The Justice League
If you’d take all of the Justice League features that has been released over past decade and mix them up in a blender, you’d get a small pile made of cheap plastic with little diamonds sticking out here and there (don’t try this a home, no guarantee of actual diamonds ending up inside your blender). For the most part these Justice League movies act as your standard action popcorn-flick. However, there are one or two that stands out with intriguing and original stories. So, which one of these does the The Flashpoint Paradox fall in? Is it a piece of money-milking garbage or is it something much more than just another dull superhero-movie in the endless void of the American money-making machine?
The Flash is a cool guy?
If you guessed that Batman or Superman would be the main character of this movie, you’d be horribly wrong. Believe it or not, the Flash is the lead role in the Flashpoint Paradox, and he is without a doubt, a good lead. If you’ve watched the live action TV-show The Flash that began airing in 2014, you might have been left with a bad taste for anything involving The Flash. So, If you’re looking for something to redeem him, here is something that does just that, above and beyond.
The creators have successfully made Barry Allen (The Flash) a character that is fairly easy to relate to, even though he has the power to tap into a imaginary force of nature called The Speed Force, which lets him run incredibly fast. Although Barry can come across as having a bit of a selfish motive at times, you will see that he is truly one of the good guys, a guy that just wants to make the world a better place to live in; no matter what. There are scenes early on in the movie with Barry and later with Batman that might pull a bit at your heartstrings, and if they do, that feeling will come back at regular points throughout the movie.
So, what is the Flashpoint?
The Flashpoint is a story straight from the comics about what would happen if there was a disturbance in the timeline. An event that changed the world of superheroes. Changes such as, what if Superman got hidden away from the world? What if Aquaman and Wonder Woman started a war against each other? What if Batman didn’t have his one rule? The roles has been messed about, the Justice League never existed, there is but a few heroes to rely on; it’s a frightening world to live in.
If you’re looking for a one of the most tragic and heartfelt stories within the DC universe, this is it. A story with a lot of death and despair, yet it has a good little mix of comedy, love and friendship in between all the dark times.
Quality check
It’s hard to argue with the animation. I haven’t noticed any ugly mistakes or huge inconsistencies, it’s solid all the way through for the budget these DC features get. The voice acting is for the most part also spot on, with liked voice actors returning for their role such as Kevin Conroy as Bruce (Batman). Even though he is only Batman for a short period in this film, it still kinda matters to the Batman fans and there is a really good explanation for Conroy to not being the Batman through the whole movie and why Mark Hamill is not the voice actor for the Joker.
I have two or three small nitpicks with this movie that are all connected to an early part of the film with the members of the Justice League. Why does Cyborg need help from Captain Atom to fly? Why does Batman need to go to outer space with the help of Green Lantern to disarm one of the bombs, when the other superheroes can do it on earth? Why do some of the bombs explode and others don’t? Why am I so annoyed at the early bomb part of the movie? Probably because there aren’t any other negatives that I can find about The Flashpoint Paradox, just small stuff.
Compared to the comics
As this Justice League movie has a story ripped right from the comics, it has a bit to live up to. It’s a near perfect conversion into another medium, cuts out most of the unnecessary fat, focuses on the main story and gives it an enjoyable pacing. It makes some changes to how the story flows and which arcs are a part of it, but it still manages to remain true to the comics. The changes that are noticeable were truly needed to make this film work. Though there are two things that I miss in this adaptation, to begin with is the reason why Wonder Woman and Aquaman came to wage war with each other. I wish they would have elaborated a bit more on that part into something more alike the comics.
The other thing is Eobard Thawne (The Reverse Flash), there is almost no explanation to why Thawne hates Barry so much. The comics also makes this a bit clearer, they show his obsession with The Flash in a better way. It wouldn’t have taken up much time to explain these things. If it was a time issue they could have cut out some of the lesser needed scenes to make place for these explanations.
Is it worth the watch? Justice league: Flashpoint Paradox gives us a perfect example of what DC can do when they have a great story, so, YES, it sure is worth watching. The good stuff outweighs the few problems that exist, by far. It feels like this was a passion project for all the involved, it most certainly does not feel like it’s an idea from the fat executives wanting to make a quick buck. *Cough, cough, Son of Batman, cough*
Bonus!
If you’re interested in reading up on some of the DC stories, Flashpoint is one of the greats. The ones I’d recommend from the Flashpoint story are: Batman Knight of Vengeance, Wonder Woman and the Furies, Lois Lane and the Resistance, Project Superman and the main arc Flashpoint. There are more, but most of them are just bizarre, confusing and totally skippable. You probably had no idea that Frankenstein’s monster and his monster squad is a part of the Flashpoint. I didn’t even know they were a part of the DC universe before I started reading up on the whole event.