07.16
OBLIGATORY SPOILER WARNING (MAJOR SPOILERS INCOMING (JUST SAYIN’))
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox is a spot-on parody of everything stupid about the DC Universe. From the Liefeld-esque character design of Aquaman to the scene in which Batman’s mom becomes The Joker, this movie is truly a hoot ‘n hollerin’ laugh-a-minute extravaganza. Not since Kick-Ass has a superhero film been so uproariously funny.
Our story begins with the Justice League ripping explosive devices off of people because a bad guy named Reverse-Flash (who is super fast and wears yellow, geddit?) is trying to kill them I guess. From there, the real Flash (Barry Allen) runs so fast that he ends up in an alternate universe for some reason. In this universe, Batman uses guns, Superman is anorexic, and Wonder Woman is a misandrist. Harley Quinn is the Yo-Yodeler, a villain who fights using yo-yos. As a baby, Superman’s rocket destroyed Metropolis. Wonder Woman and Aquaman are villains. Batman has child soldiers who fight with him. You get the idea.
The satirical writing in this picture is genuinely brilliant. This movie features many wonderful lines such as, “Wonder Woman’s lasso made them spill their guts… literally.” One of my favorite scenes is when all six of Batman’s child soldiers transform into Captain Marvel, and by that I mean they all merge together to create a single Captain Marvel. Another is when The Flash displays his excellent logical reasoning by trying to get his powers back via electrocuting himself; it doesn’t work, and he gets set on fire, nearly burning him to death. So, of course, he tries it again almost immediately afterward. Never mind the hilarious action shot of Batman plugging the electrical device in at the last second.
I also greatly enjoyed how the film expertly parodied modern comic books’ penchant for soul-sucking darkness and graphic violence. Take, for instance, the scene where Wonder Woman and Aquaman have sex in front of his wife, and then Wonder Woman decapitates her. Or how about when Aquaman rips Cyborg apart, but gets his arm cut off before he has a chance to stab his exposed heart? And who could forget that lovely moment where Wonder Woman murders a young child in cold blood? Eventually, Captain Atom is used as Captain Atom Bomb and explodes, killing every single character in the movie except for The Flash, who manages to escape back into the time stream.
Near the end of the movie, you discover that the timeline was messed up because The Flash saved his mom from dying (off-screen). This is an outrageously funny send-up of the typical time paradox Aesop, because in this story, saving one person who should be dead doesn’t just completely alter the protagonist’s personal relationships, it actually brings about the apocalypse. In the film’s penultimate scene, Flash has to travel through time and space to stop himself from traveling through time and space — an excellent example of clever meta-humor.
I’m somewhat confused as to how the events of this film ended up bringing about DC’s New 52 reboot from 2011, but I won’t let such a minor plot hole stop me from enjoying what might just be the greatest animated comedy of 2013.
9/10