Rating: ***
Review Date: 11/20/09
Cast: David Boreanaz, Neil Patrick Harris, Lucy Lawless,
Brooke Shields, Kyle MacLachlan
"The New Frontier" is based on Darwyn Cooke's graphic novel of the same name and re-imagines the Justice League during the 1950's, amidst the space race and the red scare. Superheroes are looked down on as un-American in the light of McCarthy's witch hunts, and most of them have gone into hiding. Similar to Frank Miller's "Dark Knight Returns," Superman is a government tool and is therefore tolerated. A horrific entity known as "The Center" appears on Earth, and its hatred for humanity drives it to destroy all Mankind. To combat this foe, society and superheroes alike must put aside their differences and join forces against their common enemy.
Much like the other DC Universe titles, the animation and production values are excellent. Unfortunately, the narrative seems disjointed and hard to follow. With so many characters involved, it's difficult to maintain a consistent and coherent storyline. One of the things that has always bothered me about Justice League is that half of the characters are uninteresting, and their interactions with each other don't always seem genuine to their established personalities. I never liked team-ups, because they always took attention away from what I really wanted to see, and created an atmosphere of competition that always led to a stalemate. But now I'm really drifting off topic. Overall, "The New Frontier" is an enjoyable animated action adventure that should thrill any superhero enthusiast.