‘Justice League: Doom’ DVD Review

Director: Lauren Montgomery

Cast: Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly, Nathan Fillion

Plot: Superhero organisation the Justice League come under fire when arch-villain Vandal Savage learns of techniques to take each of them out of action before unleashing his master plan. The plot thickens when the League learn that the techniques were devised by one of their own.

Review: Both the DC and Marvel companies have been successful of late with recent releases of new animated features, drawing in a strong cast of vocal talents and pleasing their fanbases with in-depth stories and quality action. I’m not a big viewer of these animated movies unless they are directly related to Batman, but the story of this piece got my attention. Based on the JL story ‘Tower of Babel’ it delved into the mind of the Dark Knight, bringing his paranoia and his need to plan for every contingency.

This version of the story doesn’t go as far into the psychology of the print original, nor are the traps laid for the members of the League as imaginative. Nonetheless the story is engaging and well paced, giving an insight into the characters that are interesting even for viewers unfamiliar with the whole cast of capes. The story winds up with the generic pummeling match between goodies and baddies but the finale is exciting enough to carry it through for casual viewers. For those not inclined to more conventional superhero fables will find it a bit hokey.

The voice cast raise the bar for superhero animation. Not only is Kevin Conroy the definitive voice of Batman, carrying on his work from Batman: The Animated Series and the ‘Arkham’ games series, and his vocal codes are well cemented in the minds of Batfans. In addition we have the always awesome Nathan Fillion bringing his cocksure attitude to the Green Lantern – a perfect fit for the role. Filling out the rest of the tights are talented men and women who give each character their own personality and style.

For anyone with an interest in superhero antics, this is well worth the time. It’s not the most mindblowing adventure doing the rounds, but it’s fun and imaginative. Bane going the knuckle with Batman is always worth the admission price.

Score: SEVEN outta TEN