James Harvey
11-16-2001, 01:37 PM
Before I delve into the final Toon Zone review of the Justice League pilot, airing tomorrow, let me give you a quick background check on myself. I run the popular <a href="http://wf.toonzone.net">World's Finest</a> site which focuses on shows such as Justice League, and Batman, Superman, and Batman Beyond. I've been a tremdnous fan of the animated series since the first one premiered back in 1992, I guess you could say almost a die hard. If you scope around the site, I think that is pretty obvious! Without furthur adieu...
Justice League Review #12
<a href="http://news.toonzone.net/2001/nov/13/clark3.jpg"><img src="http://news.toonzone.net/2001/nov/13/clark3.jpg" height=120 width=200 border=0 align="right" vspace=3 space=3></a>
The series, apparently taking place in the future, starts with a botched Mars expedition. When a quake rumbles through the Red Planet, an astronaut falls through the cracks in lands deep underground, before a large door. He pries it open and a white blinding light emerges. Cut to two years later where Batman is investigating some starnge activies at the Metropolis branch of Waynetech. There he runs into a couple aliens who proceed to tear the place apart. Even the intervention of Superman is unable to stop the ensueing damage and defeat. Superman, during the tussle, suffers odd visions which bring alot of pain to the Man Of Steel.
This tussle begins a chain reaction which introduces Martian Manhunter and begins a full scale war. Aliens crash to Earth (Specifically Metropolis) and begin to slowly destroy the city. And the more our heroe suncover about it, the more higher up it runs, all the way up to the government and military. And when the aliens start knocking, Earth's Greatest Heroes come a calling. Quickly into the second act of the pilot, we're introduced to the likes of Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Flash, and the now rookie Wonder Woman. There are alot of suprises in the pilot and to say any more would give it all away.
<a href="http://news.toonzone.net/2001/nov/13/alien4.jpg"><img src="http://news.toonzone.net/2001/nov/13/alien4.jpg" height=120 width=200 border=0 align="left" vspace=3 space=3></a> The animation is what you would expect from your typical Bruce Timm helmed projecyt - beautiful. There are a couple moments of odd character movements, but for the majority of the pilot, we see the heroes move quickly and smoothly. Batman and Superman have definatly changed from their respective series. Batman's new moves are more creepy and almost snake like. In the first act of the pilot, when he jumps to the ground, he connects smoothly and quickly and mimmicks a snake. When Superman takes flight, the speed is notched up quite abit. Again, in the first act he has sped up.
The new heroes introduced are a mix bag. The Flash comes off as arrogant, but will most likely become the most liked member of the group for new fans. His dialogue is hilarious at times and he is instantly likeable. When more information on his character comes about later in the season, we will definatly get to see more of him. Micheal Rosenbaum does a great job on the character, bringing his to life perfectly.
<a href="http://news.toonzone.net/2001/nov/13/other.jpg"><img src="http://news.toonzone.net/2001/nov/13/other.jpg" align="right" vspace=3 hspace=3 height=120 width=200 border=0></a> Green Lantern is a hard arse military type, which works both with and against him. While his character comes off as cliched, and almost like Shaft, his dialogue is some of the best written stuff for the opener. The voice performance by Phillip LaMarr is a very mixed bag. He sounds like a pardoy of himself, and sometimes comes off as laughable.
Wonder Woman is under-written, but that is apart of her charm. She is the rookie that no one knows much about. For new fans of the series, they wil likely be confused at her background, as we only see a few moments with her and her mother on Themiscyra. Hopefully the upcoming episode focusing on the heroine will showcase more of her background. The voice acting on Wonder Woman, though, is dissapointing and stiff. In some scnees which require her to grunt and give it all she has, she comes of lightly. She is a great character which I hoped to see expanded upon.
Hawkgirl will definatly be another favorite, as she is considered the underdog of the group. A new character to even some Justice League fans, she thoughs in a great mix. Her character is not what you would expect, especially from her moniker. She is brutal and blunt. Some of her scenes, in which she uses her mace, come of as some of the most brutal sequences in the pilot. She is swift and unrelentless. Nothing is revealed about her at all in the pilot, hopefully setting up an interesting future storyline as current heroes seem to know about her.
<a href="http://news.toonzone.net/2001/nov/13/mm2.jpg"><img src="http://news.toonzone.net/2001/nov/13/mm2.jpg" vspace=3 hspace=3 align="left" height=120 width=200 border=0></a>Martian Manhunter is an enigma and really the star of the opener. His tragic background is revealed and he gets arguably the best line and moment in the concluding act. One of the best things about this character is that he is constantly unfolding through out the pilot. We learn more and more as the opener progresses and it is interesting and believeable (to a certain 'through believeability out the door' kinda way). The voice acting by Carl Lumbry is absolutely perfect. He is Martian Manhunter. His voice is dry and stiff - exactly how it should be.
As for the big two, Superman and Batman, it is like wlaking into familiar territory. Aside from the costume tweaks, Batman is exactly how he was before. Dark, mysterious, and always ready for battle. Kevin Conroy continues to provide the best depiction of the Dark Knight. No complaints at all. His new look is a perfect mix of his old and new look. The writers are able to believeably manipulte him into the Justice League. Superman's small look changes look good when done right. Some scenes in the pilot make Superman seem extremely old and ugly. The new line son his face do work, but there are some scenes where they just look like clutter. The new voice takes getting used to. George Newbeurn steps in for Tim Daly and does an adequate, if shaky, job. Superman comes off sounding young in some scenes, and then sounding exactly like Daly in others. Given that this is Newbeurn's first voice acting gig, it is understandble he would not be perfect from the get go. Give him time, and the voice will undoubtably stabalize.
Overall, the pilot is a fast paced exciting ride. While the premise for he pilot is cliched, the cre w pull it off pretty good. You know the heroes will win the battle in the end, but it is entertaining getting there! The action sequences are well done and most of the scenes inbetween are some great, short character building moments. The characters mesh really well in the pilot as they are initially brought togethor. The show can only go up from here, and undoubtably will.
Rating: B+.
<center><a href="http://news.toonzone.net/2001/nov/13/other3.jpg"><img src="http://news.toonzone.net/2001/nov/13/other3.jpg" border=0 vspace=3 hspace=3 height=120 width=200></a></center>
Justice League Review #12
<a href="http://news.toonzone.net/2001/nov/13/clark3.jpg"><img src="http://news.toonzone.net/2001/nov/13/clark3.jpg" height=120 width=200 border=0 align="right" vspace=3 space=3></a>
The series, apparently taking place in the future, starts with a botched Mars expedition. When a quake rumbles through the Red Planet, an astronaut falls through the cracks in lands deep underground, before a large door. He pries it open and a white blinding light emerges. Cut to two years later where Batman is investigating some starnge activies at the Metropolis branch of Waynetech. There he runs into a couple aliens who proceed to tear the place apart. Even the intervention of Superman is unable to stop the ensueing damage and defeat. Superman, during the tussle, suffers odd visions which bring alot of pain to the Man Of Steel.
This tussle begins a chain reaction which introduces Martian Manhunter and begins a full scale war. Aliens crash to Earth (Specifically Metropolis) and begin to slowly destroy the city. And the more our heroe suncover about it, the more higher up it runs, all the way up to the government and military. And when the aliens start knocking, Earth's Greatest Heroes come a calling. Quickly into the second act of the pilot, we're introduced to the likes of Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Flash, and the now rookie Wonder Woman. There are alot of suprises in the pilot and to say any more would give it all away.
<a href="http://news.toonzone.net/2001/nov/13/alien4.jpg"><img src="http://news.toonzone.net/2001/nov/13/alien4.jpg" height=120 width=200 border=0 align="left" vspace=3 space=3></a> The animation is what you would expect from your typical Bruce Timm helmed projecyt - beautiful. There are a couple moments of odd character movements, but for the majority of the pilot, we see the heroes move quickly and smoothly. Batman and Superman have definatly changed from their respective series. Batman's new moves are more creepy and almost snake like. In the first act of the pilot, when he jumps to the ground, he connects smoothly and quickly and mimmicks a snake. When Superman takes flight, the speed is notched up quite abit. Again, in the first act he has sped up.
The new heroes introduced are a mix bag. The Flash comes off as arrogant, but will most likely become the most liked member of the group for new fans. His dialogue is hilarious at times and he is instantly likeable. When more information on his character comes about later in the season, we will definatly get to see more of him. Micheal Rosenbaum does a great job on the character, bringing his to life perfectly.
<a href="http://news.toonzone.net/2001/nov/13/other.jpg"><img src="http://news.toonzone.net/2001/nov/13/other.jpg" align="right" vspace=3 hspace=3 height=120 width=200 border=0></a> Green Lantern is a hard arse military type, which works both with and against him. While his character comes off as cliched, and almost like Shaft, his dialogue is some of the best written stuff for the opener. The voice performance by Phillip LaMarr is a very mixed bag. He sounds like a pardoy of himself, and sometimes comes off as laughable.
Wonder Woman is under-written, but that is apart of her charm. She is the rookie that no one knows much about. For new fans of the series, they wil likely be confused at her background, as we only see a few moments with her and her mother on Themiscyra. Hopefully the upcoming episode focusing on the heroine will showcase more of her background. The voice acting on Wonder Woman, though, is dissapointing and stiff. In some scnees which require her to grunt and give it all she has, she comes of lightly. She is a great character which I hoped to see expanded upon.
Hawkgirl will definatly be another favorite, as she is considered the underdog of the group. A new character to even some Justice League fans, she thoughs in a great mix. Her character is not what you would expect, especially from her moniker. She is brutal and blunt. Some of her scenes, in which she uses her mace, come of as some of the most brutal sequences in the pilot. She is swift and unrelentless. Nothing is revealed about her at all in the pilot, hopefully setting up an interesting future storyline as current heroes seem to know about her.
<a href="http://news.toonzone.net/2001/nov/13/mm2.jpg"><img src="http://news.toonzone.net/2001/nov/13/mm2.jpg" vspace=3 hspace=3 align="left" height=120 width=200 border=0></a>Martian Manhunter is an enigma and really the star of the opener. His tragic background is revealed and he gets arguably the best line and moment in the concluding act. One of the best things about this character is that he is constantly unfolding through out the pilot. We learn more and more as the opener progresses and it is interesting and believeable (to a certain 'through believeability out the door' kinda way). The voice acting by Carl Lumbry is absolutely perfect. He is Martian Manhunter. His voice is dry and stiff - exactly how it should be.
As for the big two, Superman and Batman, it is like wlaking into familiar territory. Aside from the costume tweaks, Batman is exactly how he was before. Dark, mysterious, and always ready for battle. Kevin Conroy continues to provide the best depiction of the Dark Knight. No complaints at all. His new look is a perfect mix of his old and new look. The writers are able to believeably manipulte him into the Justice League. Superman's small look changes look good when done right. Some scenes in the pilot make Superman seem extremely old and ugly. The new line son his face do work, but there are some scenes where they just look like clutter. The new voice takes getting used to. George Newbeurn steps in for Tim Daly and does an adequate, if shaky, job. Superman comes off sounding young in some scenes, and then sounding exactly like Daly in others. Given that this is Newbeurn's first voice acting gig, it is understandble he would not be perfect from the get go. Give him time, and the voice will undoubtably stabalize.
Overall, the pilot is a fast paced exciting ride. While the premise for he pilot is cliched, the cre w pull it off pretty good. You know the heroes will win the battle in the end, but it is entertaining getting there! The action sequences are well done and most of the scenes inbetween are some great, short character building moments. The characters mesh really well in the pilot as they are initially brought togethor. The show can only go up from here, and undoubtably will.
Rating: B+.
<center><a href="http://news.toonzone.net/2001/nov/13/other3.jpg"><img src="http://news.toonzone.net/2001/nov/13/other3.jpg" border=0 vspace=3 hspace=3 height=120 width=200></a></center>