CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio review for the streaming series “Emily in Paris” the adventures of Emily Cooper and her fanciful/fashionable Paris friends and lovers, now in its fourth season. Episodes 1-5 currently on Netflix.
Blu-ray Review: Disappointing DC Universe Entry in ‘Justice League: Doom’
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CHICAGO – The DC Universe brand of straight-to-DVD PG-13 films have had a remarkable array of quality. Some are absolutely brilliant, must-see films (“Justice League: The New Frontier,” “Batman: Under the Red Hood”) while others are kind of a mess (“Wonder Woman.” “Green Lantern: Emerald Knights”). In other words, you never know what you’re going to get when you pop in a new entry in the hit franchise. The 13th film, “Justice League: Doom.” is not a lucky one.
![]() Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
Loosely based on “JLA: Tower of Babel” by Marc Waid, a multi-episode arc that was released in 2000, “Doom” is easily the most disjointed and inconsistent DC Universe film yet. The voice talent is spectacular, featuring a number of all-time favorites when it comes to DC animation (Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly, Nathan Fillion, Michael Rosenbaum), but that’s where the praise ends. The story doesn’t resonate and the visuals are mediocre. The major problem is that this take on “Babel” crams way too much into one film, resulting in a story that feels like it has no lead; no driving force for which to really care about. It takes Waid’s idea and reduces it to a series of fights, making a decent action cartoon but not a very good film.
Having said that, I almost want to recommend buying “Doom” just as a final tribute to a great comic pioneer, Dwayne McDuffie, who died almost a year ago, just after scripting this adaptation. The team behind the release put together a heartfelt and informative doc about McDuffie called “A League of One: The Dwayne McDuffie Story” and it’s more interesting than “Doom” itself. McDuffie will be missed. I wish his final film was a better one but if the doc about him introduces his work to young fans than it will have been worth the effort.
Justice League: Doom was released on Blu-ray and DVD on February 28, 2012
Photo credit: Warner Bros.
Synopsis:
The Justice League consists of Earth’s finest super heroes and protectors of humanity. But in the mind of the Dark Knight, it contains potentially the most dangerous people on the planet. Over time, Batman has compiled top-secret contingency plans should any of them go rogue. When these files are stolen by a rising group of super villains, the Justice League embarks on a collision course that will test the very fabric of its alliance. With a stellar voice cast headed by Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly, and Nathan Fillion, this thrilling DC Universe Animated Original adventure will challenge what you know about the Justice League as well as redefine what heroes are made of!
Special Features:
o Guarding the Balance: Batman and the JLA
o Cyborg: His Time Has Come
o Creative Team Commentary
o DC Digital Comic Book - Justice League of America (Issue #43): Tower of Babel
o A League of One: The Dwayne McDuffie Story
o Preview of DC Universe’s Next Animated Original Movie Superman vs. The Elite
o Bruce Timm Presents 2 Bonus Cartoons
o UltraViolet Digital Copy
![]() | By BRIAN TALLERICO |
WOW
You think Justice League Doom sucked, but you think Justice League New Frontier was one of the best. Ya right, New Frontier is the worst one out of all the DC Animated movies. I take it that you’ve probably didn’t like Justice League - the animated series neither or maybe never even watched it at all. You go ahead and stick with JL New Frontier, but I personally think JL Doom blows it out of the water no contest, and I also consider it one of the best animated superhero flicks yet, along with Under the Red Hood of course.
I suggest that you give it another try, maybe you were just not in the right mood or something, it happens. Maybe try watching it after some episodes of Justice League the series. But seriously, please try it again sometime without distractions because you never know, you may come to like, or even love it.
Now I will admit it took me awhile to get used to the animation and I have seen better but that is the only flaw that I found in this Great, Wonderfully Written Animated Superhero Movie. This is what I was waiting for, Thank You DC.