The latest animated feature from the DC Animated Universe is Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. This also marks the first film based on the New 52 setup. This 81 min feature is adapted from the Flashpoint story arc written by Geoff Johns in which Barry Allen’s Flash has some how altered time and created a different reality.
In this “new reality”, it is Thomas Wayne and not his son Bruce as a vigilante type Batman. Superman, is reduced to nothing more than a frail being from another planet and Wonder Woman is anything but a wonder. She turns out to be not only Aquaman’s companion, but also a murderous and scorned Amazon to boot. Not the Amazon Princess we all know and love.
Let’s start off with why I have to say that Flashpointis not one of my favorites. It’s not to say that it’s a bad movie. It just happens to be a notch or two below some of the more recent releases from DCAU. For anyone who has read the mini-series knows how complex the storyline is. Generally speaking, anything that deals with time travel lends itself to confusion and frustration. There’s too much material, too much going on to fit into such a small running time. If anything, this makes me appreciate Batman: The Dark Knight Returns even more because it was divided into two parts.
The other aspect of this that I know some may find troubling, is the graphic nature of the violence. It is appropriately rated as PG-13 and by no stretch of the imagination is it a gore film. Flashpoint just turns out to be a very grim film to watch. It turns out this way because the story line in which Flashpoint is based on is very mature in theme. You can’t hold DC responsible for keeping up with the source material. Any parent concerned should probably watch it first and make an informed decision that best fits their family.
With that said, the good in Flashpoint was seeing The Flash be front and center of the story instead of being the usual comic relief that we’ve seen in other films as well as the old Justice League animated series. Fans of The Flash will and should enjoy watching their hero take center stage.
Speaking of which, it’s been a very good last few weeks for the scarlet speedster. First at the San Diego
All in all Flashpoint is not a bad feature. It’s certainly better than Batman: Gotham Knights or Green Lantern: Emerald Knights. If you get the blu-ray check out the sneak peak at Justice League: War. It looks to amazing and is due out this winter.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
