Justice League Throne of Atlantis - Review
DC have been on quite an adventure since they re-launched their comic line a few years back, one area that has really taken hold of the new stories is in the animated world, which brings us to the next adventure for the Justice League.
Throne of Atlantis takes place sometime after the previous film War, with each of the members of the Justice League returning to their various places, except Cyborg who has taken up residence within Star Labs. It is there that he is approached by Colonel Steve Trevor to help locate a US Submarine that has gone missing while surveying the ocean, all the while a lone man spends his time drinking at a local bar as well as talking to the lobster in the tank. The man is Arthur Curry, who is born of both Atlantis and the surface world.
For anyone keeping up with the Justice League comics, this story will feel very similar as it follows the same plot, but with a few minor changes. A lot of people tend not to think that Aquaman is worthy of his place within the Justice League and this story may help change their minds, it is nothing ground breaking, but it helps establish the character in a way that makes his inclusion seem natural.
From a presentation standpoint, Justice League Throne of Atlantis is a very beautiful movie, it has a lot of great action, but also manages to make the characters feel more grounded than the previous title. Introducing the city of Atlantis and its many under water locations was something that could have been done very wrong, but the team here obviously understood what needed to be created and too their time to do it right. Seeing Atlantis on screen for the first time, it is quite a sight indeed.
The characters for the most part are pretty great with each of their looks having been defined by the relaunch of the DC Comics series. While the Justice League characters the ones on show, when we do so other characters like Lois Lane or Lex Luthor, they feel a little under used. The only downside is that from the last movie to this one, almost the entire cast has been swapped out, with Sean Astin and Jason O’Mara returning as Shazam and Batman, Nathan Fillion returns to Green Lantern, a role he has played a few times before and rounding out the cast is Rosario Dawson, Matt Lanter and Jerry O’Connell as Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Superman, respectively.
As the movie is chronologically a sequel to War, it is really odd that they would recast the roles, even if they were after more star power, but thankfully none of the performances are bad, each is actually really well done. Superman and Wonder Woman are starting their romance here and both actors bring enough weight to the roles that helps sell it. Perhaps the weakest link in the voice cast is Jason O’Mara as Batman, he does a solid job in the role, but I don’t know if he is the best choice, perhaps I am being biased as Kevin Conroy is who I think of as Batman.
Overall, fans of DC comics and their characters would be hard pressed to fault this adaptation of the Justice League comic, it does make changes from the original story, but it still works. The action is well paced and easy to follow and every member of the team gets a chance to spotlight some of their powers, now only time will tell what is in store for the Justice League next.
Thanks to Warner Bros Home Entertainment for supplying the movie for review
The Score
8.5
Review copy provided by Warner Bros Home Entertainment
The Pros
+Best Justice League movie to date
+Characters fell grounded
The Cons
-Change of cast from the previous film may annoy some
-Story changes form the source material might be an issue