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GUIDES - EPISODE REVIEWS - "INDEPENDENCE DAY"
Independence Day
Original Airdate - November 26th, 2010
Robin, Speedy, Aqualad and Kid Flash are finally granted access to the headquarters of the Justice League. But when that access turns out to be little more than a glorified backstage pass, Speedy walks, and the other three sidekicks go on a mission of their own… to discovery…
Written by Greg Weisman
Directed by Jay Oliva
Review by James Harvey
Media by Warner Bros. Animation |
Media
Video
Clip
Review:
Spectacular. That's the Young Justice movie “Independence
Day” (comprising of the first two episodes "Independence Day" and "Fireworks") in a single word. Gorgeous animation, great characters, a
tight script, beautiful characters designs, solid performances,
nary a hair out of place here. It is unbelievable how confident,
how precise this show is right out of the gate. The only
downside I can find here is a predictable one – the wait for
Young Justice to start airing regular in early 2011.
After this one-hour movie, laced with enough subplots and
characters to keep any series going for quite a long time, it's
very apparent the creators here have a long-form plan in action
for what looks to be a new benchmark for super hero animation.
Young Justice is
the DC Universe come to life. Yes, the show is focusing on a
select group of characters, with plenty of others rotating in
the background, but this show drips of the DC Universe. It looks
and feels like it. It's like a DC Comic come to life in the best
possible ways. As dense and complicated as the DC Universe can
be, producers Greg Weisman (late of the brilliant The
Spectacular Spider-Man) and Brandon Vietti (fresh off the
gripping Batman: Under the Red Hood) make it completely
accessible and totally inviting. And what they create is a
world, as I gushingly said in the introduction, that is full of
spectacular awe.
While this comparison may be a little
unfair and perhaps a little too early to make, "Young Justice
"Independence Day" blows The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest
Heroes, the latest Marvel Animation series, out of the water
in nearly all regards. DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation just
does it again, hands down.
As the synopsis above states,
Robin, Aqualad and Kid Flash head off on their own to
investigate a mysterious fire at Cadmus after being essentially
dismissed by the Justice League, and find themselves quickly
over their heads. The majority of this special movie event ,
which is really the first two episodes of the series, takes
place admist dark labs and grotesque creatures with our heroes
trying to stay one step ahead. The premise of a mysterious lab
isn't exactly original, yes, but Weisman, writer for this
animated Young Justice debut, makes it thrilling, tense,
absurdly creepy, and even a little bit unpredictable. We know
our heroes are going to survive, but there are a couple of
surprises along the way that should throw the viewers for a
loop. Thankfully, as dark as this opener can be, Weisman also
makes sure there's a fair amount of light-heartedness and
tension breakers to keep things from getting a bit too serious.
The banter between Robin and Kid Flash is particularly humorous,
with Robin getting a sizable chunk of Weisman-esque one-liners
and quips ("Way to be a team player, Rob!" is a favorite
line of mine).
The violence is quick and hard, and looks
painfully devastating at times. When Superboy throws a punch,
you can almost feel it in your teeth. Whether our heroes are
fighting off an army of disfigured clones or facing off against
a hulking beast, this show does not shy away from the inevitable
and brutal fisticuffs. The choreography and storyboarding makes
it all look very stylish, with loads of flair, so it's never
boring or repetitive. Young Justice earns that TV-PG
rating, no question.
While we don't really see them in
action, we also get plenty of face-time with the Justice
League as well, particularly the adult counterparts to our
main characters. Providing a nice balance to the main teen
heroes, the series sets up which Justice Leaguers will be
playing a bigger role in the series than others, but based on
events in the latter part of the premiere, it is very clear
we'll be seeing the entire Justice League, and then some, from
time to time.
The Young Justice creative team has
really found an ingenious little way to make this series appeal
to the younger crowd but also bring in the older fans. Long-time
fans will get a kick out of seeing what is obviously a very well
thought-out premise for the series, steeped in DC mythology, and
new viewers will undoubtedly be drawn in by the charismatic main
characters. Thankfully, the older members of the Justice League
aren't the cookie-cutter one-dimensional “we're the adults and
you do as we say!” types (even if they do give off that
impression early on, that changes in the final moments), and the
younger characters aren't just looking for kicks, but heroes
looking to prove they are ready to do what they've been trained
for. The fact that our group of teen heroes will be doing covert
missions for the Justice League is a nice dark twist for the
series.
Naturally there's plenty more going on here than
what I've just said, and I don't want to spoil what is really a
tour-de-force from the creative team. They really show how to
open a new animated series here with "Independence Day." There's
layer upon layer here, and I have no question that “Independence
Day” definitely lends itself to multiple viewings to catch all
the hidden DC Comics easter eggs and nods toward future
storylines. Character relationships are set up, some likely
long-term villains are established (somewhat), and plenty of
questions remain dangling, just waiting to be answered. And you
will want the answers – trust me. There is plenty here that will
keep fans talking for months to come. What we get here is a fine
introduction to the world of Young Justice and the world
this series inhabits. It's actually pretty exciting knowing
that, even based off the 45-odd minutes here, a whole new,
expansive animated DC mythology is being born. Even if the
creative team wasn't so upfront about it in the press, it is
very clear there's a much bigger plan at work here, and I am
excited to see more of it as soon as possible.
Simply
put, Young Justice “Independence Day” is not to be
missed. As I said at the beginning, the animation is gorgeous,
the characters all like-able, the voice work is superb, the
script excellent, all of it just coming together so flawlessly
under the beautiful character designs of Phil Bourassa (fresh
off Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths). This really
does look to be the start of something big, the next landmark DC
Comic animated series, and it shouldn't be passed up. Be sure to
catch it Friday, November 26th, 2010 at 7pm (ET) on Cartoon
Network.
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