La Ligue des Justiciers - Le paradoxe Flashpoint

Reviewed by: Dare Devil Kid (DDK)

Rating: 3.8/5 stars

DC and Warner Bros. seem to make much better animated direct-to-home videos than they do full-length feature films (with the rare exception of the "Batman" films). Another grand entry in the legacy of DC home videos and a treat for all the DC superhero fans that is sure to resonate across diverse age groups.

With the plot particularly emphasizing on "The Flash" as the central character of how the story unfolds, this one promises to be a special treat for fans of the red-suited speedster like me; who've only ever been treated once before (a riveting T.V. show back in 1990) to a worthy visual medium of the fastest man ever.

The Flash is the fastest man in the DC comic universe and also, apparently, has an origin story copied from Peter Parker. His heroic motivations stemming from one fateful night where he returned home to discover his mother murdered. Then as an adult, A freak science accident grants Barry Allen the ability to tap into the mysterious Speed Force. With his super speed, Barry fights injustice as The Flash along side the worlds greatest Superheroes in the Justice League. But one day, Barry unknowingly changed the past, and rewrote time. Now, Bruce Wayne does not exist, WonderWoman and Aquaman are in the middle of world war three, and Cyborg is America's greatest law enforcer. The only way to put things right is to track down the evil Professor Zoom aka Reverse Flash, a fellow speedster from the future.

Though tagged as a Justice League movie, The Flashpoint Paradox is a Flash movie with the Justice League in supporting roles. Barry Allen is the main character and we really go into his head, deconstruct his personality, and see this twisted new world through his eyes. The writers and talent voice cast lend a good deal of realism to the characters, never over-acting but always keeping it real. They speak like how they would in a live action movie. And personally, I would have liked to see this as one. Sadly, no matter how well the voice cast do, they are hampered by th writers turning all the other heroes into one-note supporting characters. Then again, this was a flaw of the original source material.

The story gets an immediate "A". Like "The Dark Knight Returns" that came before this, It is a faithful adaptation of the hit miniseries that forever changed the status quo of the DC universe. The scope is epic, the scale is grand and the death toll is catastrophic. The Flashpoint Paradox gets Credit for being the darkest, bleakest DC tale ever seen in animation. Fans of the video game "Injustice: Gods Among Us" will definitely be pleased. Familiar heroes are recast in unfamiliar roles.

They clash and a lot of people die in rather gruesome ways. Some lose their arms, others lose their heads, heroes are burnt, gutted and skewered in ways that would make Mortal Kombat proud. Now, Dc Animated movies has a reputation of having good stories and looking good at the same time.

But The artwork here comes across like a tribute to everything 1990s; in particular, that era of anime and Rob Liefeld. Elongated torsos, exaggerated expressions, and "bishonen" looking character designs are spliced with bulging anatomically impossible musculature, tree trunk think necks and over the too violence. Seriously, Wonder Woman looks like a CLAMP manga character, Superman and Aquaman look like they stepped out of dragonball z or Fist of the North Star, skinny characters look like Aeon Flux and Batman looks like some bad cosplay.

The animation itself is good but could be better. Japanese anime studio 4C animated this piece and while action scenes are dynamic and a thrill to watch, there is a certain feel of "cheapness" to the animation. We have creative shot angles that mimic the best of anime action yet the actual animation lacks the smooth fluid character movements that previous studio Moi Animation did. Here the characters seem stiff, art tends to go off-model, movements seem unnatural and motion blur is used to hide animation short cuts.

A huge pity though. If DC had allowed Moi Animation to do this movie, better quality control and perhaps character designs that were not so hilariously wonky, this movie would have been perfect. Accepting it for what it is, Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox is a solid entry in DC's animated movie library. This show also hints at the start of a shared DC animated movie universe. For those who read the comics, we all know where this would be heading.

Even if DC cannot get their shared live action movie continuity going, I'd settle for animation

I know men and women(!) from all walks of life who watch DC Animated shows/movies religiously. A lot of us were expecting a Flash-specific movie after the awesomely climatic culmination of events at the end of the JLA series season 4 (Divided We Fall)... which pretty much told us DC fanatics what we already knew all along... that the Flash is probably the most powerful superhero in the DC universe, period. So why don't we know more about him? This movie serves three amazing purposes, each executed to perfection; first, bring the DC animated movie series to an even darker, more violent, mature place and audience; second, give us a glimpse into the Flash's personal back-story, top villains, and character development; and third, to showcase a period in DC comic book history that is crucial to further plot developments. But really, its just a beautiful film and great opportunity to showcase some of the newest animation tactics, and to give the animators some freedom to be a little more 'adult' in their drawings. This is definitely the best of the DC animated movies thus far, (that's saying a LOT, btw), and is truly one to get excited about watching. New Earth is portrayed hauntingly as a gritty, sullen place to exist... Aquaman is finally given full credit and accurately shown as a nigh-invulnerable multi-powered heavyweight... the Amazonians are beautiful and fearsome... and for the first time ever I was actually a little creeped out by the true alien that Superman is. But you'll get a little creeped out by all the characters, and that's the point (except the Flash, of course!). It was great to see the interpretation of the New Earth variants well voiced and drawn, especially Slade and Black Manta. Also huge kudos to the producers for making Yo Yo's voice the same as Harley Quinn's. I totally agree.

And there are some great ones out there, all of them are worth watching in some shape or form even if they don't completely work. Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox does work and brilliantly, for this viewer it's one of the better animated straight-to-video superhero films. There is very little to criticise it, except that some of it did feel a little rushed, Superman could have been fleshed out more and Professor Zoom was defeated too easily. The anime-inspired animation is wonderful though, if you enjoy the animation style of Young Justice- I do- you'll enjoy the animation here. The atmospheric colours and fluidity are simply remarkable. The music is haunting and beautiful at the same time, giving intensity to the action scenes and giving weight to the more emotional and dramatic scenes. While the dialogue is really smart and intelligently written and the story is hugely compelling right up to the end and packs a real emotional punch. The action sequences have an epic intensity to them, the moral ambiguity seen in the characters and story is interwoven very well and the complexity of the characters- they are much more than what they seem- is to be admired, especially Flash- especially in the final 10 minutes- and a more bad-ass Aquaman(loved that). There are lots of familiar characters that pop up every now and again, which comic book and superhero fans will really appreciate. And of course the voice acting is superb, with Justin Chambers really making us identify with his character, having Kevin Conroy back as Batman is a huge plus and there's also the suavity and command that Cary Elwes brings to Aquaman. C. Thomas Howell also shines in one of his best, maybe even his best, film in recent years(considering that he's been in a lot of bad movies, especially from The Asylum, lately that's saying a lot)- he is menacing and very malicious as Zoom, his taunting of Flash is subtly chilling and one of the high points in the writing. Overall, while not entirely perfect Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox is fabulous. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox is the newest film from DC animation studios based on the comics crossover event Flashpoint by Geoff Johns and artist Andy Kubert. There are a handful of deviations from the comics but the animated film ranks among the best of DC's animated movies. The voice cast is spot on with many familiar voices returning to their respected roles such as Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Nathan Fillion (the people's Hal Jordan) as Green Lantern. The film has a very epic, cinematic feel to it and the action scenes are amazing. This is some of the best on screen Flash action sequences ever and its about time we get a film feature of another character than Batman or Superman. This film also further proves that Barry Allen is an interesting, deep character that can be used on the big screen. On the downside, I'm not too keen on the animation style. Over the past few films, DC animation has been sliding more and more to modern anime styles. Which is fine but some of the character designs don't fit with the rest of the DC universe. Wonder Woman looks a little odd and Aquaman should have a neck (just saying). There are a lot of side plots that are introduced such as the world of the new Thomas Wayne Batman that is explored in the spin off comics, but never utilized in the film. Feels a bit like a missed opportunity. I think the movie gets a bit overly violent at times. There are a lot of brutal things in the book but I think the film overdoes it a little (i.e the fate of Grifter). Despite the questionable title, Justice League: Flashpoint (which is what it should of been named) ranks among the best of the DC animated movies and should most definitely please fans of the material and characters. I would also recommend it as a solid introduction to the Flash character, for those curious or unfamiliar.