Justice League of America

Not only was this filmed on a shoe-string budget with cheap costumes and special effects, it betrays both comic book fans and movie buffs equally.

The JLA characterizations are horrible. To catalog all of the mistakes would take more time than this awful show is worth. Just to name one good example: a couple of characters (Fire and Guy Gardner) who actually hate each other in the comics were said to have dated previously.

It appears that somebody tried to fool the audience into thinking they had seen a more exciting show than they really had: major action sequences were never shown but instead reported (sans footage) by the evening news.

I just have to say that this is a truly awful film. I thought that I'd seen the worst adaptation of a comic book character (Captain America) and then this came along. Can anyone please explain why film makers find it impossible to keep to original origins/stories etc and keep trying to reinvent the wheel? Also, the constant interruptions to the story to go to interviews with the heroes do nothing for the film. This is a film with no redeeming features and should be avoided like the plague. If it were possible, I would give this a minus rating.

The 1997 Justice League of America Pilot was a fair entry into the world of television pilots. It was a little bland, but it had potential. A lot of really good TV series have had mediocre pilots including MASH, Remington Steele, Magnum PI, and all but the first Star Trek series. So although the first episode was less than an epic piece it might have taken off, and who knows maybe the Martian Manhunter would have given up the nachos and gotten on a treadmill, or at least done a few sit-ups. My only major complaint was that the show tried to be a sitcom, it was trying to ride on the coat tails of Friends. And I don't like Friends. The show would use a lot of the tongue in cheek jokes and it just didn't work.

I liked the plot, and the actors were okay, the characters probably would have developed overtime, so don't jump to conclusions about that just yet. The costumes would have probably been quickly replaced if the show were picked up, and a lot of other sci-fi/fantasy shows have weak special effects in there beginnings.

So hunt down a bootleg copy and give it a try.

Forget the fact that this was a pilot. It was awful. The costumes were ridiculous. Most of the acting was poop. The plot was...more poop. Miguel Ferrer was his typical self, which is good and Fire was a babe, but none of that was enough to salvage a very bad story and the bad idea of a friends/thirtysomething twist to crimefighting.

Bad.

Hell, it ain't even your father's. Or your older brother's. Or even yours! The team chosen was a composite of second-string characters (minus the Flash) and missing the big 3; Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. Of course, anyone who reads the comics will also notice that the League's origin is completely different.

Of course, changes had to be made to adapt it to TV, the budget and make it accessible to new viewers. But, this wasn't anything special. Basically, the movie is your typical 90s superhero TV fare with a predictable plot, cheesy costumes and only halfway decent acting. Basically, it was a buddy movie with powers.