Login
Frenzied and chaotic are the best terms to use for Justice League: War. Another lean 75 minutes that’s puffed with too many ingredients and the bread never rises. Unless all you wanted was a series of action scenes with the occasional pauses for one character’s origin story, a few moments of groan worthy comic relief, and a general sense that something is off about all of these characters.
Maybe it’s the voices, maybe it’s the change in animation styles, I’m not sure exactly what it is, but a lot of them don’t feel right. Justin Kirk whiffs it as an obnoxious Green Lantern, Shemar Moore’s voice is too mature for teenager Cyborg, Michelle Monaghan’s too angry and shouty as Wonder Woman, and that’s half of the league right there. This Superman is voiced well by Alan Tudyk, but he seems too violent and dark here. There’s a distinct lack of hope and joy in his character.
Even worse is how Darkseid, a towering force of malevolence in the DC universe, feels so undercooked. There’s a little bit of buildup, then he’s here, and then there’s a never-ending climatic battle with him that just becomes monotonous. It lives up to the title of War, but that’s all that there is involved here. I’ve read the origin story that it’s based off of, and that still managed to pause its narrative long enough to give its characters room to breathe and develop bonds. I mean, we get so little of Sean Astin’s Shazam that it feels criminal given how giddy and scene-stealing Astin’s vocal work is here.
There’s a lot to enjoy here, mainly in the ways that the animation allows the characters to unleash the full use of their powers, but it feels anemic in comparison to a few of the other films. Justice League: The New Frontier had deeper things on its mind, The Dark Knight Returns was operatic and glorious, and Batman: Under the Red Hood kept everything focused on the characters and emotional stakes. War is just….75 minutes of the Justice League wailing on Parademons and Darkseid, eventually. Then there’s a mid-credits stinger for the sequel, Throne of Atlantis. Maybe that one will recast a few of the players and find a better balance between making us care about the characters and the giddy thrills we get in watching them turn it up 11.
