Smallville Review – “Justice”

Sorry this is so late.

Cast and Crew

Tom Welling as Clark Kent
Annette O’Toole as Martha Kent
Allison Mack as Chloe Sullivan
Erica Durance as Lois Lane
Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor
Kristen Kreuk as Lana Lang
John Glover as Lionel Luthor

Guest starring Justin Hartley as Oliver Queen / Green Arrow, Kyle Gallner as Bart Allen / Impulse, Alan Ritchson as Arthur Curry / Aquaman, and Lee Thompson Young as Victor Stone / Cyborg.

Written and directed by Steven S. DeKnight.

Premise

Bart Allen comes back to town, and Clark learns that he’s part of a team of heroes that Oliver Queen has assembled.

High Point

Once again, the last few minutes of an episode leave me crying for more. From the tail end of the Luthor family conversation to the final credits, this was just a great conclusion.

Low Point

Clark’s immediate distrust of Bart. I seem to recall him getting over that the first time the character appeared.

The Scores

This isn’t as original as other episodes have been, particularly since we’ve seen all of these heroes on the show before. However, this is the first sign of organized crime fighting to face off against organized crime, and that’s worth quite a bit. I give it 4 out of 6.

The effects were very plentiful, and generally very good. I give it 6 out of 6.

The acting was very nicely done all around. The usual exceptions include Ritchson as Aquaman and Durance as Lois, but both of those roles were relatively small. I give it 5 out of 6.

The story nicely ties in most of the season to date, closing a lot of storylines without closing any doors. I give it 5 out of 6.

The production was very good all around. It was well assembled, nicely shot, and had some excellent musical cues, particularly in the closing score. I give it 5 out of 6.

The emotional response was in no way hampered by the lack of originality. This was an all out geek-fest, and the first mid-season episode that really kicked into high gear since “Insurrection.” I give it 6 out of 6.

Overall, it’s been the highlight of the last few years. Seeing the heroes individually is nice, but seeing them in an organized group is great. I give it 6 out of 6.

In total, Justice receives 37 out of 42.

7 replies on “Smallville Review – “Justice””

  1. I thought I smelled a spinoff…
    I thought I smelled a spinoff when The Green Arrow turned out to be such a good character, but now with the whole mini-Justice League? There’s gotta be a pilot in the works somewhere…

    • Re: I thought I smelled a spinoff…

      I thought I smelled a spinoff when The Green Arrow turned out to be such a good character, but now with the whole mini-Justice League? There’s gotta be a pilot in the works somewhere…

      Same here, this felt a lot like a setup for the end of Ville and the start of Justice.

      Though, it’s odd that no Martian was involved…

      • Re: I thought I smelled a spinoff…

        Though, it’s odd that no Martian was involved…

        No Martian, and rights to the Amazon and the guy with the bat fetish are owned by others.

        So, instead of defeating Starro, the JLA’s first act involves blowing up a research facility?

      • Re: I thought I smelled a spinoff…

        I thought I smelled a spinoff when The Green Arrow turned out to be such a good character, but now with the whole mini-Justice League? There’s gotta be a pilot in the works somewhere…

        Same here, this felt a lot like a setup for the end of Ville and the start of Justice.

        Though, it’s odd that no Martian was involved…

        That would be next episode.

  2. Surprisingly good

    The emotional response was in no way hampered by the lack of originality. This was an all out geek-fest

    That’s what really surprised me about thisld episode: it was predictable and unoriginal, yet pulled me in and I really enjoyed it. Though you’d think Clark would learn to peek carefully into locked rooms in such labs before rushing in…

    I hope the upcoming red kryptonite episode surprises me this way too…

  3. Everyone still picks on Aquaman
    "Fish jokes! All I get are fish jokes!"

    Classic.

    "That’s near the docks!"

    I love how they had to write some water into the episode to make him useful :)

  4. Enjoyed it.
    I totally enjoyed this episode. If they are spinning off the show into a JLA based show, I’d probably keep watching it. Though I suspect having multiple stars would give the show a very different dynamic than the Clark focused Smallville. I was also liked how they alluded to Lex and the presidential bid, and those sorts of motivations. It’s much more believable when the villain thinks he’s doing good, than just being purely evil for evil’s sake.

    PS: The RSS feed I was using went away a while ago, and evidently I didn’t notice. I missed the site and it’s reviews. I set up the feed again, and I’ll be back.

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