Anybody NOT happy with the Direct to DVD movies?

[GregComicFan]

This is not a bashing thread... just a nice, polite opinion...

Superman: Brainiac Attacks, Superman: Doomsday, New Frontier, Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman, Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo....

Does anybody else feel NONE of these movies lives up to the outstanding quality of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm????? It sucks because MOTP came out soooo long ago and yet I feel none of the DC DVDs since then have been as good. Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (uncut) was the exception, because it had so much dramatic weight in regards to the Batman Beyond series.... it matched Terry up against the Joker, it showed what happened to Bruce, Tim, Barbara.... it revealed so much that the audience was dying to know that watching the DVD was very exciting...

Sure, the animation of MOTP was not perfect, but the storyline was excellent. We've all seen the movie, so I'm not gonna bother going into the details, but seriously... what's going on? MOTP was amazing.... so why are we getting movies like Superman: Brainiac Attacks??? That was hardly watchable. Mystery of the Batwoman was ho-hum and forgettable. Superman: Doomsday (even though it was based on the comic from long ago) felt like a retrend of Superman's "Legacy" series finale, and Superman's internal battle during the Cadmus arc of JLU...it was just the same story again. New Frontier was a step-up, but it still wasn't MOTP.

I don't know. I just feel like no DVD has yet matched the first one... MOTP. And it always sucks when the first movie is still the best because you always wonder "Why can't they make something as good anymore?"

Greg

PS: I thought Batman: Subzero was a solid conclusion to Mr. Freeze's arc in Batman: The Animated Series.

 

[The Guard]

Yes. Most of them are comparably pretty lousy storywise.

 

[hippie_hunter]

While Brainiac Attacks was a pile of ****, I'm greatful to it because without its lousyness, Timm would have most likely not been involved with the DC Universe line, which so far has been pretty awesome.

 

[Joker]

The only actual DTDVDs you mentioned there were Superman: Doomsday and New Frontier. The others were pre-new DCAU DTDVD universe. And does 10 years really count as a comic being from, "long ago?" Seriously, the death of Superman arc wasnt that long ago...

 

[Hush]

Well you forget Batman Mask Of the Phantasm was a Theatrical release too. So it had a bit more moolah to spend.

 

[odiin]

Well you forget Batman Mask Of the Phantasm was a Theatrical release too. So it had a bit more moolah to spend.

It was given a theatrical release at the very last minute,. It was made as a DTV.

 

[Hush]

I dont think that is entirely accurate cause it had Marketing as "Comming Soon to Theaters on Free Willy" I remember this cause the preview was better than the movie to me at the time. lol The movie came out the following Christmas after that VHS release of Free Willy.

 

[Manic]

I didn't like Superman Doomsday because of the simple fact that I didn't like the Death of Superman (most overrated Superman story of all time).

New Frontier was good, but it felt like half a story. I never read the graphic novel it was based off of, but I could tell there was a huge chunk of story missing. There were a few mentions of McCarthyism and the government distrusting superheroes, but I never actually felt like it was part of the story.

 

[Jordacar]

Like The Joker said, I consider Superman: Doomsday to be the first official entry in the current DTV series. Batwoman and Brainiac Attacks were before the new trend.

I liked Superman: Doomsday well enough. I'd have to watch it again to form a complete opinion on it.

I just watched New Frontier last night, and I really enjoyed it. I still haven't read the graphic novel, and I'm sure if I had there would be sections from the book that weren't in the movie that I would've severely missed. But since I haven't, I thought the movie stood very well on its own and didn't pull its punches.

 

[darkseid26]

i personaly like Mask Of the Phantasm and NEW FRONTIER, the rest are... eeeehh

 

[RogueDK]

I actually enjoyed Superman: Doomsday...

Well, it was better than what I had been hearing from those who saw it first...

 

[I Am The Knight]

I haven't seen Superman: Doomsday...But that didn't look too appealing. New Frontier sounds promising, though. Honestly, I'm more concerned with the drawing styles of these movies. Anyone else bored of the way characters in the Timmverse look like?

 

[Jordacar]

I haven't seen Superman: Doomsday...But that didn't look too appealing. New Frontier sounds promising, though. Honestly, I'm more concerned with the drawing styles of these movies. Anyone else bored of the way characters in the Timmverse look like?

New Frontier is waaaaaay better than Doomsday

 

[darthlaney]

I loved the Death and Return of Superman storyline. I was disappointed that the Direct to DVD movie changed the storyline - making it far weaker.

WB would have known this going in - so the question is why do they keep pushing crap on the consumer and weaking what could be very lucrative products.

 

[Crook]

The problem is they're adapting such epic stories, and limiting them to little 90 minute action pics. That's just not gonna work.

Doomsday was alright, but lacked real substance. NF just packed too much that it didn't have much room for development.

We'll see where they take GK, maybe the quality will be a step up.

 

[Manic]

Doomsday was alright, but lacked real substance.

Not unlike the comic it was based on.

 

[bullets]

The problem is they're adapting such epic stories, and limiting them to little 90 minute action pics. That's just not gonna work.

I definately agree with that. There is so much to cover and you can't cover a saga in 90 minutes

 

[BubbaGump]

I loved New Frontier (the comic) to death, but I felt the movie was extremely wooden. The acting, animation, voice work...it felt very dry emotion-wise.

 

[The Major]

WB should do some good live action direct to dvd movies with street level heroes.

With tv series looking like well executed movies these days like Battlestar Galactica, Buffy, 24 and Angel this shouldn't be impossible. They can't do this with big budget characters like Wonder Woman (or can they?) but with franchises like Blue Beetle (Kord), Booster Gold, Manhunter (Spencer), Huntress, The Question etc it's certainly worth a try.

 

[Binker]

The actual DTV line is Superman: Doomsday, Justice League: The New Frontier, Batman: Gotham Knight, and the upcoming Wonder Woman, with more being announced later on. The rest were DCAU DTVs, and one tie-in (we all know what that was).

The DTVs (again, starting with Doomsday) were all very good because of many things. One was the fact that DC's DTVs WERE PG-13, whereas Marvel's lied about theirs being PG-13 as they were more G-PG movies. Another was the storylines and the acting, which worked out in DC's favor than Marvel's because Marvel's were more like saturday mornings somewhat. And finally, the enjoyment between the two were more from DC. Marvel was just meh or blah.

See? DC's are better. Marvel's not. In fact, going from the DTvs to the comics, after Civil War and Joe Q's actions on Spider-Man, I really REALLY hate Marvel now.

 

[The Major]

Do you have any information on the WW animated film, Binker?

That's great news.

 

[D.P.]

I feel like the animated movies should be directly lifted from the comics.

We never get any true adaptations of the source material...Whether it be TV or Movies, So I thought the DCAU would fill that gap...

They haven't thus far.

 

[Panthro]

Honestly, I'm more concerned with the drawing styles of these movies. Anyone else bored of the way characters in the Timmverse look like?

I'm tired of the Timmverse type animation.

 

[phoenixflight]

I saw 'Wonder Woman' at NY Comic Con on Friday and it is truly amazing!!! The movie is wonderful. They crafted a beautiful story with intelligent dialog, stunning action sequences and a perfect cast. It is a total A+ in my book. The bar is set really high after this one. It is by far the best that the DC Animation company has put out!!

And if you don't want to take my word for it...check out this review:
http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=28382

 

[ClarkLuther55]

The recent Direct to DVD movies have been good, solid movies IMO, just not amazing on the standard that Bruce Timm fans have come to expect from his work. He blew us away with JLU, and these brief little movies don't have the same impact as the show did.

Superman: Doomsday had good emotion, fight scenes that demonstrate how a big-budget live-action Superman should fight, and an interesting (if disturbing) take on Lex Luthor. It just seems a little "been there, done that" since Doomsday showed up in "A Better World" and "The Doomsday Sanction," while the emotional response to the death of Superman was done in "Hereafter." The movie came across like something Bruce Timm was pressured into doing, because the comic story was so well-known.

New Frontier suffers from the length of the source material being adapted, the huge cast of characters, and the limited running time. The voice actors were well-cast, and the movie was good at creating moods and taking us back in time. Several characters, most notably Hal Jordan, have the the foundations of a really compelling story behind them. But there just wasn't enough time to go around. The movie felt a bit like a series of vignettes. By the end its messages of tolerance and unity were communicated, but not with as much punch as the movie could have if it had been longer.

Gotham Knight was advertised up-front as a series of vignettes. It was therefore scattered, but not as much as New Frontier was because it only had one hero to focus on. The movie's problem is the inconsistent writing between various vignettes. A lot of big-name creators were brought in, but not all of them lived up to the hype.

The first vignette, "Have I Got a Story For You," was a cliche stock story that had already been done in the episode "Legends of the Dark Knight." I don't know how they didn't pick up on the similarities, or if they did, judged that the fans wouldn't notice or care. I also can't believe that they thought this part would be a good lead-in to the rest of the movie, since it was goofy, kiddy, and completely unnecessary, while the rest of Gotham Knight was dark, dramatic, and interconnected.

"Field Test" was also hampered by mediocre writing. The purpose was to show Batman's strong sense of morality, and his compassion for the very criminals he fights. That's a worthy goal. However, the execution was lame: a young punk gets hit in the shoulder by a bullet ricochet, causing Batman to frantically rush him to the hospital? At one point, the punk says "You've killed me" which was just a total exxageration. The vignette ends with Bruce retiring his forcefield device because of the punk's injuries, capping off the series of overreactions. The point would have been made much better if the punk actually suffered a serious injury.

And while Gotham Knight was partially intended as a showcase for various anime artists, some effort to enforce a bit more consistency would have been nice. It was a midquel to Nolan's movies after all. Batman looks like a manly badass in some parts, and a bishounen pretty boy in others. In the first part, he notably looks like a poorly-drawn fat guy. What was up with that? They couldn't decide on whether Batman was wearing the Batman Begins armor, or gray spandex. Sal Maroni gets taken down in "Crossfire" (part 2), but is the villain again in "Field Test" (part 3). Batman is apparently BULLETPROOF in part 2, which confused the hell out of me. Was that just over-stylization in the action? Or was it a reference to the forcefield in part 3? But then, when do those two parts take place in relation to each other (see Sal Maroni)?

The second half, with Killer Croc, Scarecrow, Bruce's training with the Indian woman, and Deadshot was better.

Overall, I think Bruce Timm and his guys haven't really been given the chance to make something great yet. Superman: Doomsday seemed like a chore, and New Frontier and Gotham Knight's fractured formats made it hard to tell a story. I still liked them all, but I know that the people behind these movies are capable of more. I'm looking forward to Wonder Woman, which doesn't look like it'll be handicapped the way the others were.