Justice League: Throne of Atlantis Review

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Published on Friday, January 16 2015 12:54

Written by Jim Dietz

Justice League: Throne of Atlantis

Justice League:Throne of Atlantis is the latest in a series of direct-to-DVD/VOD feature-length animated releases, and it adapts the storyline of the same name from the Justice League comic book. This feature focuses on Aquaman a.k.a. Arthur Curry (voice-acted here by Matt Lanter), discovering his true Atlantean heritage and , with the Justice League’s help, stopping an invasion on the surface world led by his evil half-brother Orm, also known as Ocean Master. It also serves as a direct sequel to the previous Justice League animated offering entitled simply War.

As a whole Throne of Atlantis is a bit of a mixed bag. excelling in almost as many places as it fails. For instance, the voice cast is for the most part spot on, with fan-favorite Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern, Rosario Dawson as Wonder Woman and Sean Astin as Shazam, which makes where it stumbles in this regard even more noticeable, like Jerry O’Connell’s rendition of Superman or, even worse because the movie is centered around him, Matt Lanter’s blandly emo reading of Aquaman. How the Leaguers interact with one another is another study in dichotomy. The friendly rivalry between The Flash and Green Lantern is fun and is reminiscent of their relationship in classic comic book pairings, but the Batman/ GL stuff seems like one of the most worn-out of tropes (the rookie who ruins the investigation by stopping the bad guys) that it was hard not to roll my eyes. The Superman/ Wonder Woman relationship does both, managing to feel forced and non-authentic early on but then later offering one of the best character scenes in the movie when Clark and Diana run into Lois Lane while out on a date.

The art fits right in with the anime-influenced style of the most recent DC DVD releases and is a good compromise between the highly-detailed art of the comics upon which it is based and the Alex Toth-inspired “Timm-verse” style that was the hallmark of the DC animated universe for over a decade. The action is well-blocked and choreographed although full of violent content that would probably rate an “R” rating in a feature film, which parents buying this film should be aware of. In the previous DC direct-to-DVD feature, Batman: Assault on Arkham, the high violence level seemed fitting as it was ostensibly a Suicide Squad movie and thus in need of more of a mature feel but in a Justice League feature that appeals more to kids it seems out of place. Its hard to tell whether the filmmakers are trying to appeal to an adult audience or just trying to seem edgy.

Justice League: Throne of Atlantis is overall kind of hit and miss, with the parts that miss only slightly outweighing the parts that work. If you are a fan of the New 52 version of the Justice League in the comics in general, and a fan of this storyline in particular then this is a must-buy, but more casual Justice League fans can probably safely pass this one by.

Justice League: Throne of Atlantis is currently available on VOD and will be available on DVD and Blu-Ray on January 27th.