"The fate of the Earth hangs in the balance when the Justice League faces the Fatal Five, a time-travelling band who terrorise Metropolis in search of the budding Green Lantern."
It has been interesting to follow the DC Animated Universe to compare it to the live-action DC Extended Universe. In general, the Animated features have received a much more positive critical response due to its consistency in both animation and tone. With DC recently abandoning attempts at being "consistent" in their live-action franchise, instead focusing on making good standalone films with easter eggs and references thrown in, I was intrigued to see whether the animated films would follow suit.
Straight off the bat, what is obvious from the imagery and trailer is that the Justice League characters have had a shake-up, with Jessica Cruz's Green Lantern in the position of the main protagonist, alongside Star Boy, and backed up by the usual trinity of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Mr. Terrific, and Miss Martian also are present but have more minor roles in the film.
While the Justice League members present in the film are different, the absence of the other members is explained, so they are still a part of the universe and the Trinity are all voiced by their usual voice actors; Kevin Conroy (Batman), Susan Eisenberg (Wonder Woman), and George Newbern (Superman).
The film's premise has members of the Fatal Five trying to track down Jessica Cruz, who is struggling to deal with a recent trauma in her life, the Fatal Five themselves being tracked by Star Boy, who is struggling with memory loss. To have the two main protagonists in such a state of mental instability adds that extra layer to the danger, and worked well to create chemistry between them, but was as far as character development went for them.
The Fatal Five serve as the antagonists and waste no time in cementing themselves as veritable threats even in the face of Superman, but their motivations feel weak, and as a result, the plot to the story lacks the strength that we have come to expect. This feels more like a slightly longer episode of a TV show, rather than a full feature-length film in its own rights.
While I love Kevin Conroy's Batman, you can't but help feel that the voice actors have phoned in their performance this time around. It sounds legit and as classic as they always have, but the Trinity lack a sense of passion in their performance, which leaves it all feeling rather unexciting.
Justice League vs The Fatal Five is a solid, fast-paced flick. Entertaining without a doubt, but with a very basic plot and minimal character development, overall it lacks the spark and that would make you want to come back and rewatch it.