Review - JLA Adventures: Trapped In Time

JLA Adventures: Trapped In Time is a direct-to-video animated movie that was originally released as a Target exclusive a few months back.  In it, Superman's arch-nemesis Lex Luthor is frozen in a big chunk of ice for a thousand years, and two not-quite-Legionnaires (Dawnstar and Karate Kid) from the 30th century accidentally thaw him out.

"Why are we in this movie?"... "So it will sell."

Luthor gets his hands on a mystical hourglass, freeing The Time Trapper, and then uses that magic to travel back in time to stop baby Kal-El from being found by the Kents, thus erasing Superman and the Justice League from history.  This allows Luthor and his Legion of Doom the opportunity to run rampant on the world without being stopped.  Oh but wait, Dawnstar and Karate Kid are gonna try to save the day.

First, a little back story on this whole "Target Exclusive Bullshit": So this DVD was supposed to only be sold at Target stores and was advertised as such.  I went into a Target in Canada, not knowing that the DVD was only being sold in the United States.  When I asked about the movie, the clerk didn't know what I was talking about. When I asked him to look it up in the computer system at the store, he went to an iPad and searched it on Wikipedia.  After informing me that the movie did indeed exist, I politely asked him to look for it in the STORE'S INVENTORY.  After he tried, unsuccessfully, three times to spell "TRAPPED" I decided I didn't need the movie that bad and the people who make hiring decisions at Target are overpaid.  So I was delighted to hear that this movie ended up with a full release to all retailers.

And now, the review.

The Good:  Dawnstar and The Time Trapper.  Heck yes.  It's always nice to see some of the lesser known DC Heroes and Villains get their chance to shine in the spotlight, considering WB seems to think they only own Batman and Superman.  My favorite comic book of all-time growing up involved Superman going to a pocket universe created by The Time Trapper to stop General Zod, so just the mere mention of the ol' Trapper gets me excited.

The Time Trapper.  Fucking Awesome.

Let's face it - this is a Super Friends story for a new generation.  And that's not a bad thing.  I've always said that DC/WB takes their characters a little too seriously, so it's great to see an adventure aimed towards the younger viewers.  I thought the comedic "baby chase" scene was great, and actually laughed out loud at some of the cheesy one-liners from The Flash and Cyborg.  Oh, and Bizarro was great.  The way he paid such close attention during Luthor's speech, only to have to be collected and dragged away with the rest of the Legion of Doom was priceless.  The banter between Batman and Robin in the opening battle scene is also a lot of fun.

The DVD comes with two bonus Super Friends cartoons from the good ol' days as well.

Did I mention how cool it was to have Dawnstar in this?  I did?  Good, cause it's worth mentioning twice.

The final battle scene with The Time Trapper trying to alter reality really had some weight to it too, and his design was pretty sweet.  Actually, most of the character designs for this adventure were pretty good...

The Bad:  ...except for Superman and Aquaman.  The Superman on the cover art and the Superman in the movie look totally different.  On the cover, he looks goofy - while in the movie he looks confident and strong.  I get nit-picky about Superman because, well, he deserves the attention.  The "S" emblem isn't the classic version we're all used to. It's supposed to look sorta like the Man Of Steel insignia, which is a cool idea, but they don't really follow through on it.  The "S" keeps changing throughout the movie and sometimes doesn't even look like an S at all.

Batman is hardly in this movie.  If you're a Batman fan, don't hold your breath.  He's pretty much a supporting character.  Pretty sure Cyborg and The Toyman have more lines.  It also makes me wonder why they called this a JLA movie.  If it's aimed at younger viewers, do they even know what JLA stands for?  They're referred to as the Justice League in the movie, so the title should have reflected that.  It would be less confusing for the kids.

"me no am happy to see you.  no thank you very much."

I didn't care much for Karate Kid either.  With there being such a great roster for The Legion Of Super-Heroes to choose from, I think I was just surprised they didn't go with Ferro Lad, or Cosmic Boy, or evening Lightning Lad.  Maybe in the future we'll get a LOSH movie.

And given the runt ime of only 54 minutes, I think the DVD was over-priced and should've been about $6 cheaper.

The Verdict:  If you're a fan of the DC Universe, then check this out.  If you grew up with the Super-Friends in the 70s and 80s, you'll absolutely love this.  If you have kids, they'll like it too.  If you're a snobby fanboy who takes comic books too seriously, and thinks Batman Begins is the end-all-be-all of comic book mythos, and lives in your parent's basement, this movie probably isn't for you. 

At the end of the day, this one's a lot of fun for just about everyone.  My wife, three-year-old daughter, and I all cuddled up on the couch and watched it.  Give it a go... just don't buy it from the idiots at Target.

- ryan fan club