La Ligue des Justiciers : Échec

I'm not a massive fan of comic books but I have found myself reading more of those considered "classics" as I have had more access to them than before and it has made me more interested in the genre. This has also led to occasionally checking out some of the animated films featuring the characters and brought me to this film. I don't think I've read much featuring the Justice League together as an entity and when I started watching I was a little bit put off that it included characters that I didn't particularly care for (mostly, in fairness, because I've never given them much of a chance, don't know them or have decided that based on rubbish film versions of them).

Once it got going though the film was actually pretty enjoyable. It spread the load across all the characters, giving each enough action and time to fill but not too much to overload anyone or make any of them stand out as the lead. The plot is relatively straightforward but it does produce plenty of events and action and I found it pretty entertaining for what it was. The animation is colorful and accessible – personally I prefer it darker and with more menace, but again it worked for what it was. The voice cast are strong throughout – Conroy as ever but I really enjoyed Fillion, Lumby, Rosenbaum, Black, Blackthorne and many others in there, not only are they good nods to other things but they are good here.

This is still an animated superhero film though and as such it is bright, full of action and fairly simple in terms of plotting and delivery; it does work though and I found it entertaining and enjoyable throughout the short running time.

I do consider Crisis on Two Earths, despite its flaws, better as a Justice League movie. Justice League: Doom was still good though. I did think the ending was not gripping enough and ended far too abruptly, the villains were under-characterised in terms of depth and such and the plans didn't really ring true and could easily have been done differently. The story is also rather standard and rather uneven, the parts with Batman and Superman were fine but again the villains' plans and the ending needed more development. With a longer length and more time to breathe these problems could have been rectified. On the plus side, apart from the non-threatening character design of Metallo, the animation is very good, detailed and colourful and with fluidity. There is also an atmospherically haunting score, good pairings between the characters, compelling and well-choreographed action and sharp writing. The best asset was the voice acting, Kevin Conroy IS Batman, and Nathan Fillion, Susan Eisenberg and Tim Daly are just as top notch. All in all, Justice League: Doom may not be perfect and there are better animated superhero movies out there, but it is still worth seeing. 7/10 Bethany Cox

'Tower of Babel' was one of the earliest JLA story arcs I'd read and as such I was especially interested in how this story would translate to animation. The premise of the story is both simple and yet intriguing- Batman has secretly devised stratagems to neutralize his fellow Justice League members in case any of them turned rogue. When his files are stolen however and used against his teammates, the League is forced to confront the fact that the architect of their near-destruction is in fact one of their own...It's a compelling story which has serious ethical dimensions to it as well (not to mention some great action and character moments!)

While 'JL:Doom' is a loose adaptation, it remains faithful to the spirit of the story. Replacing Ras al Ghul with Vandal Savage, as the main villain, was a great move IMO, as I think Ras works much better as a purely Batman villain. The Legion of Doom was a great nod to the old Superfriends cartoons (kudos to them for including an arch-nemesis to Martian Manhunter, who normally gets left it in this particular area!) I was also glad they found a way to include Cyborg without making it seem contrived or making him feel like a token minority character! The other characterisations were all great (Flash came across far too much like Wally West, than like Barry Allen...but I guess than can be excused given that the voice actor is the one who played Wally in JLU). If there is one gripe I had, its that I felt there could have been more discussion of the ethical implications of Batman's actions among the League, but I guess that wouldn't have fit within the alloted run- time...

On the whole, a great addition to the animated DTV's stable...looking forward to the next one!

Bottom line, this is an workhorse story and animation with great voice acting. Kids will enjoy it, adults might if they shut their brain off a bit.

Andrea Romano once again assembles the A-list of voice actors - most of the original Justice League cast is back, and for that I'm thankful - the exception is a Nathan Fillion voiced Green Lantern (probably trying to tie in with the recent movie spin offs). He does a good job. Also, Cyborg is added to the mix (perhaps to promote his new role in the comic?).

The character design is solid, unlike some of the other DCAU entries (I'm looking at you Death of Superman).

Unless I am mistaken, they reused the theme from "Crisis on 2 Earths" for the opening sequence - this is kind of a quibble, as I'd say it's the most epic theme ever written for any of the DCAU titles - but seriously, give this composer more work, he is awesome.

I hesitate to call this "bad" but the story is a bit "meh". The Legion of Doom is assembled of mostly C-list villains, headed by Vandal Savage. I don't have a problem with pulling some of the more obscure DC characters out, but none of these villains is particularly well characterized (this is a criticism of the script NOT the voice acting, which is well done). The strength of the story comes in the grudging relationship between Batman and the Justice League and also his relationship with Superman. It is a bit weak in the transition to the 3rd act, making the villains look remarkably short sighted, this could have been handled better. It seems a bit dumb to make these DCAU titles PG 13, having the villains threaten and kill people occasionally, but have their evil plans strictly G rated.

I'm not sure if it's a function of the story-boarding or direction, but the scenes are kind of workhorse, lacking the incredible dynamism demonstrated in "Shazam and Superman: Return of Black Adam" and the accompanying shorts, directed by Joaquim Dos Santos It would be nice if these animated "movies" felt more like movies - bigger, better action than we get from typical animated TV shows. Bruce Timm and company set a pretty high bar years ago, if all else fails, get Dos Santos to consult.

While this is not horrible, a similar story was done before in the Justice League TV show, and I would say it was done better in Season 1, "Injustice for All" and especially in Season 2, "Secret Society", which I think was also written better, with better action.

Overall, it's great to hear the original (perfect) voice cast back, just wish this entry brought a little more "boom" with them.

i am going to try and give a summary of this movie of why i loved it. with out giving spoilers this movie. this movie is outstanding in just every way. the story is very well thought out and is not slow.its still good even being loosely based on The Tower of Babel. the voice acting is top notch couldn't ask for anything better. the music is fantastic. the art style is done very well how they drew the characters. overall i couldn't ask for anything better from this movie. Dwayne McDuffie you well always be remembered for your fantastic story's you write. i would highly recommended anyone seeing this who hasn't read the Tower of Babel. or if you get over the fact that its not a direct adaptation of the graphic novel.