Fanboys Anonymous

Justice League vs. the Fatal Five is the latest in the line of animated DC direct-to-video films. Is it worth the watch or it is something that should be skipped?

Justice League vs. the Fatal Five
Directed by Sam Liu
Written by Alan Burnett, Eric Carrasco, James Krieg and Jim Shooter

STARRING:
Diane Guerrero (Jessica Cruz / Green Lantern), Elyes Gabel (Thomas Kallor / Starboy), Kevin Conroy (Bruce Wayne / Batman), George Newbern (Clark Kent / Kal-El / Superman), Susan Eisenberg (Diana Prince / Wonder Woman), Kevin Michael Richardson (Mr. Terrific), Daniela Bobadilla (Miss Martian), Tara Strong (Saturn Girl), Noel Fisher (Brainiac 5), Matthew Yang King (The Persuader), Tom Kenny (Bloodsport), Sumalee Montano (Emerald Empress), Philip Anthony-Rodriguez (Mano) and Peter Jessop (Tharok)

Here are some specific thoughts that ran through my mind during the course of the film as a stream of consciousness:

• Very first immediate thought = this seems cheesy and I hope I'm wrong about that.
• Oh hey, Justice League theme!
• You don't mess with the Batmans.
• Oh damn, this went from cheesy to dark now that some dude is flat out executing people gun to head.
• I really wish there was a way to combine Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, Guy Gardner, Alan Scott, Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz all into one single Green Lantern, that would be so much better than dividing the interesting characteristics.
• Way to fuck up, Miss Martian. But good joke about Robin.
• You'd think a seasoned Superman like this one would know better than to cause so much collateral damage by punching people through buildings like this.
• Yoooooooooooooo Harvey Dent!!!!! I wasn't expecting that. Very cool.
• I have no attachment or much knowledge of the Fatal Five, so these villains aren't doing anything for me yet and I'm 24 minutes in. Never been a fan of the Legion of Super-Heroes, either, for that matter.
• I do like the animation on Starboy, though.
• Mr. Terrific is actually getting a chance to do something? Sweet.
• So let's just pretend like Jessica can out of nowhere learn how to use her ring to a great extent AND get over her paranoia just because "now's the time you have to deal with it" as if that really works. Lazy.
• Goddamn can EVERYBODY fly?
• With these bombs going off, now would be a good time for The Flash to be able to save everybody, right? Where's Wally?
• You're just gonna kill Kilowog?! Poozers.
• One of the tropes I'm not fond of with films like this is that they always have to nerf the rest of the heroes in order to highlight the one they're focusing on. In this case, Superman and Wonder Woman aren't able to do much because Jessica and Starboy have to save the day. I get it, in terms of the story, but it's predictable and flat.
• Shouldn't Clark be supercharged after flying into the sun like that?
• "I didn't say how I voted." - LOL Batman. Such a dick.
• Well that was an abrupt ending.

Like most of these, if you look at this as a 3-episode block of Justice League Unlimited, then sure, it's fine. But if you look at it as an actual movie, it's underwhelming. As a fan of DC, I'm inclined to want to watch damn near everything, so if you're in the same boat as I am, go ahead and give it a shot for a quick watch some afternoon or something. In the grand scheme of things, though, if you're hoping for anything particularly engaging, this isn't going to suffice, as the villains are super bland, the story is pretty generic and there isn't much substance to it. It's just fine.