Cool News
Harry discovers JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER!!!
I honestly believe I have just seen my favorite film of 2008. There will, no doubt, be folks that think I’m utterly bonkers – but having just seen JUSTICE LEAGUE – THE NEW FRONTIER – I’m in awe.
This is everything I had hoped for.
THE NEW FRONTIER by Darwyn Cooke is one of my favorite comics ever. It completely takes place in the moments leading up to the birth of the Silver Age of comics – which, although I should be too young – was my introduction to comics. I was raised by a pair of parents which owned Austin’s first Comic Book Shop… when they retired from the business – they took the 100,000 plus issues (all pre-1976) to our Victorian house – and as a young boy who voraciously read anything and everything – The Silver Age called out to me.
The Heroes were clear cut, the costumes and the mythologies were perfect for my wide-eyed imagination. We had near complete runs with massive duplication of basically ALL titles. And I’d spend hours reading… Marvel, DC, Atlas, you name it – I was in there absorbing it all like a sponge. Dinosaur Island, Challengers of the Unknown, the military and cowboy heroes, the Showcases and the Brave & The Bolds… Metal Men, Metamorpho… and all the mainstream stuff… I loved it.
I was an odd kid – most of my friends didn’t know what I was talking about – as I was coming at the heroes they knew from a past they never had access to, so my house became the stomping grounds for a group of friends that devoured all of this. I told them stories from the heart of the Silver Age – and we dreamt about how cool that’d be.
At the same time, we were all addicts to THE SUPERFRIENDS – but damn… the comics were so much better.
When Darwyn Cooke wrote THE NEW FRONTIER… I was unaware. I don’t hit the comic stands much these days. I read the @$$HOLE$ and pick up some of their recommendations… but I had to have missed any mention of THE NEW FRONTIER… til one day I walked into AUSTIN BOOKS here in town and saw the toys. The designs instantly resulted in me buying the entire set. Then at the counter I asked… “What is this NEW FRONTIER?” and the Comic Book Man came out from behind the counter and led me to the issues and I grabbed them and added them to the pile.
That night as I poured through the story of THE NEW FRONTIER – I was transformed… My adult mind was intact, but my soul was that of childhood wonder. My grown mind appreciated the deft story-telling, while the kid in me just gawked at how all my favorite characters – who had never seen one another before – were a part of the same universe – and how this one story affected the origins and meetings of them.
When I heard this was being adapted into an animated film by the Warner Animation folks… I dared to dream that maybe we’d get to genuinely see a great animated adaptation of a truly great comic. It has long been a dream to see a great comic story animated great and told with the love in which it was created.
Folks… the absolute best comic film has been accomplished. THE NEW FRONTIER is everything I hoped for. There are missing pieces from the comic – mainly due to a need to economize the story given the time constraints of animated stories. However, everything lost is alluded to or acknowledged by broadcasts, newspaper headlines and dialogue. Yes, I would have loved to have had lengthy combat on Dinosaur Island, to have a long time with the Challengers of the Unknown and well… the point is, Darwyn Cooke adapted his original comic with Stan Berkowitz and the result is stunning.
It is an accomplished, serious and adult adaptation that keeps every ounce of the original story’s brilliance. What we have here is a serious adult superhero story straight out of the Silver Age, but with the weight of the best of modern age storytelling.
The actual animation is nothing short of breathtaking. Everything is magnificently detailed and drawn. The character designs are stunning – SUPERMAN hasn’t looked this good since the days of the Fleischers. And dude… fucking Hal Jordan… I can’t believe it. To see Hal get the ring, When you see how he finally transforms into Green Lantern… you’re gonna squeal.
For those of you that know nothing about the story of THE NEW FRONTIER. The story takes place in-between the end of America’s Involvement in the Korean War – to about 6 months ahead of Sputnik. America is a strange place – loyalty oaths, Superhero’s forced to swear loyalty to America – or face being tracked down by the government. The Red Scare is in full swing, yet there’s a change in the wind. Kennedy is coming – and a new era of Superheroes are taking form… characters like The Flash and the Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern.
The bad guy?
Well – this isn’t your typical bad guy. And folks that are not fans of great big abstract evil since the dawn of creation entities the size of a significant island beings… well, you’re likely to be a little lost when it appears. However, if you love Silver Age JUSTICE LEAGUE comics when the villains were typically things much larger and much more bizarre than the typical super-villain of the week. This is something that Superman can’t deal with on his own. No one hero can deal with this. This is the sort of HOLY FUCK, WHAT IS THAT thing!?
The voice work is exceptional throughout. You’ve got David Boreanaz as Hal Jordan, Jeremy Sisto as Batman, Neil Patrick Harris as Flash, Lucy Lawless as Wonder Woman, Kyle MacLachlan as Superman, Miguel Ferrer as J’onn J’onzz (John Jones in the credits… ahem) – and Keith David as the voice of The Center.
Lastly – I have to say the score by Kevin Manthei is absolutely top notch. I’m not really familiar with his previous work – but given his work here – and the preview for BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT that’s on this DVD – I’m sure I’ll be hearing a lot from this fella in the future. By the way – the GOTHAM KNIGHT DVD feature looks amazing – the different Anime styles really are amazing looking to see Batman existing in. But by far – I’m more interested in just rewatching NEW FRONTIER.
JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER will become beloved amongst animation lovers, comic book fans and even novices. Today when I got this, I invited Massawyrm over for a peek – since the film doesn’t hit till March 14th – plus I knew he knew nothing about this – and hardly anything about the Silver Age – and I wanted to see how it played to him. His jaw was on the floor. He was completely flabbergasted and left my house to go to the late night comic store to see about picking up the trade paperbacks to explore more of this NEW FRONTIER.
Now excuse me, I have to rewatch this approximately 7 million more times.
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Man, DC churns out about a 100 of these things a week.
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It's in 3-D, a gimmick truly on the cutting edge in . . . 1953. (I was waiting for Vincent Price to duet with Miley Cyrus. No luck.)
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not first but close
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i am so glad i've found others like myself.
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I just read the Absolute adition and I am pumped for the movie. I was worried that they would need to cut too much to get it down to the 75 minute run time but this review has me excited for it.
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????
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day and date with DVD and Blu-ray. Take your 3 week delay and shove it. Although, I wonder if I really need a cartoon in Hi-Def...? Harry, let me borrow your copy after you watch it 7 million more times. 'preciate ya.
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which can't get here soon enough!
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My adult mind was intact, but my soul was that of childhood wonder." --- Jesus Christ.
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...before the movie review starts. Harry, I'm sure you loved it, and I'm sure I'm going to like it too, but I can guarantee you that at no point during the viewing of this movie am I going to squeal.
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Hype it up all you want now, but somehow I doubt that a direct-to-DVD animated feature will earn a Top 10 mention on your Best Of 2008 list.
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the really are.
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Let's hear the big guy's thoughts...
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So this sounds like a real breath of fresh air.
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I guess I can understand how HD works for live action, but how does it make 2D drawings clearer? Or does it? Back to live action for a moment. How does HD make movies in high definition when HD technology didn't exist when the movie was originally created? Not trying to be a dick, I'm just curious.
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I've watched this film as well and it's a great adaptation of DC The New Frontier, most likely due to the presence of creator Darwyn Cooke as adviser on the project. My only gripe is there's not more on John Henry's struggle against the Ku Klux Klan, but at least it's mentioned, just like The Losers are. Don't worry about the marketers affecting the script as badly as Superman/Doomsday. I truly believe adult-minded fans of Silver Age DC heroes will not be disappointed. Fair warning: this will not be a film to pacify little kids. It gets very bloody and violent and there is adult language. That said, I'll be eagerly awaiting when the 2-disc set hits stores in a little over a week.
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I saw this in HD - The difference is pretty clear. I find animation to really show the differences - artifacts show pretty badly in upres-ing of animation. Angled lines are particular heinous in low-res. In HD - they're perfect. It's brilliant.
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Your word isn't as much as it used to be. Or maybe it is. I just walk into a video store and see some piece of shit direct-to-video film with your name and praise slapped across the cover. It sucks bro.
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damn that george miller works fast
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...the removal of The Losers on Dinosaur Island section, the Challengers section, and the John Henry section of the story is a massive mistake, and given the tiny running time there's no reason why they couldn't have added these to the film, it would have added fifteen minutes to the films tops, and more likely only around ten minutes if done cleverly. As good as I hope this is, it'll never be as good as it could have been in my eyes, or at least I strongly doubt that it will be anyway.
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I'll have to wait until August to see it. Sometimes it really sucks when there is no mail for 6 months of the year.
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Feb 02, 2008 4:00:24 AM CST
imho-New Frontier is a good film, but falls short of greatness
by blindambition238
I saw this too and while I enjoyed it and think its loads better than recent superhero dtv films from marvel and dc. As a fan of the source material though I though I couldn't help but feel slightly underwhelmed. Of course I didn't expect the movie to be as comprehensive as the comics but I thought that the way it was cut gave it a really uneven pace, where everything sort of seemed like a rush to get to the finale. I didnt mind at all cutting things like dino island or the peripheral characters, but I thought they really missed out on capturing the same zeitgeist which, for me, made the books what it was, particularly by marginalizing the dark side of the era as characterized by John Henry's plight, Jonnz Jonn's initial fear and disdain for humanity, and Superman's struggle to become more than a tool of the state but its inspiration as well. An extra 15 minutes on these would of really bolstered the entire thing i reckon. Given that, the animation is still top notch , and the voice acting was solid all around, and much like its source its a nice trip to a time when heroes weren't all total assholes and acted like actual inspirations.
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Isn't 2D just a series of pictures? I don't understand how you can't get the same quality on a DVD. Maybe I'll just go to Best Buy and ask for a demonstration. Thanks, I appreciate the reply.
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...but you knew that.
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I just hooe the JLA Miller film stays dead!!
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Unfortunately no one around here has it which means.... People, can you please seed? Thanks.
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Just Kidding...Looking forward to this..Loved JLU...seriously dudes give up on the hard format crap...you are like the kids from the pied piper! Do you know that In south Korea they get 100mbs connection as standard and that they are stopping buying hard format content and they now download everything they want, music, films, games, books etc etc..its the future! I would suggest buy a decent sized drive and set it up as personal home HUB and forget all this Blu Ray Shit..because in 2-3 years time hard formats will be on their last legs and you will have wasted all that money
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This adaptation left me kind of cold. Half of the subplots from the original 2-issue graphic novel are gone, and a lot of the "punch" and wonder along with it.A great deal of the fun and greatness of the original comic was seeing all of the great silver-age characters and how Dwayne Cooke was able to seemlessly incorporate them into one story. In the cartoon, it was almost like watching the "Cliff's Notes" version of a real good novel. You get the gist of it, but the meaty goodness is gone.One thing that confused me was the use of violence. The film has no trouble showing blood (the blood-covered cockpit of Wonder Woman's invisible plane is still there), yet in the dramatic scene of Batman fighting the Centre cult in the church, rather than showing him pouncing on the cult leader and loudly snapping all of his bones, Batman's just knocks him down with one punch. WHY??? It's a great visual and I was actually looking forward to see that! :(One good thing about the animation, though, is the clarity of what The Centre is and the actual threat it poses... the cartoon does that right at the beginning. In the comic, it's much less clear and spread out over the series, so in this case, the viewer was benefited by the conciseness of the story.Also impressive was Jeremy Sisto as Batman. He clearly isn't Kevin Conroy, but his more subdued voice IS effective. I particularly liked the clipped way he told J'onn J'onzz to "Have a nice trip" when the Manhunter informed Batman that he was leaving Earth due to humanity's intolerance and violent nature.Overall, I'd give New Frontier a C+... an okay adaptation, but not nearly as good as I expected or it could have been.
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Everything you rant about never ends up on your top ten come years end.Its always 9 movies nobody has ever seen from some country nobody has ever heard of and im questioning on if most of your top ten movies even exist to begin with.
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Anyone know if this is going to get a UK release? Or am I going to have to import it?
I'm so up for this - the comic book was all kinds of awesome. -
Pure Iconic mythic Superhero. What Geoff Johns has done with Hal Jordan is amazing. Turning a dull done character back into a mythic quintessential Superhero.
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I really hate saying it but you sound so much like the fat cunt in the basement complaining.
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and I was sold on that Turok DVD too so, maybe I'm just a sucker!
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According to Amazon it comes out on Feb 26th.
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I wish Marvel could get their shit together and make some good animated films too. As of late, DC pwns Marvel; especially in terms of the animation. Seems much more exciting and satisfying stuff is going on with DC. For proof, see messi's fave book evar -- THE SINESTRO CORPS WAR!
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that harry jizzed all over another flick they sent him 6 weeks before it comes out. Very subtle review too.
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Since HD-DVD is pretty much dead now, since its smelling like a babys coffin.
It will be cheaper to buy also, since they discount blu ray movies much more than they do HD-DVDs. -
I LOVE YOU, DANA
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pierrotlefou, you haven't read many DC books have you? Batman's not conflicted? Superman's not conflicted? Yeah, he's goody twoshoes, but he's also the loneliest godman in town. Please do read the books before you judge with such ersatz authority. (Oh, and btw, what exactly is 'realistic' about a teenage boy gaining superpowers from a radioactive spider? Umm, yeah. In case you didn't realize, comic books aren't, and never have been, about being 'realistic.' At least not the superhero genre, whose very subject matter removes them from consideration for anything which could possibly happen in the real world.)And yes, the original ideas laid by Lee and Kirby were groundbreaking -- the everyday hero, the hero with problems, etc., rather than the "godlike" hero. This meme reached its apex in the 80s, and then started rolling down the shitslide to hell. To whit: that "realistic" meant nihilistic heroes with no discernable human narrative center; that being a hero meant being a "dark bezerker" like Wolverine -- gritting teeth, tiny feet, always angry, all the time. Meanwhile, DC started the Vertigo line, and quietly started putting out more thoughtful, intelligent stories that didn't have the zeitgeistiness of Marvels books -- that is, the zeitgeist of deeply angry 12 year olds -- but exuded a more timeless and narratively deep quality. For example, read any of the mountains of DC books Alan Moore has written.
Don't get me wrong, I love Marvel heroes. I was a hardcore Marvel-ite for a long time. But over the years, I found myself gravitating more towards DC books which are consistently better written, better thought out, and more satisfying. AND, truly the Spiderman and XMen movies were great, but thats pretty much it. And, so far, only Batman Begins can touch them (Superman Returns SUCKED). BUT, in the realm of animation especially? DC pwns Marvel. (Btw, I enjoyed your putting "pwns" in quotes. Did you pause to make the quotes in the air before you typed it, or after? Egotistical pretension is way cool.) -
...with the general consensus that whilst this is a good film its hardly worthy of this much praise. watchable: more than. fun: yep. absolutely ball-tearingly amazing: not really.
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...like they did Superman/Doomsday. I work in marketing, though as an art director, so I know all too well what a bunch of idiot fuckheads these people are. If you want to totally bollox a one-car parade, hire a marketing rep to run it. Anyway... I'm going to run out to Best Buy this morning and pick up New Frontier!
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Harry, KM composed all the music for the 'Invader Zim' animated series (except for the main theme). You can find samples of a lot of the music here: http://www.myspace.com/fortcell and here: http://www.kmmproductions.com/. You can probably still find the soundtrack CD if you look reasonably hard for it.
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And except for the voice acting, it was crap. Oh and it had a hilarious Kevin Smith cameo.
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Except that you wrote, "the absolute best comic film has been accomplished." Are you telling me that Iron Man or Dark Knight won't rank higher on your top 10 million list at the end of the year/
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That's all it is, sheesh. Some of you guys are acting like he said 2+2 = 10 or something.
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I think they did some interesting things with premise, and I didn't mind the changes since the original story wasn't that great to begin with. I loved the scene when Lois shows up at Ma Kent's home after Superman's death. Very well done. There was also a nice fake out upon his initial "return." The homoerotic Luthor was a little weird but I was willing to look past it. It didn't reinvent the wheel or anything but it had a fun level of violence and some enjoyable fights. Not bad. It was better than those direct to DVD films Marvel shat out.
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Feb 02, 2008 11:28:22 AM CST
don't waste your time watching movies over and over again Harry
by ludmir88
just an advice.
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Feb 02, 2008 11:47:52 AM CST
Harry's build an entire career out of re-watching movies...
by docbosch
...so i think he knows what he's doing.
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Best animated superhero film, best Batman film, and maybe even the best superhero film. No other superhero film would have the balls to have the hero fail at the end. While they don't tell us what happens to the Joker at the end (presumably he lives if we're to believe the film's continuity within the rest the DC Animated Universe, but as a standalone film I tend to believe that The Phantasm kills him). That film is braver than most of the live action garbage we're given every week. I think it's a real landmark in American animation.
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I'm with you on Mask of the Phatasm
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Equals pure orgasm. I'm not sure what you guys have been doing with your lives but I'm pretty sure you've got it all backwards.
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SINESTRO CORPS WAR!
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as a superman junkie from WAY back, I thought Superman/Doomsday was the best Superman movie ever. it was miles better than that horrible Superman Returns POS
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Most of the books I read are DC but the few marvel books I get are far better than everything i read from DC barring Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps. I mean IMMORTAL IRON FIST! CAPTAIN AMERICA! DAREDEVIL! ULTIMATE SPIDEY! Recently finished Ultimates 2. Fuck! That is some amazing shit. marvel is putting out the best comics since the days of the phoenix era and then the stan and jack era. And Movies. DC has only made Batman Begins, which whilst being one of the greatest movies ever is still only 1 movie. The only other decent DC movie was Superman and that was only half a good movie. But yeah Animation DC wins. but that's third tier in importance. But fuck if Final Crisis isn't shaping up to be the most epic balls out anti religious thing ever.
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You should read Marvel at the moment, putting out some of the best shit ever. And yes they are realistic, the characters are realistic. It's only natural that Tony Stark showed his true colors as the sly manipulative fascist he is. And it's fascinating. And IRON FIST! FUCK!
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I have to agree with you on harrys movie approval stamps being a little off..Im not sure what his recommendations were like before, but I rented hatchet the other day and I dont think ive seen a horror movie that bad since Jason takes manhatten ..AICN's tagline on the cover was: the next movie horror icon... Feast wasnt a good recomendation, the only straight to video ive had luck with so far.
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Feast was a good recommendation, fun movie..and I hope they dont screw it up with pt.2
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a bit too superficial to be the masterpiece Harry sez. The potential is there, but they buzz through it way too fast, and jettison way too much of the original (the action pretty much picks up about 48 pages into the first issue). I can understand WHY they did this, but it does lose something in the translation and seems more like a clipshow of the movie that coulda been.
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These "combo disks" should be the future for "HD", continuing the viability of all dvd players while capable of "High Definition" in the low-priced HD-DVD players. This is better for us consumers all the way around. And last I checked, you could pick up various models of HD-DVD players for cheap at Amazon.com. And doesn't that also include (FREE) "300" and "THE BOURNE IDENTITY" in HD, with each player sold? (Or am I mistaken.) Then there's the choice of 5 more "HD" movies, limited selection for a limited time, but also free. Isn't it obvious what is more affordable AND better for the consumer? With many consumers seeing the light and sales of HD-DVD players skyrocketing, this format war is FAR from over. It is the consumer who decides the fate, not the studios. If I can't see a movie via DVD or HD-DVD or Xbox Live download or see it at a local theatre or perhaps some night over cable, then I won't be seeing it. With all those posibilities, BD doesn't even make a hole.
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Who the hell wants to update a player from the internet just for a movie(blu ray). HD DVD is easy to use and you dont waste time in loading it.
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As far as I'm concerned, the B:TAS narrative ended with Mask of the Phantasm--so yes, Beaumont wasted the Joker. A perfect capper, too.(This doesn't mean I don't love Superman/Batman Beyond/Justice League, they're just separate.)
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Sorry Harry and JDanielP, but you fine HD-DVD folks are sailing on the HD Titanic. Or better yet, relaxing on the HD Krypton, ignoring Jor-el's manic cries that HD-DVD will soon explode into a billion pieces... Accept it. Blu-Ray has defeated you. There is no hope left. Join us.
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It WAS damn good. It's far from great. I'm a huge DC fan and I loved The New Frontier books, but this flick isn't all I was hoping for.The designs are beautiful and Harry's right about the score, but the movie jumps around ALOT. It never really establishes location all that well. Some of the action is great, and very bloody...LOVE the beginning sequence, LOVE the end w/ JFK's speech. They kept alot of good beats from the book, I just wish they'd been cleaner with the transitions and character arcs.
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It makes The New Frontier look like The Seven Samurai of animated superhero flicks. But it's no Mask Of The Phantasm. Best superhero anything ever!
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NEVER!!!
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i just hope that i can get past someone else doing the voice of batman
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Continuity be damned! It fits with the tone of the film. The Phantasm is beyond redemption and I think it would have been cheap for her have spared the Joker at the end. In other words, it wouldn't have chosen the ending that just about any other film would have been forced to choose. I'm still amazed at what Timm/Dini got away with on both the show and the movie.
I also think Batman Begins needed to learn a thing or two from B:MotP. Look at how great the relationship between Wayne and Andrea was and then look at how weak the relationship between Wayne and Rachel was. I loved Begins but I think in that one aspect (among others) B:MotP was superior. -
... I got three li'l words for ya: One... More... Day! As Stan the Man useta say, 'Nuff Said!
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they're based on? That would seem to make sense.
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Why don't you go fuck yourself and have an orgasm why you're at it.
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Ask yourself: Is the Batman of B:TAS really the same guy fighting alongside Supes, Wonder Woman and Terry McGinnis? No. Two different narratives. Mask of the Phantasm is it. The Joker's dead, Andrea's damned, and Bruce salvages his soul, evolving into the sadder, yet nobler, dark knight.
As far as cappers go, (the turgid Return of the Jedi being a 1, Return of the King 10), I'd say MOTP gets a solid 9. Great ending to a near-perfect three season series. -
right. because one storyline from one character takes away stuff like Immortal Iron Fist....excelsior dumb fuck.
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It would make the DVD $40-65, which will probably be beyond the budget of the general audience they are marketing towards (The New Frontier collections I bought cost $40, and are worth every penny).
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Sorry, folks, that one character is Spider-Man and that one storyline is a total retcon reboot rejiggering rehash. It takes away damned near everything. Immortal Iron Fist never happened the way you read it because Spidey's history changed, and everything in the modern marvel universe is interwined with Spidey... totally. Completely. He's the main character the company has, everything goes through him, every bit of continuity that gets shaken up around him has repercussions everywhere else. It's like doing a rewrite to reboot Superman, and you know how much that F'ed up DC continuity from Man of Steel on... and that one was carefully thought out unlike this slapped-together shit. A white event and actual reboot would have been more merciful than this half-assed rewrite job. "one storyline from one character"? Riiiight.
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I just wish Clampett Studios or DC direct would do some lithographs.
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Batman looks a little funny. Eyebrows and such but he's not the central guy anyway. Kind of a weird just in at the end from Aquaman too. It's overall pretty good but I'd trade it for more JLU.
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...you should watch BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: Season 1 just once. It's frakkin' fantastic.
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The interior art looked top notch when I last took a peek at the graphic novel. Cool to know this type of film would receive Harry's praises. The Batman animated DVD coming out I'm REALLY looking forward to.
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Explain how the X-Books are entwined with Spidey....totally. While I do agree that the whole retcon has been, well, shitty, I don't think that it's as major as you make it out.
And let's now shit on company-wide retcon's here. Exactly how many times in the past has DC made EXTENSIVE retcons to the entire company??
To be fair, though, I've never been a DC guy. Marvel, through and through. Just cos of the Uncanny, though.... -
The monster from Cloverfield's Mama.
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...I wanna see Green Lantern: Rebirth.
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you do realize that while the hd dvd version is in march the bluray version is out in just 24 days.
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Oh yeah, I love me some IRON FIST and IRON MAN actually. Also NOVA and ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST. DAREDEVIL is f*ckin' fantastic lately as well. The current story arc is really kick ass and effed up / cool / depressing / violent. Feels very emotionally real as well. Don't get me wrong, I love both Marvel and DC books, but Marvel has been pissing me off lately while DC has me more and more intrigued. THEE BLACKEST NIGHT!!!
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Harry had never even heard of New Frontier and after viewing the animated feature he tracked the original graphic story down and read it. Mission accomplished.
How great will it be for those in the same boat who dig the cartoon and then go out and get blown away by how awesome the comic is? I'm looking forward to this a great deal and so is my wife who read and LOVED the collected books. I don't expect the animated feature to be as rich as the books any more than you'd expect a Harry Potter movie to be a sgreat as reading one of the novels. Everyone knows that, why bitch? -
Yeah of course and Final Crisis, just the concept and the fucking name is just epic. And Green Lantern owns time and space. But Marvel puts out better books. The only books that i'd put up to anything by Marvel are the GL books, Booster Gold and Legion of Superheroes. Marvel's best books are fucking art. Like someone else said a year ago who reads both companies, Marvel's books are more professional. Plus they have more 'better' books. Half DC's books look like ass and read like ass, yet they make up most of my pull list. But yeah. BRING ON THE BLACKEST NIGHT!
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Feb 03, 2008 4:41:41 AM CST
It's a blessing and a curse when something get leaked on the Web
by gimpinmypants
Now I'll watch The New Frontier...
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. . .superhero film ever. Probably just Harry getting overly excited again. I'll be happy if it rivals JLU
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Think I'll de-flower it with this today! Thanks Harry!
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Marvel is resurrecting all their long-dead characters. Watch out for Uncle Ben's return. Turns out the Burglar merely shot him with a tranquilizer dart. He's been in hibernation for decades.
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Feb 03, 2008 9:12:14 AM CST
Bucky Is Now Cap And The Red Skull Created The SubPrime Mess
by laserpants
I shit you not. Red Skull is behind the recession. Apparently, Bucky/Cap ended the subprime mortgage meltdown by fighting some robots in a park. No, I'm not kidding. Read the latest issue.
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I dunno, man, I think that both Marvel and DC put out equal amounts quality and shit. I think both have beautiful, artful, fantastic books, and both have shit books. BUT, recently, Marvel has been effing up pretty badly. The Spider-Man faustian ret-con being, to my mind, the single dumbest thing I have ever read in my entire life. World War Hulk (after the first couple of issues) was also crap. Why? 1) New York is not the world. There was no World War. 2) Worst. Ending. Ever. No, worst ending since the ending of Civil War.
Again, don't get me wrong, I've been a life long Marvel fan, just recently they've been getting really lazy and really dumb, whereas DC has been consistently good as of late. Even yourself, you say more than half your pulls are DC books. -
For some reason people seem to be ripping on DC and claiming Marvel is the best company. Now, I don't read enough comics to make a definitive argument for one side or the other. I will admit that I mostly read DC. However, I can say that Dini and Grant Morrison have been putting out some of the best Batman stories in decades. Superman is also the best it has been in decades thanks (once again) to Morrison and to Geoff Johns. The two flagships, which all too often in the past seemed like afterthoughts because DC knew they would sell, are now the best of the superhero line.
Also, if you include Vertigo then the contest is over. Scalped is my favorite recent comic. Y has just finished its amazing run. 100 Bullets is consistently amazing. And, let's not forget Fables, arguably the best comic on the shelves. Superhero v. Superhero Marvel and DC are pretty even in my opinion but once you go beyond the superhero books I think DC wins. -
...over reading material. unless you're a viscous beast like harry, then you might literally "pour".
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Anyone who's met Paul's acolytes knows it to be true. :)
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Shashay shantay! Hows that for an issue of "What it?"
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And fun to read. Gotta love the man's passion people. You gotta
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..I...
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Marvel's best books are better than DC's best books. Like I said iron fist, daredevil, captain america, ultimate spidey, new avengers. no contest. Plus head to head, Marvel's books look better, 3/4 of DC's stuff looks like it's stuck in the mid 90's. I'm being objective here since I buy more DC. And this whole sillyness fanboys have that one more day is the only event that mattered and it discounts everything else. And the Civil War ending isn't bad, it's just hated because to us the wrong team won. But the story itself is brilliant. And now everybody hates Iron Man.
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than the HD-DVD version. But I'm sure Harry already received 50 copies and a harem of young virgins from Toshiba.
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damnit
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But I can't believe they didn't get Kevin Conroy to voice batman.
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Like the kinda movie you wanna raise your kids with.
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Like I said, I think both companies break about even in the Shit-To-Gold ratio equation. There are just as many beautifully drawn and presented DC books as Marvel books, BUT, I think that DC, right now, is a notch above in the writing department. But I agree that Daredevil, Iron Fist, and Iron Man are all fantastic books right now. So is The Order (which is about to get cancelled, sadly). Spider-Man is now dead to me. They killed him. New Avengers is beautifully drawn but is almost totally incoherent storywise. Mighty Avengers is decent, but I'm sick of Bendis' dialogue where everyone sounds like a cheap knockoff of Joss Whedon. But, then again, Thunderbolts totally rocks and I love it, so... OH, and I do really love Nova and Annihilation: Conquest. Like I said, its not like I hate Marvel, I still read a buncha their books, but I think DC is a notch above in the writing department.
BUT, most of my Marvel buys leave me feeling 'meh.' Whereas the DCs current output is really exciting to me. The Green Lantern books, Action Comics, Supergirl (which is starting to slip a little), Legion of Superheros, Cat Woman, Green Arrow Black Canary, Countdown to Mystery, Vertgo's Crossing Midnight, are all fantastic. I'm not even knee deep in Countdown / 52, but the issues I have read have all been asskicking. I especially loved The Red Son issue. Anyways, yeah, all these comics excite me, most of the Marvel buys feel more compulsory than necessary -- I'm buying out of habit rather than excitement.
Oh and on the Civil War thing, it wasn't that the wrong side won, but that it went out with a such a whimper. It would have been so much better if Cap went down swinging then surrendering. It was like all this build up for a big whatever. That being said, I actually really like Iron Man as the powerholic control freak; it fits his addictive personality well. And I am enjoying him slowly redeem himself. Like I said, Iron Man is one of my fave books right now.
Anyways, yeah... so how about that Sinestro Corps War, huh? ;-D -
Check Pirate Bay
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Well Cap did manage to beat the shit out of Tony Starkcunt. I can't see how you can say that DC has just as many beautifully drawn books. I mean you can take the writing opinion, but art is better at Marvel. That is just fact. most of their books look decent, and the best books aren't traditional art. I mean the stuff David Aja does, the guys from Daredevil, anything Frank Cho draws, incredible incredible stuff. DC does have great shit like when JH Williams gets to draw a book, Ivan Reis but they don't have as many great looking books. Plus Vertigo doesn't count because I could just say Criminal and it would all be over.
Like I said I read mostly DC because that's the universe i've been in for the past 2 years but recently after insistance i started reading some marvel titles and just couldn't believe how good they were and how good they look. I don't think it's equal because I read just about every DC title(yeah i'm knee deep in countdown) but their best titles don't compete with Marvel's best titles. Apart from Green Lantern. You just look and the rest of the titles don't compete looks wise. most DC art is just standard traditional comic book art by no names, just stuff anyone can do, not much that makes you go 'that looks nice'. Yet Marvel does crazy shit and you think "where the fuck are you DC? stuck in the early 90's" -
I can't believe they insist on not casting Conroy to be Batman's voice. He is iconic as the Dark Knight just as Mark Hamill is iconic as The Joker's voice. What gives?
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Can't wait for NF to hit the stores...isn't it strange that DC/Warner are so much better than Marvel at Animated movies, and so far behind, Batman notwithstanding, them int he live action stuff??
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New Frontier blew my mind. I'm a bit sad they lost the Losers bits, as they were some of my favorite, but I understand why.
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It REALLY sucks they lost the Losers stuff. John Cloud jumping into the T-Rex's wide-open mouth with grenades in hand was comic book perfection.
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Can't you see it? His head is a freakin skull. BTW I bet the Wolverine & the X-Men animated series is better than JLNF.
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After watching the trailer I can tell that the animation is a step above what we usually see from shows like Batman and Justice Leauge, but let's not call it "good" animation, shall we? It's decent, yes, but "nothing short of breathtaking?" Harry, go back and watch Akira, Nausica, or theatrically released Disney for some genuinely beautiful animation. This saturday-mornining limited stuff is passable, yes, but it hardly approaches what the medium is capable of.
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the story was good but the animation was distinctly saturday morning for a movie like this. it deserved a bigger budget.
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Harry, I love you, but please stop capitalizing common nouns! "Comic Book Shop", "America's Involvement"... If the name of the shop was just that, you'd capitalize it. *A* shop is not capitalized. Capitalize proper nouns: names of persons, places, things. "The Silver Age" is correct, but "a Silver Age" would not be, see? Hadda say it. It's distracting!
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The film is good. I'd hazard to say it's the best direct-to-video comic adaptation yet. It's mature and exciting. That being said, it's far from what you could consider to be on the level of big-screen comic adaptations like SUPERMAN, SPIDER-MAN 2, and BATMAN BEGINS. The animation is certainly not as accomplished as the majority of theatrical releases. It's top-notch for a video release, but that's it. The design choices are good, but nowhere near as stylized as I had hoped. It's kind of a hybrid of what we're used to with Batman/Superman/Justice League Unlimited and the art style from the comics. As for the script, it's still not on the level of a good theatrical script. There's a lot of action and not much character, for the most part. If it sounds like I'm bashing it, I'm not. It's extremely fun to watch. Just don't think it's going to be the be-all-end-all of comic films. It isn't. It's just a damned good direct-to-video animated superhero story.
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The biggest distraction was the lack of Conroy's Batman, but the new guy does OK, and really, this is an Elseworlds story, so it's just a different Batman. No problem.
The action is great. The characters all get a chance to shine. Lucy Lawless was born to play Wonder Woman (and should in live action, too).
The "monster" was a bit odd. I didn't read the dead tree version of this story, but a [SPOILER] flying island that spews dinosaurs?!?! Weird.
Best of all was seeing Barry and Hal in the Diniverse. Very cool. I was glad they kept Robin's appearance to a minimum, but the logic behind it was clever. I sort of missed seeing Black Canary in a silver age story like this...
Dini and Timm could definitely do a kickass version of Watchmen, if the live action version doesn't do the job. -
blow up lovecraft monster w/nukes = best of the year. honestly this wasn't too good
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Feb 05, 2008 6:01:13 AM CST
Man, it's the fist time IN AGES that I see the word "flabbergast
by aethyrr
This movie also looks great--wonder when I'll get to see it though
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in case you didn't know (or if this was mentioned, sorry, I don't feel like reading all that) this movie is already up at watch-movies. net. It was good, not great.
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Watched the torrent version with my 8 year old son. This version of Hal Jordan is the best Ive ever seen. This is THE animated Green Lantern Ive been waiting for.
The whole movie, I was waiting for GL to show is stuff. The payoff is huge, though.
I didnt squeal, but I laughed out loud in pure amazement. Got mine preordered already, cant wait to get it.
Id give my left nut for a standalone GL show/film in this style. -
And in some parts very okay but nothing mind blowing. You know, I would love it if they went out and made Dark Knight Returns but that bitch needs 2-2 1/2 hours to be told right. Looking at the run times of these DCU Animated movies, that's not going to happen. Still that would be epic. And while we're dreaming, Red Son would be freaking amazing. Again, you'd need some time to tell that story and it aint happening.
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Everyone knows Geoff Johns' Hal Jordan is the best Green Lantern ever and best characterization.
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If you knew what you were talking about, you would know that Bucky was never killed in the comics -- 60 years ago, 40 years ago or otherwise. You say he was killed? Name the issue... and you can't, because there wasn't one. It was established after Cap was brought back in the Avengers, never shown in-continuity.
So Bucky's death WAS a retcon. What was that again about retcons sucking? -
This film was good,I enjoyed it a lot,only Batmans voice threw me off but I got used to him quickly.GL and Martian Manhunter were quality.For me,this was the was good epic action dammit.Marvel should be doing a lot better with their cartoons.......I saw Doomsday/Superman the other week,it wasn't bad either,bit disapointed that it didn't link to the Justice League episodes(why was that?) but all in all,not bad.
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is that some of you people are easily fucking impressed if this is great entertainment to you. This doesn't even get in the ballpark of Fleischer and I can't believe Harry even ventured to put it in the same league. I don't know how much you're getting paid but could you tone down the bull shit and make it a little less obvious?
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I own neither format so I have no dog in this fight. Just curious: on what basis do you say HD is dead? Are sales getting blown out of the water by Blu-Ray? (Not including Playstation machines).
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I might have to give Mask of the Phantasm spot number one but this was excellent. Much, much better than Superman Doomsday. I loved this - it has me looking forward to the Teen Titans Judas Contract thing they are doing next. The animation is amazing, and yes they had a lot to cram in but think about it - look at what it was and think about what it could have been. I'd say it's nearly perfect.
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Not only recommending a short changed botched up animation adaptation from the original event where 2 more minutes would have introduced the original golden age characters at least for the form, but also recommending it of the dead HD DVD format when Blue Ray wan that battle, and most people sticking to regular DVDs
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Is this disc region free? As in can I play this in my UK PS3?
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Just watched it and was extremely surprised by how much I liked it. I hope this continues the trend.
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And although I liked it, I was glad I didn't buy it. I've had it with origin stories I guess. But I like it's premise, and it's other flavors of the heros. I prefer the JLU Wonder Woman, as she isn't so big/freakish. And I liked the attitude of the JLU Flash better. But still it was good watch. Just not a keeper.
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I don’t know if there are any real spoilers in here, but just read at your own risk.
First off let me say this: it was good. Superman was drawl incredibly and the voice casting was pretty awesome across the entire cast, Batman excluded. The guy did not do a bad job with Batman, its just…its just…ITS JUST TOO SOON FOR ME TO LET GO OF CONROY OK??? Its going to take a while to get over this break up, and I am sure, with time, I can accept it. Even though I did not really care for Batman’s voice, I think my favorite line was the one Batman gives when he is leaving Johns apartment, its something along the lines of “look I don’t know what you are, but I have a $70,000 sliver of meteor to stop the one from Metropolis, with you, all I need is a penny for a book of matches”. After that line, I was like “F--- YEAH”. At the same time, I am disappointed. I guess I just want more. If I am going to wait months at a time for these things (and I have been waiting months for this one), I want more then something pretty much equivalent to a two part episode of Justice League Unlimited, something longer PLEASE. In this sense, I am a beggar and a chooser.
Also, so much was centered around Hal Jordan ,which I don’t mind, I love GL (and David Boreanaz for that matter, I am a huge “Angel” fan), but if I am going to see that much Hal Jordan, I better see the Green Lantern for more then 2 minutes of screen time. That did really bother me.
Those were my two main issues, it was too short and sooooo much Hal Jordan build up with very little Green Lantern pay off. I guess I just miss the Justice League Series, and while I am grateful I am getting these movies, they just don’t “scratch my need for animated super hero action” itch. There needs to be a new series besides “The Batman” and “Legion”, because they just aren’t doing it.
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From Keith David's ominous voice to Wonder Woman being the WWE style warrior woman to Superman's thunderclap and inspirational words to Flash's protection of his Iris to the ultimate heart swelling speech from JFK at the end. I. Loved. This. Movie. MAN, what a good story...
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Mar 04, 2008 2:50:14 PM CST
this movie was awesome. compared to the marvels outings this was
by the_one_man_gang
Take a look marvel- this is how it is done. And that is coming from a marvel fan
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Passable, but hardly great. Certainly nowhere near "breathtaking."
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movie set in this world all about Hal Jordan.
This really brings back some of the spirit of heroic epic thats been missing from modern comic books. I loved it.
The characterizations were spot on especially J'onn J'onz, Lantern and the Flash.
Wonder Woman was great here, real bad ass warrior streak. Really went to a dark place the women and those rebels.
Faraday was great too. Loved the scenes with him and J'onnz. Sad to see what happened too.
I just wanted more of everything uin this world. That was my only real complaint all too brief.
Batman voice threw me at first but he had me at "with you, all I need for is a penny for a box of matches."
And that he has and admits "I have a $70,000 sliver of meteor for the one in Metropolis."
Still suspicious of everyone, that's my Bats. -
I thought it was bloomin' marvellous and better than all three Spiderman movies rolled into one. The section where Hal becomes GL is one of the great animation sequences of all-time. I was quite moved. Imho i think it's up there with Iron Giant. BTW my kids loved it.
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Take this story, add about 45 minutes, and you would have the perfect live-action JLA!! Of course it would cost 400 million dollars...just saying.
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