Category: Reviews

Review: ‘Justice League the Complete Series’

For those who only knew the Justice League of America as the Super Friends must have been in for a rude awakening when they sat to watch the Justice League
animated series with their kids. From 2001 through 2006, the Cartoon Network offered up what has since gone on to be recognized as the greatest comics adaptation of all time.

Super-heroes moving from the printed page to animated film have had a checkered path from Filmation’s 1966 [[[Superman]]] through Ruby-Spears’ 1988 effort with the Man of Steel. In between, there were some highlights such as 1968’s [[[Spider-Man]]] and some really low moments including the 1977 [[[Batman]]] show. The problem is that super-heroes need conflict in which to use their powers and abilities. With every passing year, parents fretted over the amount of violence their children were expose to, coupled with concerns over the kids imitating the exploits in real life and causing themselves harm.

Any super-hero in the 1970s and early 1980s found that they could no longer duke it out with villains and their powers were used instead to stop natural disasters or rescue the proverbial kitten stuck in a tree. Some shows rose above the restrictions and proved entertaining but largely they were weak and short-lived.

That all changed thanks to Tim Burton. His 1989 Batman feature film reminded audiences what was good about comic books and their heroes. It forced everyone to re-examine comic book adaptations and prompted Warner Bros. to try a new Batman animated series. In the hands of producers Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, they rewrote the rule book and produced an amazing series.

That in turn gave us Superman so it was logical to follow with the Justice League. Along with James Tucker, Dan Riba, Dwayne McDuffie and others, the JLA never looked better. Now, all 91 episodes are collected for the first time in a two volume tin boxed set and it’s a joy to behold.

Warner Home Video essentially took the season sets and repackaged them for Justice League: The Complete Series
, so the discs are broken down by season and disc number while the accompanying booklets count the discs from 1-14, so you have to carefully count discs to find a favorite episode. One nice aspect is that all the original extras are therefore included so there’s a rich amount of material to sift through. Unique to this set, on sale Tuesday, is a 15th disc containing “Unlimited Reserve: Exploring the Depths of the DC Universe”, a 16 minute chat with the producers discussing the joys of adapting the comics for a new generation of fans.

The nicest thing about the show, as either [[[Justice League]]] or [[[Justice League Unlimited]]], is the fidelity it paid to the source material. Yes, they altered a great many things, but nothing felt gratuitously done. The heroes and villains looked and acted appropriately plus the comic book conventions of sub-plots and continuity carried over nicely. There was a strong emphasis on characterization, for all the players. As a result, many JLAers had nice arcs, notably [[[Wonder Woman]]] who went from rookie hero to a true Amazon Princess. Hawkgirl’s seeming betrayal and subsequent redemption played well, too.

There far more hits than misses and no doubt everyone has a favorite story or arc. The eight-episode arc of the League versus Cadmus holds up very well and shows many sides to the issue of, ahem, “[[[Who Watches the Watchmen?]]]”  During this, the Question quickly becomes a major player and wonderfully used. Similarly, the League’s rejection of the Huntress or Captain Marvel’s resignation show that not everyone is cut out to be a hero or a team player. All the characters have distinct personalities, which was most welcome.

The show is crammed full of super-heroes drawn from throughout the entire DC Universe from Spy Smasher to Aztek. Just about everyone is superbly voiced from the familiar Kevin Conroy as Batman to Jeffrey Coombs as The Question. Guest voices are also welcome, with some sly winks from the producers such as Jodi Benson’s Aquagirl or The Wonder Years’ Fred Savage and Jason Hervey as Hawk and Dove.

This is most definitely worth owning or finding under your Christmas tree this season.

Review: ‘Two Girls and a Guy’ on Blu-ray

2guysandgirl-bd-spine-3810881When an actor or director suddenly breaks out and gets hot, studios scour their vaults to see if there’s a way they can capitalize on this heat. Last year, Robert Downey, Jr. went from a troubled, gifted actor to a Super Star thanks to his performance in [[[Iron Man]]]. This week, 20th Century-Fox hopes to catch a break with the Blu-ray release of Downey’s 1998 film Two Girls and a Guy.

Written and direct by James Toback, the film is virtually a real time three-person stage play on a film. In his self-congratulatory 20 minute conversation on the Extras, Toback talks about how he came to write the film, by beginning to imagine a setting. In this case, that’s the spacious loft apartment which became the set his performances would use. After that, he populated the apartment with his players.

We open with Natasha Gregson Wagner’s Lou and Heather Graham’s Carla standing outside the apartment building waiting for their boyfriend to return from trip Very quickly, they determine that the boyfriend in question is the same man, Blake. Once Lou breaks a window to access the apartment, they bond while laying in wait.

Blake arrives and immediately calls his mother, then Carla, then Lou, placing them in the exact order of his affections although that doesn’t become obvious until later as his lies comes to haunt him. The audience gets to see him in has natural state before the women reveal their presence one at a time, catching him in his 10 month-long web of lies.

Carla and Lou are very attractive women in vastly different ways, with Carla soft, brainy, and traditional while Lou is edgier, street smart, and sharp tongued. What’s interesting to Toback was exploring how the same words could seduce such different women. In fact, he finds great humor in this, despite none of that mirth making it onto the screen.

The 1:25 length of the film should allow all three to shine and strut their stuff, but despite the histrionics, the film feels cold and uninvolving. At no point does Toback allow Downey’s Blake to show us any redeeming qualities to demonstrate why they fall for him. As a struggling actor, Blake should not be able to afford such nice digs or afford two women but that’s never addressed.

Instead, the characters reveal their true selves while dunning Blake for obfuscating the truth while he continually denied doing anything wrong. The truth is the overall theme of the film as is the importance of honesty. All too often, though the film’s momentum is interrupted with Blake’s obsessing over his mother, which shows where his heart truly lies.
 
Toback not too subtly shows his hand by decorating the apartment with a framed one-sheet for the classic French film [[[Jules et Jim]]]. Late in the story, Lou brings up a threesome relationship which excites Blake but seems to disinterest Carla. In fact, by this point, both women are drunk and begin to reveal their true feelings culminating with Carla taking Blake to his room for sex while Lou sits outside the door, listening.

The sex scene earned the film an NC-17 rating and Toback’s appeals were rejected so he made edits. Interestingly, both versions are on the Blu-ray disc and they are both steamy and erotically charged without any nudity.

The original DVD commentary is provided and between that and the Toback interview, we learn how much was improvised despite the writer claiming the script wrote itself in a mere four days. As a result, one longs to see deleted or alternate scenes to see how the cast found their characters but alas, none are provided.

As the credits roll, one hoped for a more satisfying ending. I was unmoved by this potentially fascinating set-up despite some solid performances.

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Review: ‘Say Anything…’ on Blu-ray

sayanything-bd-spine-7054665You never know when something will come along and click with the pop culture zeitgeist. A line, a performance, even a single image, can leap off the page or screen and become emblematic for an era. The sight of John Cusack, holding a boom box over his head, trying to woo back Iona Skye, has become one of those moments now indelibly used to visualize the 1980s.

Here we are, 20 years later, and the moment has been repeated endlessly in real life and parodied throughout movies and television. Now, we can relive that moment in the 20th anniversary edition of Say Anything
…, released this week by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Written and directed by the wonderfully gifted Cameron Crowe, the movie avoided all the clichés inherent in the romance and teen comedy films of the decade. Instead, he found fresh characters in Lloyd Dobler and Diane Court and avoided expectations by enriching every character with complexity.

Diane was the driven class brain, “in the body of a game show hostess”, who was so focused on class work that she missed out on connecting with her peers. Her awkwardness at addressing the student body at graduation punctuates that point. Interestingly, it is only after the ceremony and her forced dealings with them have come to an end that she actually gets to know them.

When love struck Lloyd calls her a fate, he wears down her reluctance until she acquiesces.  After hanging up the phone, she looks up his picture in the yearbook; uncertain of whom she has committed herself. As it turns out, she finds herself enjoying the party antics while Lloyd watches her in action, relegated to being the key master, holding everyone else’s car keys so they can freely get drunk.

Lloyd is uncertain of his future, a kickboxer without a real plan, but he’s a decent guy as seen in his dealings with his young nephew or the residents of the old folks’ home owned by Diane’s father, played with gusto by John Mahoney.  Meantime, Mr. Court disapproves of Lloyd, seeing him as being beneath Diane but puts her happiness ahead of his own misgivings.

Diane’s relationship with her father provides an emotional spine to the film that helps separate it from similar tales. They clearly love and trust one another, and while Diane can tell her father anything, he chooses not to reciprocate. As a result, when he comes under investigation by the IRS, his lack of moral judgment crushes her, leaving her no one but Lloyd to turn to.

The tale is of a young couple falling in love for the first time, complete with the ups and downs that happen. Crowe, who captures voices and emotions so well in his works, treats his characters with respect and is rewarded by strong performances.

After 20 years, it largely holds up and maintains its strong grasp on the viewer. The video transfer looks and sounds good.  The new edition comes complete with Crowe and his cast reminiscing in a 21 minute featurette, An Iconic Film Revisited: Say Anything…20 Years Later. The director continues to chat about the making of the film in his own 9 minute A Conversation with Cameron Crowe.  Also exclusive to the Blu-ray edition is To Know Say Anything…is to Love It! Trivia Track containing over 200 fun questions. Carried over from previous editions are the alternate scenes, deleted scenes, and extended scenes, trailers, original featurette, and a gallery.

The story of Lloyd meets girl is well worth revisiting.

Review: ‘Malice’

Malice

By Chris Wooding, illustrated by Dan Chernett
Scholastic Press, $14.99, 380 pages

What if you could transport yourself to another world by following an incantation found in a comic book? Well, you might find the world a frightening and terrible place, just as children find in the new novel [[[Malice]]].

Chris Wooding, an accomplished young adult author, begins a new series this month with Malice, which mixes prose with comic book pages interspersed. Basically, children around the world have been reading this comic book, Malice, a cult title with each issue a seemingly disjointed series of eerie vignettes. What no one realizes is that if the children following the directions, they vanish and are transported to this other land. In the real world, they go missing and the few that return, have no recollection of where they have been but have been deeply affected by the experience. 

Wooding’s novel focuses on the residents of the small town of Hathern, just as the young teen Luke vanishes. His friends, Seth and Kady, piece together he disappeared after reading the comic book and go on the hunt. Along the way, they find out who has been producing issues but necessarily why they are stealing children.

Only after Seth goes in search of Luke by entering the realm, does he begin to understand the malevolent forces at work, represented by Tall Jake, who has usurped control of this dark world. The world of Malice is a creepy place, patrolled by mechanical and non-human packs of beings, seeking the children who have wound up there. The children, meantime, fight for daily survival and swap stories –notably the rumors regarding the underground resistance force.

While Seth forges new alliances away from Earth, Kady begins to understand what’s happening but has too many questions, including trying to understand what the Queen of Cats wants with her. There’s a great revelation that takes the story in a different direction, keeping the pacing sharp.

Wooding, to his credit, creates credible, likeable characters and his vivid writing demonstrates the stark differences between England and Malice. His evocative writing creates a nice atmosphere and keeps you turning the pages, although as you near the end, it becomes clear this is just the opening chapter. A sequel, [[[Havoc]]], is announced on the final pages.

If only his words were matched by Dan Chernett’s illustrations. The book would have benefitted greatly by using an accomplished comic artist as opposed to a professional illustrator unaccustomed to working in the medium. As a result, his pages are poorly constructed, the storytelling is weak and the use of shadow and scratchy lines robs the comic sections of their power. Had the masters of macabre from Bernie Wrightson to Ben Templesmith been brought in, this would have complemented the prose quite nicely. A real missed opportunity.

The book is recommended for readers 12 and up and that sounds about right given the characters, pacing and description contained within.

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Review: ‘Plastic Man the Complete Collection’

plastic-man-complete-collection-5677861There are many reasons why Plastic Man has endured as a comic character starting with the imaginativeness of Jack Cole’s stories. He was the first elastic hero. The first hero who started life as a criminal only to reform when he inherited his powers. He was also one of the few truly amusing animated series from the 1970s.

[[[The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show ]]]snuck in at the end of the decade, lasting two seasons from 1979-1981, and was a fun offering from Ruby-Spears. The 35 solo Plastic Man adventures have been collected by Warner Home Video in a four disc set, now available.

While Plastic Man: The Complete Collection
is the title, it’s not entirely accurate since the Comedy/Adventure Show featured segments dedicated to Baby Plas, Plastic Family, Might Many & Yukk, Fangface and Fangpuss, and Rickety Rocket and none are collected here.

The series, which benefitted from the writing talents of comics veterans Mark Evanier, Steve Gerber, Roy Thomas, and Norman Maurer among others, was playful in a way most other Saturday morning fare was not. The show arrived at a time when networks were overly concerned with cartoon violence and how viewers may try and imitate the antics seen on screen. As a result, their other recent offerings of Saturday morning cartoons from the 1960s and 1970s contained a ridiculous warning that they were not suitable for children. Tellingly, this collection does not include that warning.

While the animation team wanted to emulate Cole’s manic style, ABC insisted on a fresh approach which unfortunately left Plas saddled with the fawning girlfriend Penny (who subsequently married him and mothered Baby Plas) and Hula-Hula, the comedic sidekick in the Woozy Winks role. The rotund Hawaiian was given Lou Costello’s character and vocal characteristics which softened his buffoonery.  They globe-trotted from case to case aboard their jet, directed by their Chief, an attractive older woman who barely tolerated her ductile detective.

Each exploit pitted the trio against dastardly villains, most of whom desired wealth and power although a few had motivations that smacked of social relevance such as the Weed in the very first episode. The foes are nicely varied and interestingly, Toyman arrives for repeat appearances which is odd considering they never fought in the comics. In fact, only two foes from Plas’ comic books are used: Dr. Dome, introduced in the short-lived 1960s series, and Carrot Man, who debuted during his more creatively satisfying series from the mid-1970s.

Like Cole’s original stories, Plas reshapes himself into a variety of objects to go undercover and viewers see him since he retains his red and yellow costumed appearance. He never takes things too seriously and has some good quips to keep things light.

The episodes are supplemented with two special features. The first is a 14 minute mini-documentary on the character’s history and appeal. In addition to the usual talking heads of Jerry Beck and Mark Evanier, ComicMix’s own Alan Kistler contributes many cogent thoughts. The other extra is the unaired 10 minute pilot produced for the Cartoon Network in 1996 by a new generation of animators, including DC veteran Stephen DeStefano. It’s a very different look but equally amusing tale and one wonders why it was not picked up.

If this is the Plastic Man you grew up watching, then this is the DVD set you’ve been waiting for. If you’re unfamiliar with the character, I strongly recommend the DC Archives volumes reprinting the Cole stories which remain inventive and fun.

Review: ‘Stitches’ by David Small — a comics memoir of an amazingly bad childhood

Stitches: A Memoir
David Small
W.W. Norton, September 2009,
$24.95

You can’t write a memoir these days unless you had a bad
childhood – call it the Law of Oprah. You have to have some horrible secrets,
either your own or those of your parents/keepers/guardians, that you can
reveal, tearfully, to an enthralled TV audience when called upon. You may not
make it to that TV-show couch, since the competition for a bad-enough childhood
is fierce, but that’s the aim. Memoirs of anything positive are utterly passé –
even a book like Eat Pray Love needs to
start with heartbreak before it can get to happiness.

Then there’s the unrelated but equally unsettling
requirement that only non-fictional graphic novels can be taken really seriously by the outside world. From [[[Maus to Persepolis]]], from [[[Fun Home to Palestine]]], it’s only respectable if it’s real. As far as our mothers and cousins and next-door neighbors know, “graphic novels” means expensive comic-book stories about either superheroes or the author’s tormented relationship with his family.

[[[Stitches]]] is perfectly positioned at the intersection of those two publishing trends: it’s the true story of author David Small’s appalling childhood, told as comics pages with cinematic “camera motions” that will appeal to readers not used to reading comics. Even the art style Small uses in Stitches adds to the seriousness; Small has a sketchy, loose line of variable width here, strong to define the figures and lighter and looser for backgrounds, and washes in various tones of grey. In fact, the whole
book is grey – even the black line looks like just another shade of the murk.

(more…)

Review: ‘Amulet Book Two: The Stonekeeper’s Castle’

Amulet Book Two: The Stonekeeper’s Castle

By Kazu Kibuishi
Scholastic/Graphix, 220 pages, $21.99 (hardcover) $9.99 (paperback)

Kazu Kibuishi is a talented animator and comic artist who has produced several graphic novel series, including [[[Flight, Daisy Kutter: The Last Train]]], and now [[[Amulet]]]. The first volume came out over a year ago and now Scholastic has released the second book in the run. This book could have benefitted from a previously page for new readers.

The story is familiar as Emily Hayes discovers a necklace and amulet with magical powers. In the first volume, she and her younger brother Navin have adjusted to living in their great-grandfather’s home with their recently widowed mother. The amulet speaks to her, warning of impending danger which immediately results in a ghastly creature swallowing their mother. The chase is on to rescue her and book one achieves that goal, but she is gravely ill.

Book two opens as evil forces conspire to hunt down the children and obtain the amulet, while they, in turn, seek a rare fruit to concoct a potion to save her life. Their journey brings them into close contact with many humans who have been slowly evolving into animal/human hybrids, part of a curse that threatens all humanity. As a result, no one blinks an eye when Leon Redbeard, a fox-like bounty hunter arrives in the nick of time. He proves to be not only plucky, but wise as he recognizes that Emily is The One who will save the planet from the creeping darkness.

The story moves quite well as we go from lush landscapes to foggy forests in search of enlightenment and safety. With a Japanese-tinged style and terrific use of color, Kibuishi invites us into a world that mixes magic with technology, where robots and talking mystic trees operate side-by-side. The story moves quickly and you find yourself turning the pages with increasing speed.

The problem, though, is that Kibuishi’s story is nowhere near as inventive as his artwork. He admits that he studied [[[The Empire Strikes Back]]] repeatedly while working on this second volume in a projected ten-volume series.  It certainly replicates the feel of a second chapter, complete with advancing the story, adding some new characters, and exploring the backstory. The characters and pacing feel familiar and just when things look their darkest, the expected rescue comes in a comforting manner but it also lack tension and surprise. Even the struggle between Emily and the seductive nature of the amulet resonates of Frodo and the One Ring.

Emily, Navin, Leon and even the evil Luger and Prince Trellis all show us nothing new and play their roles like stock players.

While Amulet is engaging and a fun read, it doesn’t surprise us at all or present any new looks at the relations between siblings, friends or even families. No doubt, even the 9-12 year olds this is aimed at will not necessarily feel compelled to read the next chapter.

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Review: ‘Knights of the Lunch Table – The Dragon Players’

knights2-cover-2631535Knights of the Lunch Table: The Dragon Players

By Frank Cammuso
Scholastic/Graphix, 128 pages, $9.99

The pee wee population of Camelot Middle School is back in the second volume of the [[[Knights of the Lunch Table]]] from Frank Cammuso. The series, launched by Scholastic’s Graphix imprint last year, takes the broad strokes of the Arthurian legend and reimagines everything from a junior point of view. Our protagonist is Artie King and his two best friends are Percy and Wayne, all trying to survive the hostile environment that can be early adolescence.

While unrelated to Jolly R. Blackburn’s [[[Knights of the Dinner Table]]], Cammuso’s junior adventures are no less enjoyable. [[[The Dragon Players]]], now on sale, finds science teacher Mr. Merlyn easing Artie towards entering the robot dragon competition. While reluctant to participate, he agrees since Wayne owes Principal Dagger $300 for a new windshield and the competition’s prize just happens to be that exact amount.

With that as a launching point, we see a cleverly constructed plot that involves the students and the faculty. Along the way, the pitfalls of school life are clear with the boys being bullied by the enormous Joe and Artie struggles to survive in the house with his older sister Morgan.  The characters act their ages with their emotions ranging all over the place and in need of some wise counsel. Artie can get some tips from his magic locker, but it falls to Merlyn to gently point him in the direction of doing what is right, not what is easy.

Cammuso’s art and color make the main characters appear a little younger than they should be but he fills the pages with nice details and keeps things moving at a nice clip. The climax, at the competition, is a little rushed, but everything is neatly tidied up by the final page.

Scholastic recommends this for ages 7-10 and that sounds about right. The readers should find the characters fun and relatable while Cammuso’s story imparts some good lessons. These annual offerings are most welcome.

Review: ‘The Good Neighbors – Book Two: Kith’

]]]The Good Neighbors, Book Two: Kith]]]
By Holly Black and Ted Naifeh
Scholastic/Graphix, October 2009, $16.99

Trilogies can be tricky things to pull off successfully. Quite often, a single event is a surprise success and suddenly gets expanded into a trilogy. Why? Because it feels like an expanded version of the three-act structure that has a stranglehold on popular storytelling these days. Some trilogies should have remained a single event ([[[The Matrix]]]) while others have proven more successful (the original [[[Star Wars]]] trilogy).

Holly Black knows how to structure a trilogy. With artist Ted Naifeh, she returns to her original graphic novel series, [[[The Good Neighbors]]], and shows how to properly structure a three-part tale. In the course of 115 pages, we rejoin our characters but learn much more about their interrelationships and the world of magic that now threatens the modern world. The story continues, grows, and leaves you anxiously awaiting the final chapter.

Rue Silver learned in the first book that she was not really an ordinary teen but the product of a truly mixed marriage between her human father and her faerie mother. In book one, which we adored, we discovered that her mother was not really dead, but had returned to the faerie realm at the behest of Rue’s grandfather. Grandpa wants the town for himself and has been setting things in motion so after a key ceremony; the university town would be walled off from mortals and become a home to the faerie folk.

The stakes have grown in this book and a major sequence comes when Rue agrees to spend the night with her mother and grandfather in their realm. She learns of her heritage and discovers how similar and dissimilar the faerie are from humans. Her mother is far from warm, but wants Rue to stay with her, abandoning Thaddeus. Dad, meanwhile, learns his wife is not dead and breaks the news to the woman he had begun a romance with; a woman who has long loved Thaddeus and was Rue’s one true adult friend.

Rue’s circle of friends has come to accept the wild magic and existence of faeries, coming to Rue’s support. Throughout this chapter, though, new strains are placed on the bonds of friendship and some may not be emotionally strong enough to help when they’re needed the most.

Black’s writing is solid with the story being exceptionally well-paced. The characters have distinctive voices and personalities, which helps a lot. Naifeh’s art mixes fantasy and Goth in nice gray tones, helping differentiate the two worlds. On occasion some of the characters are hard to distinguish from one another but overall, his art goes a long way to enhance the story and keep readers turning the pages.

This all wraps up in the final volume, due next year, and one can hope it ends as strongly as it has started.

Review: ‘Superman/Batman: Public Enemies’

For the last 25-30 years, writers and artists have been having a wonderful time contrasting the differences between Superman and Batman. Prior to that, they were both happy-go-lucky super-heroes, brothers-in-arms with nary a problem twixt them. The team of Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness really explored the dichotomy between the icons in[[[ Superman/Batman]]], the modern day version of [[[World’s Finest Comics]]]. Their opening story arc, “Public Enemies”, was a major turning point in the DCU, bringing down the curtain on one set of stories and kick starting threads that played out across the line for several years.

Any storyline that involved, could not possibly be well-adapted to an animated feature considering the lack of context most viewers would need to have. As a result, [[[Superman/Batman: Public Enemies]]] the direct-to-DVD release from Warner Premier, now on sale, had to make some modifications. Unfortunately, they were not all for the better.

On the plus side, there are some nice bits between [[[Superman]]] and Power Girl who is the only other character in the story to possess a personality. The story moves at a nice clip and showcases both heroes fairly well, It’s a true pleasure to have Tim Daly and Kevin Conroy voicing the major heroes with Clancy Brown back as the icy Lex Luthor. The animators also do a fine job taking McGuiness’ pumped up style and bringing it alive.

A major plus is that this continues a line of animated features based on today’s DC Comics, demonstrating that good characterization, good storytelling and mature themes can be presented in an entertaining manner for fans of all ages. Yes it’s violent and yes the attempts to destroy, kill and maim the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel aren’t positive themes, but good continues to triumph over evil, working up a sweat to do so.

WIth Luthor as president, it changes the playing field in the struggle between Lex and Superman. Suddenly, as Commander in Chief, he possesses even greater resources to call upon and even uses the Oval Office to sway public opinion. A kryptonite meteor coming to Earth? Must be affecting Superman so he can no longer be trusted. The changed dynamic means battling Luthor has to change, too, and that’s where the comic story works better than the film, which keeps things on the all-out-action level.

Loeb erred in many of the selections he made among the heroes and villains cobbled together to oppose the World’s Finest duo. For example, everyone knows Major Force is a murdering sociopath and the team should have rejected working alongside him. Starfire, an alien princess, and Katana are not American citizens and shouldn’t have answered President Luthor’s call. Similarly, when Captain Marvel shows up to duke it out, Superman brings up the wisdom of Solomon which should have counseled the good Captain to avoid this political mess. The animators also picked an overly broad collection of villains to arrive, controlled by Gorilla Grodd. They all got stopped way too easily, diminishing the threat any one of them possessed.

The movie feels big because of the cast and I wish there were more strong voices such as CCH Pounder’s Amanda Waller. It was probably a mistake for Alison Mack to be Power Girl because I kept thinking Chloe Sullivan.

The biggest oops was not having the Superman and Batman Families come to the heroes’ aid, demonstrating their contrasting styles. I’d have much preferred keeping it, ahem, all in the family, in lieu of the mindless slugfests at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Finally, there’s the notion that this genius Japanese kid was the only one on Earth able to construct a rocket able to stop the mammoth kryptonite meteor. Let’s see, there are various magicians, three [[[Green Lanterns]]], and so on. And in the film’s case, once the meteor is blown up, there’s nary a mention of what became of the now tiny chunks of kryptonite that were now hurtling towards Earth and other planets in the solar system. At least a line of dialogue should have covered that. At 67 minutes, there was definitely room to smooth over the story points.

Overall, though, this is a strong offering and fun to watch.

The extras on the Standard edition and the DVD include the usual assortment of trailers for other DCU videos, including the next one, [[[Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths]]], coming in 2010. The Blackest Night featurette also appears. “A Test of Minds: Superman and Batman” dos a nice job exploring the comic book relationship between the heroes while “Dinner with DC: With Special Guest Kevin Conroy” features the voice actor Voice Director Andrea Romano, Executive Producer Bruce Timm and DC’s overseer Gregory Noveck chatting the animation crew about adapting the film. Two Batman-featured episodes from Timm’s Superman: The Animated Series round out the disc. You have until September 30, 2010 to take advantage of the digital copy download, with no disc to aid you.

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