My Review of Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox · 10:04pm January 20th
Rating Scale:
12/10—a complete masterpiece; flawless and outstanding
11/10—Excellent, near-perfect film
10/10—the standard rating; awesome film with a couple of flaws
9/10—a wonderful film with several flaws
8/10–a great film with numerous flaws but not enough to ruin it
7/10—a fun and entertaining movie; not great but still enjoyable
6/10—a slightly above average film; it is something I might watch again
5/10—mediocre movie; not awful but not great either
4/10—a below average film; it could have been much better
3/10—a bad film; poorly written and poorly executed
2/10—a very bad movie; the few good things in the movie overshadowed by the bad things
1/10—a terrible movie; a total waste of time
0/10—a worthless piece of abomination; should have never been made
Greetings, folks! This is Mr. J back with another movie review for today! This afternoon, I will be reviewing “Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox” released in 2013. This was a tremendous way to initiate the DC Animated Movie Universe, and ever since I first watched it, it proved to be a fun experience. I can’t remember when I watched it for the first time, but I knew for a fact it was great. Therefore, I recently re-watched it to refresh my memory in preparation for this review.
Unsurprisingly, it was just as amazing as I remembered it being. Not once was there any dull or slow moment because the film was on a roll in delivering well-written dialogue and action.
This is about young Barry Allen after his mother was brutally murdered in her own home. Years went by, and he still feels guilty over her loss. He goes back in time as The Flash via the Speed Force to save her which ends up changing the world and its history.
This is probably the best written portrayal of the Flash I’ve seen in an animated film. Since the beginning, we see his childhood trauma, guilt, and sorrow consume him and change his life forever even until his adulthood. He was so angry and hurt that he tried to go back in time to save his mom as he couldn’t bear to live another day while still pondering on how he should’ve been there to save her.
But as we see here, it didn’t end well for him and for the world. The flashpoint paradox had begun which threatened the existence of the whole world.
The writers did a terrific job raising the stakes and creating an alternate Earth that showcases the level of damage Barry unintentionally caused. He saved one life which doomed the lives of millions of people across the globe. We see war, bloodshed, war crimes, and death everywhere especially in places where the sun doesn’t shine.
I especially liked the way they did several other characters in this movie. This version of Batman, who is actually Dr. Thomas Wayne, was so brutal and even more edgy than our Batman. In this alternate timeline, Bruce Wayne died in that alleyway instead of his parents; Thomas became Batman whereas Martha became The Joker. It’s so creepy and scary yet so interesting at the same time. I wish they took more time in showing how vile she soon became as years went by.
Wonder Woman and Aquaman are at war with each other, and their war would end up destroying the planet…almost anyway. We even see Lex Luthor, Deathstroke, a weakened Superman, Black Manta, Lois Lane, and many others get involved.
The way everyone is acting so on edge and aggressive just highlights the dark tone of this movie and how urgent it is for Flash to get things back the way they were. The story is so good and genuinely bold in increasing the stakes and making our protagonist relatable concerning losing the ones we love dearly.
Reverse Flash/Professor Zoom was absolutely a sadistic menace in this film. His hatred of his polar opposite was so strong he made sure Barry wouldn’t use the Speed Force so long as he was in total control. His voice, his mannerisms, his attitude, and his personality all screamed “pure evil”! That’s how irredeemable he was as a villain.
C. Thomas Howell was so good—too good in his voiceover role. He brought out the sadism in his voice, and man, it makes him stand out from all the other antagonists in this movie alone—reminding us who’s the true big bad in this whole chaotic world.
The other VAs were likewise great in their exceptional performances. Kevin McKidd as Thomas Wayne, Justin Chambers as Flash/Barry Allen, Micheal B. Jordan as Cyborg, and the late Kevin Conroy as Batman. And it was actually cool Tim Daly’s son (Sam Daly) got to voice Superman in this movie despite the little screen time he had.
It’s as if he finally got to experience what it was like for his dad to voice one of the greatest and most iconic superheroes of all time. I wish he had more chances to voice him again in other DC animated projects because he certainly proved to be a good fit for the character like George Newbern.
I feel like Steve Blum isn’t the right choice for Lex Luthor honestly; he just sounds slightly off and isn’t compelling enough. He wasn’t terrible per se, but…eh, just not my pick for Lexy.
I was surprised Ron Perlman reprised his role as Deathstroke/Slade Wilson in this movie. He sounds exactly like the Teen Titans version of the character which is why I enjoyed this iteration so much because Ron is so intimidating in that role. Alas, Slade was killed off before he could get a chance to shine.
Throughout the movie, we see Flash trying to work with Thomas Wayne in figuring out how to save the world by going back to the Speed Force. Thomas is the opposite of his son in terms of killing criminals in order to be more effective. Can you imagine an alternate universe where both Bruce and Thomas work together as Batmen?
I mean seriously, this is probably my favorite iteration of the character. Most Batman media write him and Martha off as non-characters to set up Bruce Wayne’s development into becoming Batman. Even though their death is canonically essential in his story, it was intriguing to see the roles reversed and what would happen if Bruce was killed in that alley instead of his parents.
And when Barry gave Bruce the letter his father wrote—it was so emotional and somewhat bittersweet. For him, it was the first time his father ever spoke to him in years. Even though his parents are dead in his world, just to read whatever words of assurance he gave him in handwriting, it felt so cathartic for him. I’m sure he would keep that letter next to him every time he would need encouragement.
Overall, this was a great film to re-visit. It taught valuable lessons of letting go of one’s emotional pain and understanding one’s limitations. There are some things we cannot fix no matter what, and we should only focus on what we have now. They are worth fighting for and worth protecting. We may not fix the past, but we can make sure we improve our present selves for the sake of our future.
With that said, this gets a 10/10! Great animation, good soundtrack, decent action scenes, and well-written character development.
Peace!
It's a shame that Kev's no longer among the living (you probably know who I'm referring to).