Anybody NOT happy with the Direct to DVD movies?

[The Sarge]

I didn't see Gotham Knight as being interconnected or even related to the Nolan-verse at all. Mainly for the reasons you mentioned, it seemed like just a bunch of animated batman shorts.

 

[GL's Light]

I've enjoyed the first three DC Universe releases. Although criticisms can be made of them, the program is off to a good start and will hopefully get even better with Wonder Woman (which is getting great reviews), Green Lantern and Superman/Batman: Public Enemies.

Anyone desperately wanting a direct adaptation of the Death of Superman/Reign of the Supermen/Return of Superman story arc is going to be disappointed in Superman: Doomsday, but I wasn't of that mindset and I didn't mind the fact that it was a very loose adaptation.

Anne Heche's voice performance rubbed me the wrong way on first viewing, but I got used to it, and actually came to quite like it, on repeat viewing (although Dana Delaney is still far and away the definitive voiceover for Lois Lane in my book). The lines on Superman's cheeks were a bit off-putting, but not a deal-breaker.

I thought the film did a good job in conveying the emotions of the story and the action scenes were good and visceral. Lex Luthor was sick and twisted in a way that made for one of the most memorable screen incarnations of the character. The same goes for the really creepy version of Toyman. I also liked the character arc of the Superman clone, especially the moments of dark humor.

I give the film 7/10.

Justice League: New Frontier did a great job in capturing the vibe of the Silver Age. The design work, music and voice acting all combined to good effect in bringing the 1950s and early 1960s to animated life.

A lot of the individual scenes just oozed coolness for longtime DC fans: The Flash racing to Vegas to save Iris from Captain Cold, Superman visiting Batman in an old school Batcave (including one of the coolest Batmobiles ever), Hal Jordan's origin as Green Lantern, etc.

But the movie suffers from being too ambitious for the running time and budget. In trying to adapt such an epic story into a 75-minute movie the storytelling ended up being a bit choppy. Also, the big battle sequences at the end had some sub-par animation (especially the ground battle) since they obviously bit off more than their budget could handle there.

Overall the film had enough strengths to compensate for its weaknesses, and I give it 7/10.

I thoroughly enjoyed Batman: Gotham Knight. For me it's the strongest of the three DC Universe releases to date. The way I approached it, given the nature of the project, was that I wasn't looking for a strong connection to the Nolan films, nor was I looking for a strong narrative that would continue through the various segments. I was fine with the segments being loosely connected, and I was expecting a heavy emphasis on mood and action rather than narrative. With that outlook in mind, I thought the movie delivered very nicely.

The movie is just gorgeous as a visual treat. It has wonderfully rich animation. From the previews I was expecting to like some of the styles and dislike others, but I actually really enjoyed all of them (although I obviously have my favorites). Gotham City looked incredible - the best it's ever looked in animation. The whole movie had an epic feel to that's usually missing from animated DTVs. Characterization was nicely conveyed through mood and action, even though the narrative thread was quite thin.

I give it 8/10.

 

[leviathan]

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.

I have to totally agree with everything you said. Your thoughts on "Gotham Knight" in particular.

 

[mclay18]

"Deadshot" in Gotham Knight was worth the purchase alone. I really wish they made a spinoff series using the same animation style -- like a grittier version of Batman: The Animated Series, anime-style. I also liked "Working through Pain" too.

I haven't seen the other DC premiere DTV titles, although I am excited for Wonder Woman and the sole Green Lantern flick.

 

[dnno1]

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.

I would base your poll on the sales. You are not going to get an honest survey from a particular website where only people who are interested in giving an opinion or have a vendetta are going to chime in.

 

[GL's Light]

For interest's sake here are the IMDB ratings for the DC animated DTVs to date (as well as the theatrically released Batman: Mask of the Phantasm):

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) - 7.6
Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (1998) - 7.1
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000) - 7.7
Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (2003) - 6.8
The Batman vs. Dracula (2005) - 6.7
Superman: Brainiac Attacks (2006) - 4.9
Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo (2007) - 7.2
Superman: Doomsday (2007) - 7.0
Justice League: The New Frontier (2008) - 7.3
Batman: Gotham Knight (2008) - 6.8

 

[TheComicbookKid]

JLA Frontier sold 297,905 units, Superman Doomsday sold 675,938 units. Gotham Knights sold around 389,000.

 

[GL's Light]

JLA Frontier sold 297,905 units, Superman Doomsday sold 675,938 units. Gotham Knights sold around 389,000.

Those are just the DVD sales. They don't include Blu-ray sales, which are tallied on a different chart and aren't available on pages for these movies on thenumbers.com. Superman: Doomsday was initially released just on DVD, whereas the other two were released on both DVD and Blu-ray. Both titles did very well on Blu-ray, so their overall sales are a lot higher than they appear when just looking at their DVD sales.

 

[DavidTyler]

Didn't like Gotham Knights. Hated Superman: Brainiac Attacks (worst Luthor ever). Mystery of the Batwoman was underwhelming.

Found New Frontier intersting but not much more. Liked but didn't love Sub-Zero. Really liked Superman: Doomsday (espcecially the part where Lois goes to Smallville to commiserate with Martha. The scene at the door always gets me.) Was totally thrilled with Return Of The Joker.

Lastly - Mask Of The Phantasm - for all it's flaws it has yet to be beaten.

 

[kedrell]

New Frontier is their best effort so far, IMO. Didn't care much for Superman: Doomsday, Gotham Knight, etc. MOTP was ok but too toned down for my tastes. If it had been done like the others as a PG-13 type film, that would've helped a lot.

 

[RogueDK]

"Deadshot" in Gotham Knight was worth the purchase alone. I really wish they made a spinoff series using the same animation style -- like a grittier version of Batman: The Animated Series, anime-style. I also liked "Working through Pain" too.

The DEADSHOT segment was the highlight of the entire DVD for me; I sort of enjoyed the Scarecrow short too but the film on a whole was a downer.

 

[kedrell]

^I agree. The Deadshot one was the best.

 

[Panthro]

^I agree. The Deadshot one was the best.

I'm inclined to agree. Is it me or was that the only segment to feature an accurate character design for Bruce Wayne?

 

[Hush]

I enjoyed GK but im one of the few.

 

[phoenixflight]

Hopefully your minds about the DC DVD movies will change after seeing WONDER WOMAN (which is amazing) and the forthcoming GREEN LANTERN. Here is a link to info about the Green Lantern first look: http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=319287

 

[BroadwayBenny]

I just re-watched JL: The New Frontier today. I have very mixed feelings about it and S: Doomsday. I am hoping that Wonder Woman proves to be the one that finally lives up to it's potential.

 

[dude stannis]

I liked Gotham Knight (Animatrix fan right here), The New Frontier was brilliant bt Superman Doomsday was a dissapointment. It's fun seeing stuff blow up but it just doesn't capture the emotional resonance of Donner's and Singer's movies. Although how obviously gay they made Lex Luthor is hilarious and worth the purchase for the unintentional comedy.

 

[GL's Light]

Although how obviously gay they made Lex Luthor is hilarious and worth the purchase for the unintentional comedy.

I don't think there was anything unintentional about it.

 

[RogueDK]

I liked Gotham Knight (Animatrix fan right here), The New Frontier was brilliant bt Superman Doomsday was a dissapointment. It's fun seeing stuff blow up but it just doesn't capture the emotional resonance of Donner's and Singer's movies. Although how obviously gay they made Lex Luthor is hilarious and worth the purchase for the unintentional comedy.

I thought that he was more...bisexual seeing that he put the moves on Lois too...

Although Lex straddling Supes, SHIRTLESS and asking him "Who's your daddy?" was a little unsettling at first.

 

[BroadwayBenny]

Although how obviously gay they made Lex Luthor is hilarious and worth the purchase for the unintentional comedy.

I kind of liked that the obsession with Superman came across as sexual too. It was the first time in a long time I wasn't bored with the character. At least they did something different.