Animation Review – Justice League: The New Frontier

Distributed by Warner Premiere
75 minutes

Based on Darwyn Cooke’s award-winning graphic novel, Justice League: The New Frontier is a story of DC’s most iconic heroes set amidst the uncertainty and paranoia of the Cold War. The general public has become fearful of superheroes, and the American government is delving into secretive activities to gain control over perceived subversive elements. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and other heroes who once formed up the Justice Society have disbanded, each trying to do good in their own way. Meanwhile, a shape-shifting extraterrestrial visitor, brought here by mistake, attempts to understand and help humanity, while an idealistic, yet disheartened, test pilot by the name of Hal Jordon pursues his goal of seeing the stars. Behind the scenes, an ancient sentience, overwrought with anger at the savagery and destructiveness of a now nuclear-armed human race, plans the unthinkable, aiming to wipe humanity from existence.

Justice League: The New Frontier is a fascinating look at superheroes in the Cold War era. Much like in the acclaimed Cadmus storyline arc in Justice League Unlimited, DC’s finest are no longer the objects of unquestionable adoration and unwavering trust, and must adapt to being looked at with suspicion. Though hinted at during the opening credits, we don’t actually see this shift in public attitude. Instead, these events are inferred via the points of view of the various heroes. Masterful storytelling ensures that you won’t be lost; from Superman’s tireless idealism to Wonder Woman’s clear cynicism, you can see that these heroes know that the populace is headed in a worrisome direction. The uncertainty convincingly affects superheroes as well, and even causes some, like the Flash, to consider retirement. The story is not limited to just superheroes, though. Normal human beings are working to make things better too, from somewhat misguided government agents like Faraday to a certain test pilot whose destiny is already well known by DC fans.

There’s a lot of characters to focus on, including, but not limited to, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Hal Jordon, and Martian Manhunter. The latter two get most of the screen time, their stories being the film’s focus. Forced to kill in self-defense in the closing days of the Vietnam War–the only life he had ever taken–Hal balances a positive attitude with muted melancholy. When given the chance to become more than a mere man, Hal is wary, and attempts to face the threat to the world as a pilot, not a superhero. Martian Manhunter shares a similar past, having accidentally given the man who accidentally brought him to Earth a heart attack. The shape-shifting alien, under the identity of detective John Jones, fights crime, partly as a way to atone. The guilt drives both characters to action when the ancient entity known only as The Center marches forward in its apocalyptic campaign. Speaking of which, The Center’s disdain for humanity is, unfortunately, rather accurate, and it’s easy to see how it can reasonably judge human beings as savage, destructive, and worthy of annihilation.

Sadly, it seems as though the very talented Bruce Timm and his entourage did not learn from Superman: Doomsday. Justice League: The New Frontier has a very short running time of just seventy-five minutes, and the abridged characterization present in the movie’s second half is proof that more time was sorely needed. The first half of the movie is expertly paced, but the last half felt rushed. A less concerning but equally disappointing consequence of the short running time are the quick cameos of characters like Robin, Green Arrow, and Aquaman, all of which left me wanting more. Truly, all of this film’s problems can be traced back to that curious seventy-five minute running time, which is a shame, because, barring that, New Frontier would have damn well been near-perfect.

Regardless of any limits on money or time, though, the production values here are simply astonishing. The animation is crisp and fluid, and the vintage character designs smack of brilliant color and magnificent nostalgia. Yes, kids, Superman’s emblem used to have a black background, and Batman’s costume reeked of blue; get used to it. The musical score isn’t quite as superhero-y as most superhero movies (animated or otherwise), but the orchestral music is nonetheless suitably epic, string-heavy, and very pleasing. The voice acting is perfect; not a single voice is poorly done or out of place. Notable are both Miguel Ferrer’s very convincing, thoughtful Martian Manhunter and the unmistakable Keith David’s deep and powerful voice as The Center.

Justice League: The New Frontier is an exquisite animated film that explores very relevant issues but is marred by a puzzling time limit. Still, it shows the timelessness of these iconic heroes, these characters whose stories and relationships are easily applicable to just about any time period.