Melody's Marvels

An Overlooked Masterpiece: JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER MOVIE REVIEW

“All mankind waits upon our decision. A whole world looks to see what we will do. We cannot fail their trust. We cannot fail to try.” ~John F. Kennedy

As a child, I loved the exploits of Batman throughout his movies and TV shows. Superman has always been my favorite hero but I didn’t consider myself a true DC fan until one day, I rented a movie from a store and it transformed me. The movie was Justice League: The New Frontier, based on the graphic novel DC’s The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke.

A World Without Hope

I expected to have a fun time with the superhero action and the colorful characters but instead, I was transported into one of the most brilliantly written and realized version of the DC Universe that takes place during the space age of the 1950s with the end of the Korean War.

Just from the way it opens up with the ominous intro with the Centre mixed with the historic recap showing that costumed heroes and vigilantes have become outlawed. It draws you in with this unique atmosphere and world building that not many DC animated films do. It reminds me of a DC Universe version of Watchmen.

Martian Manhunter Leads The Story

Fitting perfectly within the era this takes place, the story focuses mostly on J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter attempting to adapt and live on Earth during a time when we are so divided and mean-spirited towards each other. Being the only one of your kind and surrounded by toxic individuals can be disheartening but our lucky to find that select few who share your views. This was a story that I truly admired as I too have been an outcast trying to find my place in a crazy world.

A Perfect Green Lantern Origin Story

The other main storyline is that of Hal Jordan, a veteran with PTSD from the Korean War. Ha’s story is all about finding the stars: he became an Air Force pilot to get up there and now he gets his second chance when the government assigns him to a mission to Mars.

Again, very fitting with the Space Age setting of this movie. We were at a point where people either were terrified of what waited for us in the vast reaches of space while others couldn’t wait to get up there and explore. The way his origin of becoming the Green Lantern is woven so well into the larger plot with the Centre that when he finally dons the green suit, it is applause worthy.

A Dark Threat For A Dark Time

Speaking of, let’s talk about the Centre who acts as the primary antagonist that brings the world out of their petty squabbles and assemble for the battle to save the Earth. While this villain is not exactly the most developed nor does it have much in terms of personality, Keith David provides an ominous performance as this psychic living island that views humans as the disease that needs to be cured. It’s a good threatening presence that makes for a tense and action-packed climax to the film.

The Flash Is The Ultimate Underdog

While he doesn’t have the largest role in the film, Barry Allen’s The Flash portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris remains one of the greatest things to come from this story. His whole dilemma is that not only does he feel worthless in comparison to titans like Superman or Wonder Woman but he’s questioning why he’s helping people when all they do is treat him like a criminal. But all this leads to an amazing revelation that of all the heroes and vigilantes, he is probably the most important character in the fight against the Centre.

This was back when the Flash was considered a C-list hero amongst general audiences and I firmly believe that movies like this and his standout moments in the Justice League animated series were the beginning of the character’s rise in popularity. His scenes in the climax are great but most can agree that his best scene in the story by far is when he faces off against Captain Cold in Las Vegas.

Legends of the New Frontier

That’s something that I truly respect Darwyn Cooke for (may he rest in peace), while the more popular characters like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are indeed in this story and provide great moments, they are reserved as supporting cast members while the less popular characters like Green Lantern and The Flash steal the show. Even Ray Palmer plays a surprisingly important role and he’s not even the Atom yet.

A Brighter Tomorrow

One of the greatest aspects about this movie is how it reflects the history of comics in the real world. When the superheroes began, we were in a dark time: war, poverty, and suffering everywhere and comics books were an escape, a means to take a break from the gloom and the misery of it all. Even if it is just for a few minutes, those few minutes in a story with Superman made people happy. That’s how the heroes of the New Frontier were: Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Justice Society were beacons of light and happiness.

In the real world, people took these stories for granted, banning them, destroying them, causing the comic book industry to nearly crash. It was a dark age and finally, in the 1960s, superheroes made the return with the Silver Age of Comics. It was brighter, more family friendly, and it was the beginning of an era for superheroes. This is definitely reflected in The New Frontier with heroes and vigilantes becoming outlawed and….well I think Superman says it best:

“We face a threat big enough to wipe us off the Earth and still we bicker about a mask or a uniform.” ~Superman, The New Frontier
His entire speech in this scene is…perfect.

And when the world seemed to be at it’s most bleak, the heroes return, they face the Centre and a new age of heroes begins. The Justice League is born, the world looks brighter, and we leave the darkness in the past. This was reflected in real life…at least somewhat. Between World War II and the Korean War, it was time we looked to a brighter tomorrow when the 1960s began, even if it was only for a short time.

From Public Enemy To Public Figure

This ideal of embracing a brighter future is best shown in the small but amazingly well written subplot for Batman. He believes in justice and will go to any lengths to achieve it but when his original suit terrified a young boy, he decides it is time for an overhaul.

The urban mythical creature of the night becomes the Dark Knight Detective and Caped Crusader. When Batman arrives in the climax, he’s ditched his First Appearance inspired suit for a very Silver Age design that harks back to Adam West.

An All-Star Cast

This movie takes a chance by decided to opt the more iconic voices like Kevin Conroy and Tim Daly for voices actors that you would not expect but do a spectacular job in their selective roles. Kyle MacLachlan as Superman, the aforementioned Neil Patrick Harris as the Flash, Lucy Lawless as Wonder Woman, the late Miguel Ferrer as Martian Manhunter, Jeremy Sisto as Batman, David Boreanaz as Green Lantern, Brooke Shields as Carol Ferris, Kyra Sedgwick as Lois Lane, this whole cast is star studded and they all nail it. I’ve wanted more of MacLachlan as Superman for years and I think Neil Patrick Harris might still be my favorite voice for The Flash.

My Final Thoughts

To give my thoughts overall, this is one of those movies where every time I watch it, I find new things to love about it. It’s THAT good. From the animation, the story, the characterizations, this fascinating 1950s version of the DC Universe, the voice acting, the action, the maturity of it, it is just perfect to me from beginning to end and it’s a shame that I don’t hear many DC fans talk about. Instead most conversations lead to Mask of the Phantasm, Under the Red Hood, or Flashpoint Paradox which ARE fantastic movies in almost every way but in my personal opinion, Justice League: The New Frontier earns its spot as my favorite animated DC film of all time. This is the movie that turned me into a dedicated fan of the DC mythos and I thank it for that every time see the credits roll.

I give the movie a 10/10. If you have not seen it, go ahead and find a copy online if you can: buy it, rent it, love it!

I want to thank those who voted for me to review this movie:

Lucas Haaf
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You’re all SO SWEET for making it this far and I hope you all enjoyed this review! I write about anything geek related, especially comic book related stuff so if you want to stay up to date with all the reviews, news breakdowns, and lists I do, make sure to follow! Love you all!

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I Love It!: THE BATMAN (2021) BATSUIT REVEAL (THOUGHTS)

FINALLY! After years of director changes, actor changes, script rewrites, so much speculation as to what this new Batman suit would look like and BAM! The genius that is Mr. Matt Reeves surprises us with this test footage showing off our first look at Robert Pattinson as Batman and his fancy new Batsuit!

#TheBatman #CameraTest https://t.co/M1tAE2aTA1
— Matt Reeves (@mattreevesLA) February 13, 2020

What are my immediate thoughts?

To quote Obadiah Stane from the first Iron Man: “I LOVE THIS SUIT!”

Granted, we have not seen every single detail of it but I have seen enough to know that I am very impressed by it. The first thing that gets my attention is actually the new insignia upon the chestplate and OMFG, it looks so good! My favorite Bat-symbols are always the ones that can be both iconic and unique at the same time and that is definitely the case here.

It looks like a Bat-symbol, no doubt about it but it is definitely unlike any cinematic symbol we’ve had in the past. The lack of ears and head harks back to the classic ’39 symbol from the comics but combined with the sharp ends, this leads many (including myself) to think that this symbol is actually detachable and becomes a Batarang. If this is true? TAKE ALL MY MONEY, REEVES! While I have always loved Ben Affleck’s suit, I was never the biggest fan of his more blocky symbol. It wasn’t bad but definitely one of my least favorite symbol whereas I can already guarantee that this is my favorite live action Batman symbol.

Next is the armor itself and…yeah, it’s definitely more armored this time. The shoulder guards combined with the more angular, sleek chestplate gives me vibes of Injustice, Arkham Knight, Arkham Origins and even a little bit of Year One with the more slim look mixed together into a cake pan and this is the beautiful dessert were are given. I think this is the kind of design that the nightmare Batman in Titans was going for but hasn’t come to fruition yet. I’m excited to see more of it!

So after that, the camera pans up and we see a side view of Pattinson in his cowl and once again, we don’t get the full look of it but from what I see? I like. Again, different but definitely iconic enough to make me smile. I like the handmade look of it as well as the battle damage it has. It makes me wonder if Batman is going to upgrade to a new suit for the climax in this movie much like in the Telltale game. Speaking of, I actually do get a Telltale vibe from this cowl’s design with a hint of the cowl from the 2004 animated series. I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to see the ears because that’s usually the part of the cowl I’m always most interested to find out. Are they short like Affleck? Long like the Arkham games? Or are they more in the middle like Bale’s version? Well I guess we’ll just have to see, same with the fins on his gauntlets.

B-E-A-UUUUTIFUL!

The last thing I want to talk about in the score which director Matt Reeves confirmed was done by the legendary Michael Giacchino and…yeah, it was great music. It perfectly fit that dark, eerie, yet epic tone that Danny Elfman and Shirley Walker perfected in Batman: The Animated Series. I can’t wait to hear more of it!

Overall, I love this first look! I think this new trend of DC movies giving us first looks at characters through these test footage clips is genius. I was on board with Joker, I was on board with Birds of Prey, and now I am DEFINITELY on board with The Batman. I can’t wait to see more of the suit and more importantly: reveals of the villains!

Hope you all enjoyed this quick little article! I write about anything geek related, especially comic book related stuff so if you want to stay up to date with all the reviews, news breakdowns, and lists I do, make sure to follow! Love you all!

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Fun, Crazy, and Hilarious: BIRDS OF PREY (AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN) REVIEW

Margot Robbie returns as Harley Quinn who teams up with the likes of Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) to protect Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco) from a sadistic Black Mask (Ewan McGregor) and his army of criminals.

Going into Birds of Prey, I was expecting a fun romp featuring everyone’s favorite crazy jester but I found myself pleasantly surprised by how much I ended up loving this movie! This is easily one of the best movies that the DC films have had to offer and honestly, it’s one of the most fun times I’ve had with a comic book film.

Let’s start with Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and I’m just gonna be frank about it: she has perfected this character. Most can agree that she was one of the best things about 2016’s Suicide Squad and she continues to shine in this movie. There are some actors born for certain roles like Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, and now you can add Margot Robbie as Harley to that list because from beginning to end, she is playing the character both physically and in personality to a tee.

And I really mean physically, there are certain action sequences where I could tell it was Margot doing the stunts much like she did in Suicide Squad and wow, props to that girl to nailing those moves in heels and roller skates.

Speaking of action scenes, this movie has some of the best choreography and cinematography I’ve ever seen from a comic book movie. The best things I can refer to the style is John Wick meets Netflix’s Daredevil. By far the best action scene comes at around the halfway point inside the G.C.P.D. where Harley is met with just waves upon waves of enemies and obstacles. Combine the insane fighting with a personal favorite song from my childhood and this easily became my favorite scene in the movie.

But the movie is not all action, there are other characters in the movie…and despite the movie being titled Birds of Prey, this is more of a Harley Quinn movie than anything but that’s not taking away anything from the Birds because they are all great. Black Canary gets the most screentime of the Birds and I think that Jurnee Smollett-Bell nailed enough of Canary’s iconic traits while still bringing a fresh new take on the character. Her fighting style is badass and without spoilers, all I can say is that her version of the Canary Cry is OFF. THE. CHAIN!

Mary Elizabeth Winstead is just so damned perfect as Huntress. I knew from the moment her casting was announced that I would love it but every single time she appears on screen, she steals the show. I’m not sure how much of the stunts were done by Winstead but Huntress’ fighting was all done beautifully…plus she happens to have some of the best jokes in the movie. My only issue with Huntress was that she had the least amount of screen-time of all the Birds of Prey and hope she gets a much bigger role in a sequel.

Renee Montoya gets her first big screen debut played by Rosie Perez and I think she did pretty well with the character. While not bad at all, I did feel that Renee was the weakest of the Birds mostly just because most of her screen time is just her running around and pointing her gun at people. It’s not until the last act where they make Renee into a real badass cop and I do look forward to see more from her….maybe even evolve into The Question? Hmmm….

Ella Jay Basco was my one and only concern about this movie going in as I am a fan of Cassandra Cain but I ended up really liking this take on the character. I can see her evolving and becoming someone like Orphan, especially since they revealed that she’s a foster child. Without possible spoilers for sequels to come: let’s just say that this little reveal could be hinting that her real mother could come by. Anyway, I found Basco to be funny and charismatic whenever she was on screen and her chemistry with Harley was just beyond adorable.

Of course, you can’t talk about the heroes without talking about the villains and this movie has two of them: Roman Sionis AKA Black Mask and Victor Zsasz. Zsasz in my opinion was just fine, he was a serviceable psychotic murdering henchman and even had a few moments of “yeesh this guy is creepy” but for the most part, I just felt that he didn’t belong in this super fun and crazy adventure. I saw Zsasz more as a character for a darker and more serious film like Batman or even a Nightwing movie.

Black Mask, however, was a fantastic villain in my opinion. Ewan McGregor has always been one of my personal favorite actors and he just commands the screen whenever he’s on it; he nails this dark and sadistic version of Black Mask from the moment he’s introduced. Let’s just say this movie tends to earn its R-rating whenever he pops on screen. When he finally dons the actual Black Mask? It is a spectacle to see as someone who has been waiting for years to see Black Mask done in live action form. Only shame is that he’s only in the mask for the third act of the film but I can understand why they made that choice. Is he on the same level as Ocean Master from Aquaman? Definitely not but he was a good starter villain for the Birds of Prey.

When I say this movie earns its R-rating, I am not kidding. This movie is BRUTAL and not just because of the villains: Harley breaks bones and skulls, Huntress stabs and shoots people, Canary wipes the floor with people, etc. In the aforementioned scene in the G.C.P.D., there is a sequence where Harley uses her baseball bat to break bones and it provided many, “OOOOOOH!” screams from me.

You know what else this movie provided? LAUGHS. For those of you that don’t know: I love insane yet quirky characters and since this whole movie is told from Harley’s point of view, you can imagine there is a lot of fun insanity to be had. Harley and the Birds all have jokes that had me cracking up, Harley has a tendency to break the fourth wall much like she does in the comics, and even Black Mask gets a few funny lines in there.

With the fourth wall breaking also comes a non-linear way of telling the story and this is done on purpose as a joke from Harley as the narrator but I also liked how it was done. It was, in my opinion, a clever way to introduce us to all of the Birds of Prey without using boring exposition….instead it’s very funny and insane exposition.

I also liked that despite the poor critical reception of Suicide Squad and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, this movie was not afraid to cement itself in that universe with different references to previous movies and expands upon that world. I was happy to see more of this Earth’s version of Gotham City with iconic locations like Amusement Mile, Founders Island, and the East End.

Overall, I had a blast with this movie. This is not Avengers: Endgame or even Aquaman levels of epic scale and story but rather a super fun action packed adventure featuring a bunch of kick-ass anti-heroines in Gotham City. It’s bizarre, it’s colorful, it’s out of its mind, it’s beautifully shot, it’s funny, it’s action packed, it’s just one hell of a fun ride to be on!

I’m going to give Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) a solid 8.5/10. If you’re looking for a fun time, take your loved one on a date night to this movie and you’ll have a great time!

I hope you liked my review! I’m looking forward to start posting here more often and if you want to keep up with my reviews and thoughts on various things, make sure to follow this blog or follow me on Twitter.

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