Justice League of America (TV film)

For other uses, see Justice League (disambiguation).

Justice League of America
Directed by	Félix Enríquez Alcalá
Produced by	Lorne Cameron David Hoselton Scott Shepherd Larry Rapaport
Starring	Miguel Ferrer David Krumholtz Kimberly Oja David Ogden Stiers
Music by	John Debney James Raymond
Cinematography	Barry Wilson
Editing by	Ed Rothkowitz
Release date(s)	1997
Running time	82 min.
Language	English

This article is not to be confused with the upcoming Justice League film.

Justice League of America is an unsuccessful 1997 TV-pilot produced by CBS and directed by Félix Enríquez Alcalá, based on a team of fictional DC Comics superheroes from the comic of the same name. The film centers on a female meteorologist who gains superpowers and on her subsequent induction into the "Justice League" (JLA), while the city of New Metro is held for ransom by a terrorist armed with a "Weather Control Device".

The film is interjected with mock-interviews of members of the Justice League, speaking about life as a superhero in a past tense, preceding the events of the film.

Plot

The protagonist, Tori Olafsdotter (Kimberly Oja), a meteorologist working at the Eno Meteorological Institute who will later become Ice. New Metro is then attacked by a tornado being controlled by a terrorist calling himself the Weatherman (Miguel Ferrer). The Flash (Ken Johnston) diffuses the tornado using his speed while the other members of the JLA use their powers to save civilians.

Tori stumbles upon a hidden device in the lab where she works. While investigating its use, she spills water on it and it strikes her with strange blue electricity. She is unharmed and leaves the lab for home freezing everything she touches. En route she sees a man drowning, when she attempts to rescue him the water freezes around her. That night she is abducted by the JLA and interrogated, believing her to be the Weatherman. They release her and Tori believes it was all simply a bad dream.

From left to right Atom, Fire, Flash, Green Lantern and Ice.

The JLA suspect that Tori's timid work colleague Arliss Hopke is The Weatherman. New Metro is then attacked again, this time by golf ball-sized hailstones, but Fire melts them all. The JLA infiltrate a party at the Eno Meteorological Institute looking for evidence that Arliss Hopke is The Weatherman. Tori then discovers that it is in fact her boss, Dr Eno who is The Weatherman.

Tori takes this knowledge to the JLA and they in turn take her to their secret command centre, an alien spacecraft hidden underwater. The JLA's leader J'onn J'onzz (David Ogden Stiers) introduces himself to Tori and the other members of the League reveal their secret identities. At this point Tori discovers that The Atom" (John Kassir) is actually a man whom she has been flirting with. The JLA attempt to train Tori to hone her freezing powers without much success.

The Weatherman issues a demand of $20 million or he will engulf New Metro in a tidal wave. He then attacks the Watchtower using a heat ray. The JLA escape and devise a plan to stop the wave, leaving Tori behind. The JLA's attempt to stop the tidal wave is unsuccessful, and it is Tori who stops it by turning it into ice.

The film ends with the Weatherman already hatching his escape from prison and Tori joining the JLA.

Cast

• Kimberly Oja as Tori Olafsdotter/Ice, a meteorologist working at Dr Eno's Meteorological Institute.
• Miguel Ferrer as Dr. Eno/the Weatherman, a rival meteorologist.
• Kenny Johnston as Barry Allen/The Flash, unemployed.
• Matthew Settle as Guy Gardner/Green Lantern, a software salesman.
• Michelle Hurd as B.B. DaCosta/Fire, a struggling actress.
• John Kassir as Ray Palmer/The Atom, a science teacher.
• David Ogden Stiers as J'onn J'onzz/Martian Manhunter, the leader of the JLA.
• David Krumholtz as Martin Walters, an actor who has a crush on B.B.
• Ron Pearson as Dr. Arliss Hopke, one of Tori's work colleagues.

Production

The film's plot is based on the Justice League comic era of Keith Giffen & J. M. DeMatteis (writers). It was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Reception

Reviews of the film have been negative. Common complaints are of the plot holes, poor special effects, bad costumes and that the league members deviated heavily from their source characters. Critics have also said the movie tried to be like "Friends with superpowers" Established JLA writer Mark Waid said the film was, "80 minutes of my life I'll never get back." Critics felt Stiers' weight affected his portrayal of the character.

Distribution

Justice League of America has never been aired in the U.S. However, it has been shown on television in the U.K. (Channel 5), Puerto Rico's WAPA-TV (Channel 4), Thailand (Cinemax), Brazil (Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão), Uruguay, Poland (TVN, TVN 7, TV4), Mexico (TV Azteca), Germany , India and Israel. Bootleg copies have been distributed through conventions, websites and file sharing networks.

See also

• Aquaman
• Birds of Prey
• The Flash
• Legends of the Superheroes

External links

• Justice League of America at the Internet Movie Database
• Trailer & Screenshots
• Justice League of America, an external wiki