Justice League of America (1997)

The Worst Film Ever

Redundant and unnecessary.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

A friend of mine told me he had a bootleg copy of this low budget movie that never made it to the theaters or on home release. I said okay; it couldn't be any worse than the bootleg copy of the budget Fantastic Four that never made it to theaters or home release. I was wrong! This is far worse! This movie made the low budget Fantastic Four movie look a whole lot better. So many inaccurate superhero depiction horrors in this movie; I thought I would need therapy. If you took out all the inane parts; there would be less than 40 minutes left to watch. It was interesting to see a The Martian Manhunter in the flesh. It must have broke the budget to make up an actor to look like the comic book character because we really didn't get to see him until near the end of the movie. This movie would've bombed faster than Solar Babies at the box office.

I thought it was a charming story. It's not the most sophisticated thing I've ever watched, and indeed has little (if any) of the flavor of the Justice League of the comics. Nevertheless, it's a pleasant, light, little comedy/adventure tale. The characters are very sympathetic, and I found myself feeling for them. Kenny Johnston, a Flash who has trouble finding (and holding) a job, while not at all like the Barry Allen of the comics (a successful police scientist), is quite likable- and reminds me of Woody Harrelson in his Cheers days. Ice, as played by Kim Oja, touches me as she struggles to deal with her newfound powers. The Atom of this film is portrayed as a somewhat nerdy high-school science teacher instead of a genial researcher, but he's got a very good heart; John Kassir convinced me of that. This Green Lantern is like no other; Matthew Settle is evidently a respected actor (to judge from his extensive filmography), but I found his characterization somewhat snippy. However, he doesn't hold a candle to the Guy Gardner of the comics (an aggressive, hotheaded jerk!). This Green Lantern is somewhat impatient and judgmental, in his "real life" not terribly heroic; but you feel bad for him as he struggles to win his beloved's heart without betraying his secrets. Michelle Hurd's Fire is funny and hip; she's the sensible one, the reality check for her rather childlike male colleagues. David Ogden Stiers as the Martian Manhunter makes a nice Greek chorus and mentor to the team, although we don't get to see the character truly develop- and he isn't nearly other-worldly as an alien should be. Despite its considerable imperfections, what sold me on this show is the way it depicts the characters as imperfect, normal people on a certain level- and very likable on most levels. Perhaps it isn't fair to present this as a live-action Justice League for TV; it's not nearly sophisticated enough to be that. So give the characters new names and call it something else- "The Hero Squad" or what-have-you. However, as I said, it's a light, comic-adventure story about a group of misfit superheroes, not unlike Mystery Men. In that context, it works for me.

As a comic book fan... you know what? Forget as a comic book fan. As a person who enjoys watching television, this thing is absolutely ridiculous. Seriously, this is implausible to a person who has spent their entire life being raised on television and comic books.Let's start out with costume talk. These things look like costumes my mother made for my brother and me when we were twelve and eight and wanted to be DC superheroes (Technically, he was a villain, but Slade Wilson was always such a cool character, you know?). What is that thing that the Atom is wearing? It's like the costume designer just said, "How much Styrofoam can I fit into this costume? I need more." And what's up with putting green paint under Fire's eyes? It just looked stupid.The writing is god-awful. Let me get this straight on the whole "I'm not Fire" thing. Leaving alone the fact that this woman looks exactly the same in and out of costume in front of the Martin guy, there's just the fact that when she's rejecting him, she's still wearing his earrings. This just threw me for a loop, man. If a guy gets you a present, telling you he spent a ton of money on it, and then you reject him? You give the present back. Especially if you're rejecting him within a minute of getting the present. The earrings thing should never have been a problem, cause the fact that she was wearing the earrings was ridiculous.Plus, I love that ending, man. Everything winds up happy, right? Barry gets a job, Lantern gets his girl back, Martin gets a girlfriend, and Ice and Atom seem to have a beautiful relationship starting. Plus, there's the last shot of the League walking forward, each of them moving so stiffly that I think it might be a group superpower.And don't get me started on the J'onn J'onzz thing. I know that David Ogden Stiers is a good actor, and I don't mean to be a purist or anything, but when I think about words to describe the Martian Manhunter, obese doesn't come to mind.I watched this movie for free, and for shear camp value and maybe a laugh, it's good for about half an hour. (Not the first half hour, that's the slowest damn beginning I've ever seen.) But a half hour somewhere in the middle, if you're really bored, watch it on You Tube. But if you like the Justice League you should be willing to watch cartoons. Just go for JLU and enjoy yourself for 22 minutes.

.. there must be a movie out there that's even worse. Lame characters even lamer acting. Lots of voice actors even the great David Ogden "Cogsworth" Stiers himself couldn't turn this movie into something decent. I haven't seen any acting of the man but he is by far a wonderful voice actor. Then there's John Kassir who did Meeko in Pocahontas. Not much of a speaking role. Anyway back to Justice League... really bad costumes, like the 60's Batman series which was good for it's time. And weak SFX this movie isn't worth my time. Maybe just maybe with a different cast, a different director and a much bigger bag of money this could've become something. Maybe an idea for the crew behind Spiderman or X-men when they run out of sequel ideas.