Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox movie review

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE FLASHPOINT PARADOX

Ron Pearlman, C. Thomas Howell, and Nathan Fillion in the same movie? AND it's an adaption of one of my favorite comic stories ever? Is Christmas early this year?

So, I finally got around to seeing The Flashpoint Paradox, and as mentioned above, Flashpoint is one of my favorite comic stories ever. It's basically about how the Flash has been sent to a parallel universe where everything's pretty much gone to crap. And that was the most interesting thing about the books, seeing all the changes in this parallel universe. I was surprised at how faithful this film was to the source material, even though they did change a bit and they left out a few great moments. But some things, they changed for the better, by actually showing us why Aquaman and Wonder Woman are at war, instead of making us read the tie-ins. I was also delightfully surprised at how the film stuffed 5 issues of plot into a 90-minute film without feeling too overwhelming. However, I was also disappointed at some changes in the film, such as leaving Element Woman out, or a pointless and drawn out fight between Aquaman and Deathstroke, or even the lack of Pandora. Despite this, I loved the tone for the film, with this being just as dark as The Dark Knight Returns (seriously, the film ends with what might be the bloodiest last 10 minutes of an animated film ever). 

In terms of characters, the Flash is likable as our hero, but as with the book, Batman (who's Thomas Wayne in this universe) steals every scene he's in, though I think the book gave us a more believable motive for him helping Barry. Cyborg is a character you can't help but root for, and I liked the extra emphasis on Grifter in the film. The only character I found to be rather flat was Wonder Woman, who really just didn't seem special to me. 

The voice acting in the film is top notch, with Kevin Conory reprising his role as normal Batman (even for just a few minutes), and FREAKING NATHAN FILLION as Hal Jordan. The standout performances in my mind is C. Thomas Howell as Reverse-Flash and Joe Soliz as Grifter.

The animation in the film was actually kind of disappointing. I really think the classic Bruce Timm/Darwyn Cooke style really could have suit this film, but instead, the filmmakers went for a more anime style, and made nearly every character look like they're on Venom.

JL: TFP could have been one of DC's best films, if it wasn't for a few storytelling missteps and a lackluster animation style. But it makes up for that by being faithful to the source material, great characters, and great voice acting.

STORY: 3.5/5
+ Stays faithful to the source material

+ Plotting is great, despite slowing down for some drawn out action scenes

- Leaves out a lot of great scenes from the books

- Some drawn out and unnecessary action scenes

CHARACTERS: 4.5/5

+ Well written cast

- Wonder Woman doesn't really do much

SOUND: 5/5

+ Great performances from everyone especially Nathan Fillion, Kevin Conoroy, C. Thomas Howell and Joe Soliz

ANIMATION: 2/5

+ Looks clear

- Anime style doesn't really suit the film

- Every character looks over-muscular

VERDICT: 4/5