PLOT: The decade is the 1950s, in a world where Communist paranoia has turned America against its heroes, because the sight of men and women in masks makes other people think that the superheroes of the world have something to hide, that they're subversive Communists or worse. So the US government responds by giving superheroes an ultimatum - retire or work for the government, thus disclosing their secret identities. Only Superman (who presumably lies about his secret identity) and Wonder Woman (who really has no secret identity) agree to this, while many other superheroes (the entire Justice Society of America/JSA, the predecessor to the JLA) simply retire or continue acting on their own, like Batman. Into this fray comes Barry Allen/The Flash, the scarlet speedster who feels he may not be of the same caliber as the Man of Steel or Amazon Princess, Hal Jordan/Green Lantern, fearless test pilot with some troubles of his own, J'onn J'onnzz/Martian Manhunter, the alien without a world, and a massive force known as the Center, a giant floating island that has existed for centuries with but 1 purpose - to destroy the human race, since the human race can barely cooperate with itself. It's up to the many heroes of the world, masked and unmasked alike, to put aside their differences and save the day.
A familiar plot is reasonably well executed and features a solid voice cast that includes Kyle MacLachlan as Superman, Lucy Lawless as Wonder Woman, Jeremy Sisto as Batman, Miguel Ferrer as Martian Manhunter, David Boreanez as Hal Jordan/GL, Neil Patrick Harris as the Flash/Barry Allen, Kyra Sedgwick as Lois Lane, Brooke Shields as Carol Ferris, Alan Ritchson as Aquaman, and Phil Morris as Agent King Faraday.
The film's primary problem is under length - 75 minutes was not a lot to give this story, which was much more epic in scope and in its unifying of various subplots than the film. It's amazing the film works as well as it does, considering that this running time should not have worked for the story at all.
Green Lantern fans who were disappointed by the lack of Hal in the Justice League animated series that ran 2001-2005 should be pleased to see him here, well voiced by David Boreanez of Angel fame. The other actors are pretty much stellar, Kyle MacLachlan in particular being a stand out as Superman. It may take a while to adjust to Jeremy Sisto's Batman and Miguel Ferrer's Martian Manhunter, after years of Kevin Conroy and Carl Lumbly respectively, but they do their parts well (Ferrer was also the voice of Weather Wizard & Aquaman in the previous Superman series, in addition to various roles on Justice League). Lucy Lawless was a no-brainer for Wonder Woman, and it makes me all the sadder that this is the only format in which she'll get to play the character.
A familiar plot is reasonably well executed and features a solid voice cast that includes Kyle MacLachlan as Superman, Lucy Lawless as Wonder Woman, Jeremy Sisto as Batman, Miguel Ferrer as Martian Manhunter, David Boreanez as Hal Jordan/GL, Neil Patrick Harris as the Flash/Barry Allen, Kyra Sedgwick as Lois Lane, Brooke Shields as Carol Ferris, Alan Ritchson as Aquaman, and Phil Morris as Agent King Faraday.
The film's primary problem is under length - 75 minutes was not a lot to give this story, which was much more epic in scope and in its unifying of various subplots than the film. It's amazing the film works as well as it does, considering that this running time should not have worked for the story at all.
Green Lantern fans who were disappointed by the lack of Hal in the Justice League animated series that ran 2001-2005 should be pleased to see him here, well voiced by David Boreanez of Angel fame. The other actors are pretty much stellar, Kyle MacLachlan in particular being a stand out as Superman. It may take a while to adjust to Jeremy Sisto's Batman and Miguel Ferrer's Martian Manhunter, after years of Kevin Conroy and Carl Lumbly respectively, but they do their parts well (Ferrer was also the voice of Weather Wizard & Aquaman in the previous Superman series, in addition to various roles on Justice League). Lucy Lawless was a no-brainer for Wonder Woman, and it makes me all the sadder that this is the only format in which she'll get to play the character.