Absolute Justice

Bring on the buffet of super hero's.

This was one of the better episodes of the season, and it had a more sustainable and independent story line than the other Zod-esquire episodes.

I love Dr. Fate - he is the wise of the old, the Martian Manhunter of the elders. Hawkman's character was also well played.

I wish they would have included a few marquee players in this episode (Batman, Wonder woman, Flash). But I do understand the rights and legalities involved - so it was in all likely hood a challenge just to get the ones they did have.

The only complaint I have is using the Iceman-dude as the villain. Stupid. Why use that actor too? Was he Tom Wellings friend? How did the metro sexual guy with the lisp get that part? The fight sequence between Stargirl and Iceman was poorly choreographed as well - so was that particular dialogue.

Oh well - keeping in mind, it is CW and resources are limited. How about NBC? I heard they need a few more quality shows.

Anyway, good episode - and like I said - it stands alone, so you don't need to have background of the season in order to enjoy.

8.5/10.00. - (-2.5) for using that weird actor as the iceguy.

DC comics writer Geoff Johns, who successfully brought the Legion of Superheroes to Smallville in season 8, returns with the two part movie "Absolute Justice". This time Johns is bringing the old school Justice Society to the show, including Hawkman, Dr. Fate and Stargirl.

First I'll cover the goods. Geoff Johns knows comics better than anyone, and it shows, as this story not only matches in tone and structure to the comics, but the plot is fantastic. "Absolute Justice" is epic enough to be a big screen adaptation. This is a massive episode. Not only do we have a handful of new DC characters, but John Jones comes back as well. The production values are possibly the best Smallville has had yet. Everyone went all out on this episode, and it shows. The real star though is Geoff Johns script. Even though this is my least favorite episode Johns has written of the three he's done, behind "Legion" in season 8 and "Booster" in season 10, it is the most engaging story he's conceived. As a fan of DC comics I loved that Johns never hides some of the corniness of these superheroes, but there's a downside to that, as I'll cover next.

Now the negatives. Yes, as a fan of DC comics I love that Johns writes this like a comic book story, but having so many characters, and refusing to dumb down their complexities makes this harder to watch if you're not familiar with the comics. What Johns did differently in "Booster" and "Legion" was play up on some comedy. That made it easier to see these characters in live action, whereas here it's very serious, and much more dramatic. That causes the characters to come across as a little cheesy at times. Although in defence of Johns, the fault with that lies with the rest of the crew. Some of the costumes look super cheesy, and not in a way where it's intentional. Hawkman especially looks ridiculous at times. I don't want to fault the costume designers, as I think they did a phenomenal job, but with a TV show budget on the WB, it's next to impossible to make a character like Hawkman look as good as he should. Even though many fans will hate me for this, I also thought guest star Michael Shanks from Stargate:SG1 gave a weak performance. He has some great dramatic scenes, particularly those opposite Dr. Fate, but most of the time it seems like he's doing a bad impression of Rorschach from Watchmen. I don't want to knock him too much considering when he returned in season 10 I thought he did an amazing job as Hawkman. On the topic of Dr. Fate, again as a comics fan I liked how well his character was adapted, but it is extremely sci-fi in a way that doesn't fit the overall tone of Smallville. Again, that's a complaint that will effect non comic book fans more.

This 2 parter is a great achievement for everyone involved, but as can be expected when you go this far out on a limb, there were bound to be some minor flaws.

For a first long episode I think they did a great job. Of course Glen Winter and Tom Welling directed and Geoff Johns wrote it as two episodes but the transition between them was smooth enough to hide their seam. I hadn't read its summary before watching it so I really didn't know what to expect. In fact I thought it would be about the Justice League but it was more about the Justice Society of America. Before watching Absolute Justice I was an ignorant because I didn't even know what the JSA was. Its story should be a great way to introduce you to the superhero group and comics mythology in general. Doctor Fate specially amazed me with his surreal abilities and well designed outfit. His tailor is even better than Green Arrow's one ! I also found his helmet quite intriguing, even fascinating, because like in the film The Mask starring Jim Carrey it seemed alive and able to bend the tides of time.

But even if it featured some JSA superheros our familiar characters were also involved. In fact I liked the way they were inspired by each other because even if Clark admitted that their team was a "work in progress" their youthful energy was able to motivate the experienced but depressed superheros. They also brought maturity to the scenes and it's something Smallville has been missing for an awful long time now. I really miss the good old days when Clark's wise and loving father used to lecture him. The Martian Manhunter broke the vicious circle for a few episodes but it wasn't enough to appeal the demanding viewer. Each generation had a lot to learn from the other. Stargirl was the link they needed to connect and comprehend their stories. The dialog she had with Chloe at the Watch Tower was really inspiring because it was full of family and friendly advices. So I can't wait for her to transform the place into something more comfortable. What about a kitchen to bake cookies ? Morality was even more important than in episodes like Injustice and Echo. The values the writer shared with us were very stimulating and if your parents are reluctant to let you watch Smallville then you should definitely brief them about what the JSA and future JL superheros believe in. So the contents was interesting but the visuals were also quite impressive and the new sets refreshing and well designed. In fact I think the effects were the best ever produced for a Smallville episode. Some of them were just astonishing ! But my favorite one was probably an inside joke involving a special guest I really missed. I hope it'll come back for more ! What happened to it was fantastic because the scene was both unexpected, funny, violent and sad. A soul for a soul.

To sum things up the people involved in this episode's creation did a great job, the performers included. The cold blooded killer was scary. Some dialogs were smart, others hilarious, specially Green Arrow's ones, and I'm sure the references for comics fans were numerous. There were also plenty of intriguing developments even if I don't really know where the writers are heading. Of course we could still complain about the sloppy beginning and anecdotic flashbacks but these few cons can't hide all the pros I mentioned. I can't even imagine what Doomsday could have been if the same successful recipe had been applied to it !

Camera depth, sound and image harmony, costumes etc... Tom Welling is definitely a very good director. It's interesting why he didn't continue his career in this direction.

I am a fan of smallville but this episode was god awful. The regular actors on smallville are not the best in the business but they are usually alright to watch. In this episode they failed. Both the regular actors and the ones brought in for this episode Over acted every line they had. So bad in fact that it reminded me of an 80s after school special. Hawkman with a horrible Christan Bale Batman impression and a whining little metro dude as icicle were the worst characters ever not to mention the bad one-liners by every character in every scene. Then to add insult to injury the make this crap fest an hour and a half long! what a waste of time.

3 out of 10