This would be so frigging cool if it were done, and if it were done right. Warner Bros. has hired a couple of writers to script a treatment of the Justice League of America. You know… the Superfriends. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, and Martian Manhunter. Brandon Routh and Christian Bale would apparently have options to play their respective roles of Superman and Batman… which is great for continuity, but Bale would humiliate shiny mannequin-person Routh in every respect. Sadly, the only thing they have in common is that their on-screen love interests (Lois Lane and Rachel Dawes) were grossly miscast… which has nothing to do with this story, but it really gets my panties in a wad that the casting directors screwed up those elements of Batman Begins and Superman Returns so badly.

Now here’s why I’m leery about the proposed live-action movie. The writers hired to produce the script got producers’ attention with their re-write of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. No harm there; that was a surprisingly entertaining movie, but it’s not the kind of writing credential that gives me faith in an ambitious project like JLA. Before this credit, one of the writers, Kieran Mulroney, was best known for his work guest-starring on a string of CBS snoozers like Navy NCIS, Judging Amy, The Guardian, Touched by an Angel, and Nash Bridges. The dude has had steady work for years, but he’s probably still talking about the one episode of Seinfeld he did in 1993. Meanwhile, his writing partner, wife Michele Mulroney, is best known for… oh, wait: nothing. (Except, of course, for being sister-in-law to Dermot Mulroney. Well done on that one, sister.) Anyway, the whole project is pie-in-the-sky at this point, so there’s not much point in worrying about the writing team, yet. There’s a long-standing tradition of years-long delays and switching up writing teams on high-profile comic book movies. Just this month, Joss Whedon was bumped from the Wonder Woman project.

I guess the good news is, it couldn’t possibly be worse than the last Justice League movie. Check out this screen capture from the film. I don’t know what’s worse… the obviously laughable production values, or the fact that the Green Lantern appears to be using the power of his ring to flip this guy a giant bird.

“Villiany will not be tolerated in my city, you dick!”

This reminds me of the days when the studios didn’t take comic book movies seriously. Witness David Hasselhoff in the title role of Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. On the other hand, I used to think the original made-for-TV Spider-Man movies were pretty tight.

For some actual quality JLA-related entertainment, check out the Justice League Unlimited cartoon on DVD. A lot of high-profile talent contributed their voices, and the cartoon boasts great adult-themed writing and high production values on the animation. Plus, most of the storylines involved breaking a lot of shit in spectacular fashion (in the name of justice, of course).

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