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Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox

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Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox
DVD cover
Directed byJay Oliva
Screenplay byJames Krieg
Produced byAlan Burnett
StarringJustin Chambers
Kevin McKidd
C. Thomas Howell
Michael B. Jordan
Nathan Fillion
Ron Perlman
Kevin Conroy
Dana Delany
Cary Elwes
Vanessa Marshall
Edited byChristoper D. Lozinski
Music byFrederik Wiedmann
Production
companies
Warner Bros. Animation
Warner Premiere
DC Comics
Studio 4°C
Distributed byWarner Home Video
Release date
  • July 30, 2013 (2013-07-30)
Running time
81 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox is an animated film adaptation of the 2011 comic book crossover "Flashpoint" by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert. It is scripted by Jim Krieg and directed by Jay Oliva. The film stars Justin Chambers as Barry Allen / The Flash, Kevin McKidd as Thomas Wayne / Batman, C. Thomas Howell as Eobard Thawne / Professor Zoom and Michael B. Jordan as Victor Stone / Cyborg. The film also sees actors reprising roles from other DC Animated properties; actors including Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne / Batman, Ron Perlman as Deathstroke, Nathan Fillion as Hal Jordan / Green Lantern, Dana Delany as Lois Lane and Dee Bradley Baker as Etrigan. It is the 17th film in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies series.[1] It is also scheduled to be re-released on September 10, 2013 as a 2-Disc Special Edition.

Plot

While visiting his mother's grave, Barry Allen, known as the Flash, is alerted to a break-in by Captain Cold, Captain Boomerang, Heat Wave, Mirror Master, and Top at the Flash Museum. Defeating the rogues, he discovers that they have been hired by his arch-enemy Professor Zoom as part of a plan to destroy Central City. With the help of the Justice League, Barry foils Zoom's plot, but Zoom's taunts over the death of his mother still haunt Barry as he departs. The next day, Barry discovers that the world has radically changed: his powers are gone, his mother is alive, his wife Iris is married to someone else, and the Justice League does not exist. Aquaman and his Atlantean forces have sunk most of Europe, while Wonder Woman has led the Amazons in conquering Great Britain, and both forces are now at war after an attempted alliance between them led to an affair, and then a confrontation between Wonder Woman and Aquaman's wife, Mera, ending in the latter's death.

Cyborg has assembled a team to eliminate both parties and approaches Batman to join them, but his refusal leads the government to scrap the plan, and instead recruit pilot Hal Jordan to fly an alien spacecraft to bomb the Atlanteans. Barry visits Wayne Manor, but is attacked by Batman—who he realizes is not Bruce Wayne but his father Thomas. Attempting to explain things to the elder Wayne, Barry retrieves his costume from his ring, but Professor Zoom's costume appears, causing Barry to believe Zoom is responsible for the timeline alteration. Barry convinces Batman to help, and Batman helps him recreate the accident that gave him his powers, but Barry is severely burned. In London, Steve Trevor attempts to extricate reporter Lois Lane, but is discovered by the Amazons and killed. The Amazons hunt down Lane, but she is rescued by the local resistance led by Etrigan. Meanwhile, in the remains of Paris, Deathstroke and Lex Luthor are attacked and killed by Aquaman's forces, lead by Ocean Master and Black Manta, while tracking the energy trail of Aquaman's new weapon, which is powered by the captive Captain Atom.

At the Batcave, after realizing that his memories are changing, Barry asks Batman to recreate the accident again. The second attempt results in success and Barry's powers are restored, but he discovers he cannot travel through time because Zoom is also using the Speed Force. Barry recruits more allies, beginning with Superman, who is a prisoner of the U.S. Government after his ship crashed into Metropolis. With the aid of Batman and Cyborg, they liberate Superman, who is empowered by Earth's yellow sun for the first time and fends off the facility's security (causing a number of accidental deaths as he tries to control his new powers) then flies off in fear and confusion. Barry collapses as his memories continue to change. Barry is taken into Billy Batson's home to recuperate, and learns that Jordan's attack has failed and that the final battle between the Amazons and Atlanteans has begun. Barry convinces the superheroes to help stop the war and they depart for Britain aboard Batman's jet, only to be shot down upon arrival by Aquaman's forces. Batson and his siblings combine into Captain Thunder to fight Wonder Woman, while Barry, Cyborg and Batman occupy Aquaman.

During the battle Batman is mortally wounded. Zoom reveals himself and explains that Barry is responsible for this alternate timeline: Barry traveled back in time to save his mother, fracturing the fabric of reality. Wonder Woman uses her lasso to force Captain Thunder back into his non-powered forms and kills Batson; Superman arrives but cannot save Cyborg from Aquaman. Gravely injured by Superman (Superman slices Aquaman's arm off with his heat vision.), Aquaman is defeated by Wonder Woman. A defiant, but regretful, Aquaman then remotely detonates his Captain Atom-powered bomb right before a teary-eyed Wonder Woman runs Aquaman through with her sword, killing him. As the explosion tears across the landscape destroying everything in its path, Zoom mocks Barry but is killed by Batman. The dying Batman urges Barry to run, giving him a letter addressed to his son. Barry races back in time and stops his earlier self but again fractures time, creating a second alternate timeline. Barry awakens at his desk and finds that reality is apparently back to normal. After spending a moment with Iris at his mother's grave, Barry visits Bruce Wayne to tell him about everything that occurred. Barry gives Bruce the letter from his father, and Wayne thanks Barry then runs off. In a post-credits scene, a Boom Tube opens in space above Earth and a horde of Parademons emerges.

Cast

Differences between the comics and film

There were some differences seen between the comics and the film:

  • In the comics, Lex Luthor was with his father Lionel Luthor when they first saw a captive Kal-El. In the movie, Lex is working alongside Deathstroke.
  • Kaldur'ahm and Black Manta are part of Aquaman's army in the film version.
  • In the comics, Lois is not originally a spy, she is reporting with Jimmy Olsen from Paris. When the Atlanteans sink Western Europe, Jimmy is killed by the rushing water, but not before handing off his camera to Lois. When Cyborg attempts to contact Jimmy through the Camera and gets Lois instead, she agrees to spy for the US Government.
  • In the film, Batman is interrogating Yo-Yo for information on where The Joker is keeping Judge Dent. In the comic Joker took Judge Dent's children.
  • When Lois is "saved" from the waters by the Themyscirans, she is sent to a training facility for Amazons and taught to fight there. After she is found to be a spy, she escapes from the facility and is on the run.
  • In the comics, Nathaniel Adam controls the body of "Project Six." In the film, Captain Atom has been weaponized into a bomb by Aquaman.
  • Hal Jordan does not initially fly a suicide mission in the comic, he flies an F-35 with a Green Arrow Industries nuclear bomb to blow through New Themyscira's invisible shield, however, the firing mechanism jams and he sends the plane and bomb into the invisible shield protecting New Themyscira to take it down. In the movie, he flies Abin Sur's space ship in an attempt to destroy Aquaman's bomb.
  • In the comics, Billy Batson was killed by an Amazonian warrior after Enchantress casts a spell to quell Captain Thunder. In the movie, he is killed by Wonder Woman after she uses her lasso to force the Captain into speaking the transformation word.
  • In the comics, Kal-El arrived and killed Enchantress. In the movie, he saves Cyborg from Aquaman.
  • In the comics, Batman kills Professor Zoom with an Amazon sword. In the movie, Batman shoots Professor Zoom in the head.
  • Before fixing the timestream after receiving the letter from Thomas Wayne, the Flash runs to his mother and explains what happened in order to save her life. She asks him to let her go and forget saving her life so he can save millions of others. In the movie he apologizes to her in thought while fixing the timeline, without talking directly to her (although this may have originally included but later omitted).
  • In the comics, Nora Allen was murdered by Professor Zoom, who had traveled back in time to kill her. The movie leaves the identity of Nora's killer unrevealed.
  • In the comics, upon undoing his alteration of the timeline, the Flash encountered a mysterious woman named Pandora (an interpretation of the Greek mythology figure of the same name) within the timestream who guided him in reshaping it, initiating a reboot of DC's continuity known as "The New 52". This is omitted from the film, but is alluded to in the final scenes, which depict the Flash and Batman in altered costumes that have changed to their New 52 designs.

Soundtrack

Untitled

The soundtrack to Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox was released on September 10th, 2013. The music was composed by Frederik Wiedmann.[2] The soundtrack listing:

TRACK LISTING
  1. The Incident 2:18
  2. Rogue 2:03
  3. Justice League 3:47
  4. Mother 1:08
  5. Sin City 2:32
  6. The Beginning of the End 1:06
  7. Inside the Batcave 1:44
  8. Chased by Amazons 2:17
  9. Atlantian War 3:53
  10. Recreation 1:22
  11. Redux 3:11
  12. Flash Reborn 1:05
  13. A Darker Past 1:26
  14. Hal Jordan 1:48
  15. Superman 1:31
  16. Faster Than Bullets 1:56
  17. The Mission of a Soldier 1:35
  18. Aquaman’s Army 1:05
  19. Worlds Collide 1:29
  20. Aquaman vs. Wonder Woman 1:36
  21. Thawne’s Play 4:01
  22. I Changed Something 2:09
  23. The Fallen 2:37
  24. The Blood of Hope 1:51
  25. Last Man Standing 3:14
  26. Hell of a Messenger 4:01
  27. This Is Classified 1:44
  28. Lost Family 0:36
Total Album Time: 59:04

Reception

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox received generally positive reviews. 147 users of Rotten Tomatoes favored it, with an average rating of 4.3/5.[3] 4497 IMDb users gave it an average rating of 7.7/10.[4]

Critics and audience said that the film stays true to its source material. It is generally praised for its mature story line and the way Flash obtains justice, but criticized it for its excessive violence and use of blood that exceeds the comics it is adapted from. Some questioned its PG-13 rating because of the graphic nature of Professor Zoom's death, and the gruesome deaths of other characters, including children.[5] Superman and Aquaman's "overly muscular" designs were ridiculed. The film was praised for its diverse characters and cast, but the relative focus on Thomas Wayne as Batman and the reduced focus on Barry Allen were not favorable received, and doubts were expressed about the many minor characters' usefulness to the film.[citation needed]

IGN gave a Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox 8.5/10, and said it has outdone its source material. It called the style "sleek and hard-hitting", praised C. Thomas Howell's voice acting which it said brought "unnerving dread", and stated that it is the "most hardcore DC animated movie to date", although it also warns against the level of violence and said the numerous cameos "detract from the main story".[6]

References

  1. ^ The Next DC Animated Movie – Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (DC Comics)
  2. ^ "New "Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox" Soundtrack Release Available Today". Worldsfinestonline.com. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
  3. ^ "Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  4. ^ "Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013)". imdb. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  5. ^ "Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox". The World's Finest. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  6. ^ "The Flashpoint Paradox spins an alternative tale". IGN. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
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