Justice League: Throne of Atlantis is, once again, another passable, mildly entertaining addition to the DC Universe collection of animated films. Before sitting down to write this review, I made the concerted effort to watch this film multiple times to see if I was missing something significant, something that would spark my imagination or, at the very least, get me excited for this line of DVD's once more.
On the surface (no pun intended), Throne of Atlantis has everything going for it. Highly effective animation, slick character designs, sumptuous music and a highly talented voice cast. In spite of all this, Throne of Atlantis never quite seems greater than the sum of it's parts. It certainly passes 75 minutes competently enough, but who would ever argue that this is a must-have film that no one should be without?
The obvious problems are to be found within it's screenplay. I don't know who Heath Corson had to sleep with to get this high-profile gig at WB Animation, because writing Justice League tales is not his strong suit. Characters come across as cardboard cut-outs, hitting their necessary emotional beats at an alarming speed in order to get to the next action set piece or expositional intermission. The Justice League don't add an awful lot to proceedings either. The team are split up for half the movie, don't do a huge amount to stop Orm in the end and have decidedly weak banter. In-fact, this film would have worked infinitely better with just Cyborg and Batman in supporting roles.
The moment that truly raised the eyebrows was when Ocean Master just casually confessed to killing his mother in front of Aquaman and some of the most powerful members of the League. Why? Why on earth would he do that?... To gloat? So that Cyborg could witness the confession? There was potential for a truly intriguing and complicated relationship between Arthur and Orm, but it was squandered simply so the audience could say, ''Yep, that's definitely the bad guy! Go get 'im Justice League, in the remaining... 15 minutes you have left''.
I wasn't overly concerned with the ongoing drama with Cyborg or the vomit-inducing relationship between Superman and Wonder Woman, but these are simply personal issues with the source material. At the very least, the characterizations were toned down somewhat for this outing, resulting in a much more likeable cast of characters.
Andrea Romano does another commendable job with the casting on this film. Everyone fits their roles with considerable ease, even if there are some growing pains with Lanter and Witwer. As Orm, Witwer became just a shade too campy for me towards the end of the film. While Jason O'Mara is slowly but surely improving as the Dark Knight, he still sounds bored and lethargic in the role. Lets hope he really steps it up in Batman vs. Robin.
One specific aspect of the film which does a great deal in lifting it out of the murky depths is Frederick Weidmann's stunning score. I'm sick of singing this man's praises but he always delivers and has become one of the best composers to work on DC Animation in years. His work fills all the emotional blanks that, either the screenplay neglects, or the runtime stunts. Plus, his action cues aren't too shabby either.
Perhaps it's the sheer volume and frequency of releases that makes us appreciate these films a little less (I wonder, if this was a rare DTV release like the old days, would I be more enamoured with it?). When a line like this runs for over 7 years with no end in sight, it's only natural that it would travel through some peaks and valleys. Sadly, even though I like the man very much, the movies have rested quite comfortably in the valleys under James Tucker's guidance. Justice League: Throne of Atlantis is another competent film, with the usual technical merits we've come to expect from WB animation, but you get the sense that it never really strives for greatness and the crew are more than happy to let it be both a building block for this shared continuity and a truly average tale for our new Justice League.
Even an end-credits cameo from a familiar bald foe fails to illicit much excitement.
6/10
