Jordan, the other Justice league characters never get enough screen time for the audience to relate to them or to the ideas and mindsets that they embody. So much so that when tragedy strikes later in the film, there isn't as much emotional impact as there could have been. The voice acting, though very well done, lacks variety. All the male characters sound almost alike aside from the Flash.

The time-frame of the movie jumps a lot too. Apparently the movie takes place over the course of a couple of months(I don't think Martian Manhunter was able to land a job as a detective overnight or Hal Jordan was able to train as an Astronaut in a day). However, due to the short length of the movie and a lack of exposition as to the time frame(throwing in "a few months later" between the 1st and 2nd act would have helped a lot"), the plot seems to unfold over the course of only a few days, leaving many apparent plot holes in its wake.

Animation-wise, it seems to be a step down from Superman:Doomsday. Though still keeping the angular and simplistic character design aesthetics of the previous movie and other DC animated series, the animation is stiffer and not as smooth as the previous animated feature. In fact the animation is fairly inconsistent with some scenes looking as bland as some of the poorer quality episodes from animated TV series. The big fight scenes are generally underwhelming with little sense of "epicness". I'm sure the directors were going for a grand scale battle the likes of Independence Day or Star Wars during the climax, but either due to budgetary constraints or lack of director's experience, the climactic conflict was no where near as great as it could have been.

A underdeveloped plot, too many characters, mediocre and inconsistent animation coupled with an overly short movie length(75 minutes for that many characters and plot threads is really cutting it too close) ended up overshadowing the great acting, intriguing story and social and political themes that this show tried to convey. All that potential, marred by poor execution and time constraints.

Superman gets his butt kicked.

That's almost good enough for at least five of the six points I gave this one. It seems like they were just ramping up and then they had to rush the ending. They're trying very hard to tell a compelling story but they smashed like six movies into one.

Props for a small appearance of Green Arrow. Check it out if you're a Lantern, Flash, or Martian Manhunter fan. All else can skip this one and watch Superman 2: The Richard Donner Cut or The Dark Knight. Good for a kids cartoon, though. Splices of John Kennedy giving Barry Allen a medal was a pretty awesome touch, too.

I'm always checking out these animated superhero movies, and most of the time they're very disappointing. For example all of the ultimate avenger movies, superman: doomsday etc.

But this one did not disappoint,they did a great job with it, and it's one of the best animated movies I've seen in a longgggg time.

As a fan of the justice league series, I had big expectations for this movie, and it may not have been as good as the series but it was still very enjoyable to watch.

I advise any superhero fans to watch this. I hope they continue to make more animated movies like this one.

The voice talent cast is incredible. The story is nicely adapted. The pace is excellent. And the animation is OK.

Justice League: The New Frontier is a retold origin story for the Justice League. Plot heavy, and very consistent with its source material, this band of Golden and Silver Age heroes come together almost reluctantly to defend the earth, and to reclaim the American way, in response to an ominous, bizarre threat called "The Center".

The origins of Jonn Jonz and the Green Lantern are very nicely woven into this plot-heavy story. JLA: The New Frontier also incorporates much more character development than the average animated feature -and this is greatly enhanced by the amazing voice talent. Jeremy Sisto's Batman blew me away.

The only real flaw, from my perspective, was the rather stiff, traditional, animation. Nevertheless, this is a good fan film and worth seeing.

My main gripe with this movie is the development. It's alright for a movie to be fast-paced but it's another story when the development seems to fall short. And for a origin story for the Justice League I expected a bit more. 75 minutes just doesn't seem like enough time to compact a origin story such as this into a movie form. Maybe that is where the animated TV show comes in. However still, reviewing this movie on it's own merit, it just isn't all that good or immersive. It seems like a taste test or a teaser for comic book fanboys, but as a movie as a whole it falls short of it's potential. It's a movie that is super fast-paced and yet felt slow...That really isn't a good thing. I also had a problem with the voice overs for some of the heroes. Yeah, that maybe a unfair complaint to some, but Batman's voice just didn't fit.

5.5/10

The second film of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies and based on the Eisner, Harvey, and Shuster Award-winning limited series that bridges the gap between the end of the Golden Age and the beginning of the Silver Age in the DC Universe.

All the characters with their classic suits is an awesome sight to see. Enjoyed the animation and art style.

The second film of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies and based on the Eisner, Harvey, and Shuster Award-winning limited series that bridges the gap between the end of the Golden Age and the beginning of the Silver Age in the DC Universe.

All the characters with their classic suits is an awesome sight to see. Enjoyed the animation and art style.

This movie has an interesting style as it transports us to the 1950s. It feels like the second movie of a trilogy as there are already relationships that have been developed but earth's heroes have not yet begun to work together. At times, it feels like a superhero version of the Independence Day movie. The villain is a bit vague and what we get in the end is a floating island of alien dinosaurs. It didn't serve the film well. But still, the heroes and their stories held my interest. I enjoyed how much the characters seemed to care for each other. Green Lantern is a stand out character.

Justice League: The New Frontier (2008) is a movie in my DVD collection that I recently rewatched on HBOMAX. The storyline follows an initial concern that a secret invasion from Mars has taken place and been kept under wraps by the government. The actions and experiments by the government lead to a new menace that will take super heroes and the armed forces to work together to save the Earth.

This movie is directed by Dave Bullock (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) and contains the voices of David Boreanaz (Valentine), Neil Patrick Harris (Gone Girls), Brooke Shields (The Blue Lagoon), John Heard (Home Alone), Lucy Lawless (Xena), Keith David (requiem for a Dream) and Jeremy Sisto (Wrong Turn).

The animation wasn't outstanding but was entertaining. There are some great sequences like the air dogfight scene, the random splashes of villains and the depiction of the characters and Martian Manhunter was great. The depiction of the era was also good. The injection of American pride was a bit too much but the ending was still good and worthwhile.

This is far from DC's best animated or Justice League film but it is still entertaining and worth a viewing for fans of the DC Universe. I would score this a 7/10 and recommend seeing it once.

This is a fantastic film, retaining the style and flavour of the original tale, and for me bringing back a real sense of the earliest Justice League stories and the original heroes of the DC Silver Age.

Reading some of the other reviewers they seem to want the glitzy shiny polished versions that have been popularised these days, but I've got to be honest - these stocky built characters beat out the ballet dancer heroes of today in my book. And the feel of Jack Kirby through especially the latter part of the film.

The story itself does a great job of integrating the Golden Age Justice Society days and the Silver Age Justice League days. A worthy piece of work, and I hope we see more of these special projects from the Warner animation department (and Bruce Timm!)

I watched this movie, then forgot i watched it, watched it again, remembered some scenes but not the plot. Entertaining scenes featuring JL members, unimportant plot. Basically like one of the mediocre JL episodes.

I've always loved superheroes and superhero movies. Justice League was always interesting to me, and this did seem like a good movie to watch. And it was a good movie on the whole. But a great movie? I am not so sure. There are some undeniably good things, but it also fell short. The film is too short and it also felt rushed. There are many characters, perhaps too many, and the film other than introducing them and giving some motivations and some scenes and lines apiece didn't quite do enough to develop them properly. Jeremy Sisto is not bad as Batman, but has very little to do. However, the animation is absolutely wonderful, the backgrounds and character designs have so much detail while the colours and shadings have a lot of atmosphere. Add to that a haunting score, intelligent writing and a very compelling story with intriguing sub-plots and you have a good movie. The characters I didn't think were developed enough, but they were interesting to spot and have enough intriguing presence. The voice acting is dynamic and well-delivered, Sisto is underused for my liking but the likes of Miguel Ferrer and Neil Patrick Harris are used much better and do well to maintain interest. On the whole, a good movie but not a great one. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Along with a quick moving story line, mature themes and strong character work, this is a movie with heart. It never pauses, and rarely misses a beat as it tells its story. The person who said its a mockery, really should go back and read the comics of the period, this had the best art since Fleischer did Superman, and it all works. Loved seeing Batman in his original costume, and Superman and Wonder Woman as adults. It was absolutely fantastic, wish for more work and good tidings in Future enterprises.

The story focuses mostly upon Hal Jordan as he becomes the Green Lantern. The dark themes of McArthyism and a thing called the Center that is destined to destroy us all is typical of the comic, but had not been seen in any of the cartoon ventures thus far.

Let me say it again. This is the best DC animated project since Mask of the Phantasm!

Next! IDENTITY CRISIS!

When I saw the cast list for The New Frontier I was really quite blown away. From David Boreanaz to the late great Miguel Ferrer to Neil Patrick Harris, Lucy Lawless, Kyle MacLachlan, John Heard & Jeremy Sisto.

Sadly that's where the quality ends. It's animated and scored fine, but it's story is overly convoluted and an utter mess.

Set in the 1950's and including all your Justice League favorites the timeline makes absolutely no sense whatsoever and really put me off.

Certain characters like Batman have barely any presence in the film at all and may as well not even be in it.

I know I'm a harsh critic but this is a contender for the worst DC animation I've seen.

The Good:

Excellent opening

Great cast

The Bad:

Timeline is bizzare

Why do all the characters look the same?

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Seeing Miguel Ferrer and John Heard in the same thing makes me a sad panda. RIP

From the title i was expecting a type of a classic justice league, the first 40 minutes looks promising but the plot and the animation started looks very lame and the ending was disappointing