DC Animated - Superman/Batman: Public Enemies

yea some folks got it either early legally on dvd/bluray, saw it on youtube, or other leaked versions.
 
I actually got SUPERMAN/BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMIES about 15 days ago at a local DVD/CD shop that often sells discs days or weeks before the "street date". They sold GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT about four days early, and for this they probably expected it to move fast, and it did. Over two weeks early and I snagged their last 2-disc special edition. I've watched the film about three times and figure the time is right for one of my long winded reviews, especially since I have read a few.

My quickest take on it? It's an entertaining popcorn adventure animated film with terrific voice acting and some decent action sequences starring two of DC's biggest superheroes. On that kind of level, it's quite fun. It doesn't quite reach the quality peak of Marvel's HULK VS. earlier in the year and it's not quality wise superior to GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT or JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER. However, it is aces better than BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT and a better Superman story than SUPERMAN: DOOMSDAY. If it has any flaw, it is on the story it was based on.

The DTV is based on the first six issues of the SUPERMAN/BATMAN comic book written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Ed McGuiness in 2003. This was when Loeb still had a lot of hype for works such as BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN and SUPERMAN: FOR ALL SEASONS as well as other works alongside Tim Sale. In some ways, Loeb is similar to Chris Claremont; when paired with an excellent artist and co-writer, he produces epic stuff. Alone, it's hit or miss. This would be 5-6 years before Loeb would write on HULK or ULTIMATUM and produce works of such low quality that they almost insulted the intelligence of the reader. This was years before he nearly ran HEROES into the ground within one season. In other words, this was the highest point of Loeb's recent fall from A-List writer to Rob Liefield territory; a writer who still sells while writing epically terrible work. Much like Marvel would do later with CIVIL WAR, this story sought to "tap the pulse of the nation" by having a story in which an evil man exploits a social situation and rises to power, and after he does he stomps all over civil liberties while filling key positions with wicked cronies. Yes, Lex Luthor was easily the cipher for George W. Bush; nerves were still raw after he "stole the election" in 2000, the war in Iraq was beginning, and it was barely a year before he would have to run for re-election. In essence, it was DARK REIGN some five years earlier, when it was at least socially relevant. Considering Lex Luthor, unlike Norman Osborn, hadn't actually been convicted of a crime (much less acts of murder or terrorism), it made more sense. The story ran it's course and had all the tact of a 1980's action movie with Sly Stallone, but that was part of the charm. It wasn't a story meant to make you think; it was a tale with some good narration alongside good visuals.

Stan Berkowitz rewrites the story for the DTV, and by and large is rather faithful.
The biggest change is how Luthor convinces the world that Superman is a threat; in the comic, Luthor blames the incoming Kryptonite meteor on Superman. In interviews, Stan Berkowitz had to very politely imply that bit was horse **** and instead altered it for the film, which worked. Various details were cut but by and large, this was as accurate to the original comic story as NEW FRONTIER was to that, perhaps even more so. Irked that Lady Shiva or Grundy went down so quickly? That was right from the comic. Throught the Hawkman/Capt. Marvel swap was awkwardly paced? That was in the comic, too. In essence, as it was based on an actual comic story about 85%, it also absorbed some of the flaws by proxy. If you dislike how little was made of, say, Clark Kent being a reporter or Bruce Wayne a billionare industrialist during Luthor's administration, which is implied was maybe 3 years into a four year term, well, that's from Loeb's original. Even a talent like Timm or Berkowitz can only do so much with a Loeb "dumb action epic". If there is any problem, it is that in 2009, a story with even a veiled hint of anti-Bush waxing to it feels dated, much like a comedian who makes Richard Nixon jokes is dated, or conservatives who can't get over something Clinton did.

Again, if you're looking for this to top JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED in under 70 minutes, you'll be disappointed. If you're looking for a really fun action romp, akin to TANGO & CASH with capes, this is for you. Because JLU covered a wealth of material, this also bridges into territory they covered, but Timm claims in one of the extras that it wasn't intentional.

Easily, the highlight of the feature is the voice cast; one wonders if reuniting Clancy Brown's Luthor, Kevin Conroy's Batman and especially Tim Daly's Superman in one adventure againt for the first time since, well, about 1998, was half the point of making the film. It was in production alongside GREEN LANTERN and would have been running side by side with it. Considering the last time Tim Daly reprised his role as Superman was for the terrible SUPERMAN: BRAINIAC ATTACKS churned out in 2006 (it was so bad, not even I could sit through past the first 15 minutes, and you are speaking to someone who literally saw STEEL in theaters), seeing him return to the role in a better work was great. Especially since, despite his name in the title, Batman actually has little to do with the story. He aids Superman in fights, and Superman hangs out in the Batcave with him, but by and large this is a Superman story, guest starring Batman. Superman gets more lines of dialogue. He gets more of the action sequences, including the first and last (the climax). Aside for token cameos by Bane and Mr. Freeze among group battle sequences, they mostly fight Superman's enemies (Metallo, Mongul, Luthor especially, etc.). Even Power Girl, who arguably is the closest thing the feature has to a female lead beyond Amanda Waller (CCH Pounder also reprising a role from JLU), has a connection to Superman, not Batman. For every time Batman saves Clark's rear in battle, Superman will save Bats' about twice. I had nothing wrong with that; but it is worth mentioning. Much as, in HULK VS. WOLVERINE or HULK VS. THOR, they are mostly stories about Wolverine and Thor, which the Hulk seems to interupt.

The all star cast doesn't end there. Allison Mack, from SMALLVILLE, plays Power Girl and she does a fine job considering she really doesn't have much to do beyond talk. She is physically in a few action sequences but does very little in all of them. Her connection to Superman is told and implied emotionally, but her complicated origin is not told, which probably is for the best. Condensed, she is Superman's cousin from an alternate reality, an alternate version of Supergirl. LeVar Burton, from STAR TREK:TNG and READING RAINBOW, plays Black Lightening, and while that is cool, he has even less to do. He probably gets about three lines and a few action scene type grunts. Xander Berkely, who recently played Mysterio in SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN, though, does more than both as Captain Atom. Much like the JLU storyline, Atom is stuck between loyalty to his government and loyalty to Superman & Batman, who he knows are honest heroes even if they disagree with Luthor. Unlike in JLU, Capt. Atom actually isn't too much of a jerk here, and ultimately makes an incredible sacrifice for them. Granted, it probably helps that his "evil double", Major Force (who is basically Capt. Atom's Venom, if that makes sense) fills that role quite well. John C. McGinley from SCRUBS plays Metallo, with Corey Burton briefly as Captain Marvel and Richardo Chavira as Major Force. Animation veteran Jennifer Hale also does some side voices, such as for Starfire and another reprisal, Killer Frost.

The plot, simple as it is, is mostly from the 2003 comic story.
Through opportunity and society chaos, Lex Luthor has run on a third party platform and captured the presidency. He's sought a legalized squad of superheroes loyal to "the law" (i.e. him), and that soon includes Atom, Force, Lightening, Power Girl, Katanna, and Starfire, among others. This also means some villains, like Metallo. When a Krytonite asteriod the size of a country is streaking towards Earth, Luthor capitalizes on it to get rid of his arch nemesis and advance his goals once and for all. He uses Metallo to frame Superman for murder, and then claims that the approaching mass of Kryptonite is driving the Man of Steel insane, and he is thus a public menace. Offering a billion dollar bounty on his head (not unlike Vash the Stampede from TRIGUN), every single costumed super villain wants a crack at the bounty. Batman, despite his cynical warnings being ignored, is quick to help Superman when he is nearly killed by Metallo and then throughout the course of trying to prove his innocence and find some dirt on Luthor. However, in the meantime, Luthor has been mixing Kryptonite with steroids into his body to anticipate his eventual physical showdown with Superman, complete with a bulky suit of green/purple armor left over from SUPER-FRIENDS POWER HOUR. It ultimately comes down to a slugfest between Luthor & Superman while Batman seems to ride a giant "mecha" created by the new Japanese Toyman (Calvin Tran) into the asteroid and seems to sacrifice his life for the world. Does Batman die? Is Chewbacca bald?

The film takes some risks not introducing a slew of characters, such as Power Girl or the rest; it assumes you know who they are or won't care about in terms of the film. Quite a few villains show up for the battle sequences, including but not limited to Grundy, Mongul, Bane, Mr. Freeze, Icicle, Killer Frost, Capt. Cold, Kestrel (a HAWK AND DOVE villain), Giganta, Brimstone, Nightshade, Grodd (Brian George), Hush, Lady Shiva, Despero, and so on. The storyboards for many of the fights originated from the comics but work well on screen. Again, not quite to the surprising standard of HULK VS., but still very exciting. I dare say a live action version of this would have grossed double what SUPERMAN RETURNS did.

There are also some weird moments that play with humor, from a James Stewart style commentator in the beginning to Luthor approaching Waller in a "sexually abusing boss" kind of way to some of the banter between Supes and Bats, but they all play out right.

Still, considering animation is a more visual medium than still comics, this feature makes it very obvious that Power Girl will NEVER, EVER, EVER be taken seriously until her costume design eliminates that hole over her breasts that serve no purpose other than to show people how large her breasts are. DC sometimes wants you to take her as seriously as Wonder Woman or other heroines, while all but having her fall out of her swim-suit. They can't have it both ways. "If you don't want people calling you a hooker, stop dressing like a hooker", basically. Come to think of it, Mark Millar's THE PRO (which was about a super powered hooker) showed less cleavage than Power Girl.

At any rate, the delivery of the three stars is iconic and classic. They all are natural in their roles and playing off each other, and they all seemed to enjoy the work and deliver even some modest lines very well. Batman and Superman come off like old friends more than rivals here, who at times quibble or bicker about stuff but in the end have literally fought wars together and would die for each other. Brown naturally excels at playing villains and some of his rants as Luthor here are excellent. There's not a bad performance in the disc.

The special features are mostly good, although no commentaries. There's two episodes of Superman, KNIGHT TIME and THE DEMON REBORN that were team-up's. They have some features on past features, same as the GREEN LANTERN disc. There's a preview for WORLD'S COLLIDE, a recycled 2004 script. The highlight is easily a dinner between Conroy, Timm, Andrea Romano and Alan Burnett. They discuss over 15 years of Timm & Co. animation, Conroy's epic standing in his role as Batman since 1992 and their professionalism alongside their genuine liking of each other as people. It's worth the extra $5 just for this alone on disc two. There's also a look at the psyche's of Superman and Batman as archetypes by some rent-an-experts, and while it's fine, it's not as cool as the "dinner". I do miss commentary tracks on these, though. BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT was the last one of the six releases to have one, and they're usually excellent (NEW FRONTIER had two commentaries). I guess everyone is just so busy churning these out.

Marvel hasn't released a Lion's Gate DTV since HULK VS. at the start of the year and the next one, PLANET HULK is due in Feb. 2010, so DC obviously has capitlized, releasing three of their own within seven months (WONDER WOMAN, GL, and this one). The only one I haven't seen is WONDER WOMAN. At any rate, this is a worthy addition to that collection. It's not the best but far above the worst of the discs. It's a team-up with two of the best known heroes on the block and in sheer adrenaline it delivers. Those seeking something a bit more naunced may have to wait until WORLD'S COLLIDE, or some other feature. This is Superman & Batman as action blockbuster heroes, and on that level, it works quite well.

Conroy, Daly, and Brown, though? They always work well together, and always perform solidly. For that reunion of talent alone, it's worth a rental at least.

As a fair weather DC fan, I quite enjoyed it, and have shown it to friends with equal applause.
 
Watched it, but didn't really feel the animation and artwork. And I thought the action wasn't as good as in the other DTV's. Overall, it's probably my least favorite of all the DC DTVs.
 
If you dislike how little was made of, say, Clark Kent being a reporter or Bruce Wayne a billionare industrialist during Luthor's administration, which is implied was maybe 3 years into a four year term, well, that's from Loeb's original.


How does that matter to the story if little was made of Clark being a reporter or Bruce being a billionaire during Luthor's administration??

Luthor was running for presidency in JLU and no one cares if Bruce Timm mentions that Clark is a reporter and Bruce a billionaire. Everyone knows who they are and what they do, what is there to make of it?

How can anyone dislike that??
 
The two main characters aren't really utilized very much, beyond in fight scenes. Clark Kent is a major reporter, couldn't he have been used in some capacity when dealing with a major public figure like Lex Luthor? Or Bruce Wayne, a multi-billionaire, whose company is connected to the government, which is now run by Luthor.
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Yup. Probably my main issue with the film. VERY little done with characterization, and so, so much wasted potential.

I really think SUPERMAN: DOOMSDAY, which I watched again two nights ago, is deeper, and had a better overall story, actually.

I like how Stan Berkowitz didn't have Luthor blame the meteor on Superman, but he also didn't bother to deal with why there's a GIANT KRYPTONITE METEOR heading toward Earth.

Even a talent like Timm or Berkowitz can only do so much with a Loeb "dumb action epic".
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He changed other things. Did he forget to add CHARACTERIZATION to the story while adapting it?

I don't think Stan's half as talented as some think he is. I don't think Timm is, either. It's pretty clear the effect Dini had on the Dini/Timm team.
 
Picked it up today, gonna have to wait a couple of weeks before I can go home(away at college) to watch it on blu-ray. I'll be patient though.
 
Longshot777 said:
If you dislike how little was made of, say, Clark Kent being a reporter or Bruce Wayne a billionare industrialist during Luthor's administration, which is implied was maybe 3 years into a four year term, well, that's from Loeb's original.


How does that matter to the story if little was made of Clark being a reporter or Bruce being a billionaire during Luthor's administration??

Luthor was running for presidency in JLU and no one cares if Bruce Timm mentions that Clark is a reporter and Bruce a billionaire. Everyone knows who they are and what they do, what is there to make of it?

How can anyone dislike that??
Click to expand...

There are some who criticized the film for not making more of Superman and Batman's civilian identities and whatnot during the story. To be fair, you could have gotten an interesting scene with Kent as a reporter trying for an interview with Luthor (or attending a debate with his two rivals), or perhaps Luthor seeking campaign funds from Wayne and offering no end of "deals". I don't think the lack of them hurt the film, because the flick to me from start to finish was a popcorn adventure. I mean ROCKY IV took place during the end of the Cold War, Rocky has a big speech about the Cold War, but would you really consider it a smart political thriller, with nuanced opinions and whatnot? No. Neither did I expect lofty statements from this. It was an action blockbuster with a mildly blunt political message and that's that.

It is possible that Stan Berkowitz could have tried to write the story to be "smarter" by adding more. On the other hand, at 67 minutes, there was little time for much but action, so they chose to focus on that. It'd been three years since Batman & Superman teamed up to fight someone in a cartoon (Superman had already been defeated by the time of the final battle in NEW FRONTIER, a battle Batman was added to, counter to the comic practically due to WB insistence) and a good eleven years since Conroy and Daly played off each other.

When a film focuses on action, some loftier goals suffer, as natural. HULK VS. WOLVERINE had almost no plot beyond an extended action sequence, but it did that very well.

Webhead2006 said:
nice review dread.
Click to expand...

Thanks. :up:
 
Dread said:
I actually got SUPERMAN/BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMIES about 15 days ago at a local DVD/CD shop that often sells discs days or weeks before the "street date". They sold GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT about four days early, and for this they probably expected it to move fast, and it did. Over two weeks early and I snagged their last 2-disc special edition. I've watched the film about three times and figure the time is right for one of my long winded reviews, especially since I have read a few.

My quickest take on it? It's an entertaining popcorn adventure animated film with terrific voice acting and some decent action sequences starring two of DC's biggest superheroes. On that kind of level, it's quite fun. It doesn't quite reach the quality peak of Marvel's HULK VS. earlier in the year and it's not quality wise superior to GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT or JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER. However, it is aces better than BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT and a better Superman story than SUPERMAN: DOOMSDAY. If it has any flaw, it is on the story it was based on.

The DTV is based on the first six issues of the SUPERMAN/BATMAN comic book written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Ed McGuiness in 2003. This was when Loeb still had a lot of hype for works such as BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN and SUPERMAN: FOR ALL SEASONS as well as other works alongside Tim Sale. In some ways, Loeb is similar to Chris Claremont; when paired with an excellent artist and co-writer, he produces epic stuff. Alone, it's hit or miss. This would be 5-6 years before Loeb would write on HULK or ULTIMATUM and produce works of such low quality that they almost insulted the intelligence of the reader. This was years before he nearly ran HEROES into the ground within one season. In other words, this was the highest point of Loeb's recent fall from A-List writer to Rob Liefield territory; a writer who still sells while writing epically terrible work. Much like Marvel would do later with CIVIL WAR, this story sought to "tap the pulse of the nation" by having a story in which an evil man exploits a social situation and rises to power, and after he does he stomps all over civil liberties while filling key positions with wicked cronies. Yes, Lex Luthor was easily the cipher for George W. Bush; nerves were still raw after he "stole the election" in 2000, the war in Iraq was beginning, and it was barely a year before he would have to run for re-election. In essence, it was DARK REIGN some five years earlier, when it was at least socially relevant. Considering Lex Luthor, unlike Norman Osborn, hadn't actually been convicted of a crime (much less acts of murder or terrorism), it made more sense. The story ran it's course and had all the tact of a 1980's action movie with Sly Stallone, but that was part of the charm. It wasn't a story meant to make you think; it was a tale with some good narration alongside good visuals.

Stan Berkowitz rewrites the story for the DTV, and by and large is rather faithful.
The biggest change is how Luthor convinces the world that Superman is a threat; in the comic, Luthor blames the incoming Kryptonite meteor on Superman. In interviews, Stan Berkowitz had to very politely imply that bit was horse **** and instead altered it for the film, which worked. Various details were cut but by and large, this was as accurate to the original comic story as NEW FRONTIER was to that, perhaps even more so. Irked that Lady Shiva or Grundy went down so quickly? That was right from the comic. Throught the Hawkman/Capt. Marvel swap was awkwardly paced? That was in the comic, too. In essence, as it was based on an actual comic story about 85%, it also absorbed some of the flaws by proxy. If you dislike how little was made of, say, Clark Kent being a reporter or Bruce Wayne a billionare industrialist during Luthor's administration, which is implied was maybe 3 years into a four year term, well, that's from Loeb's original. Even a talent like Timm or Berkowitz can only do so much with a Loeb "dumb action epic". If there is any problem, it is that in 2009, a story with even a veiled hint of anti-Bush waxing to it feels dated, much like a comedian who makes Richard Nixon jokes is dated, or conservatives who can't get over something Clinton did.

Again, if you're looking for this to top JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED in under 70 minutes, you'll be disappointed. If you're looking for a really fun action romp, akin to TANGO & CASH with capes, this is for you. Because JLU covered a wealth of material, this also bridges into territory they covered, but Timm claims in one of the extras that it wasn't intentional.

Easily, the highlight of the feature is the voice cast; one wonders if reuniting Clancy Brown's Luthor, Kevin Conroy's Batman and especially Tim Daly's Superman in one adventure againt for the first time since, well, about 1998, was half the point of making the film. It was in production alongside GREEN LANTERN and would have been running side by side with it. Considering the last time Tim Daly reprised his role as Superman was for the terrible SUPERMAN: BRAINIAC ATTACKS churned out in 2006 (it was so bad, not even I could sit through past the first 15 minutes, and you are speaking to someone who literally saw STEEL in theaters), seeing him return to the role in a better work was great. Especially since, despite his name in the title, Batman actually has little to do with the story. He aids Superman in fights, and Superman hangs out in the Batcave with him, but by and large this is a Superman story, guest starring Batman. Superman gets more lines of dialogue. He gets more of the action sequences, including the first and last (the climax). Aside for token cameos by Bane and Mr. Freeze among group battle sequences, they mostly fight Superman's enemies (Metallo, Mongul, Luthor especially, etc.). Even Power Girl, who arguably is the closest thing the feature has to a female lead beyond Amanda Waller (CCH Pounder also reprising a role from JLU), has a connection to Superman, not Batman. For every time Batman saves Clark's rear in battle, Superman will save Bats' about twice. I had nothing wrong with that; but it is worth mentioning. Much as, in HULK VS. WOLVERINE or HULK VS. THOR, they are mostly stories about Wolverine and Thor, which the Hulk seems to interupt.

The all star cast doesn't end there. Allison Mack, from SMALLVILLE, plays Power Girl and she does a fine job considering she really doesn't have much to do beyond talk. She is physically in a few action sequences but does very little in all of them. Her connection to Superman is told and implied emotionally, but her complicated origin is not told, which probably is for the best. Condensed, she is Superman's cousin from an alternate reality, an alternate version of Supergirl. LeVar Burton, from STAR TREK:TNG and READING RAINBOW, plays Black Lightening, and while that is cool, he has even less to do. He probably gets about three lines and a few action scene type grunts. Xander Berkely, who recently played Mysterio in SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN, though, does more than both as Captain Atom. Much like the JLU storyline, Atom is stuck between loyalty to his government and loyalty to Superman & Batman, who he knows are honest heroes even if they disagree with Luthor. Unlike in JLU, Capt. Atom actually isn't too much of a jerk here, and ultimately makes an incredible sacrifice for them. Granted, it probably helps that his "evil double", Major Force (who is basically Capt. Atom's Venom, if that makes sense) fills that role quite well. John C. McGinley from SCRUBS plays Metallo, with Corey Burton briefly as Captain Marvel and Richardo Chavira as Major Force. Animation veteran Jennifer Hale also does some side voices, such as for Starfire and another reprisal, Killer Frost.

The plot, simple as it is, is mostly from the 2003 comic story.
Through opportunity and society chaos, Lex Luthor has run on a third party platform and captured the presidency. He's sought a legalized squad of superheroes loyal to "the law" (i.e. him), and that soon includes Atom, Force, Lightening, Power Girl, Katanna, and Starfire, among others. This also means some villains, like Metallo. When a Krytonite asteriod the size of a country is streaking towards Earth, Luthor capitalizes on it to get rid of his arch nemesis and advance his goals once and for all. He uses Metallo to frame Superman for murder, and then claims that the approaching mass of Kryptonite is driving the Man of Steel insane, and he is thus a public menace. Offering a billion dollar bounty on his head (not unlike Vash the Stampede from TRIGUN), every single costumed super villain wants a crack at the bounty. Batman, despite his cynical warnings being ignored, is quick to help Superman when he is nearly killed by Metallo and then throughout the course of trying to prove his innocence and find some dirt on Luthor. However, in the meantime, Luthor has been mixing Kryptonite with steroids into his body to anticipate his eventual physical showdown with Superman, complete with a bulky suit of green/purple armor left over from SUPER-FRIENDS POWER HOUR. It ultimately comes down to a slugfest between Luthor & Superman while Batman seems to ride a giant "mecha" created by the new Japanese Toyman (Calvin Tran) into the asteroid and seems to sacrifice his life for the world. Does Batman die? Is Chewbacca bald?

The film takes some risks not introducing a slew of characters, such as Power Girl or the rest; it assumes you know who they are or won't care about in terms of the film. Quite a few villains show up for the battle sequences, including but not limited to Grundy, Mongul, Bane, Mr. Freeze, Icicle, Killer Frost, Capt. Cold, Kestrel (a HAWK AND DOVE villain), Giganta, Brimstone, Nightshade, Grodd (Brian George), Hush, Lady Shiva, Despero, and so on. The storyboards for many of the fights originated from the comics but work well on screen. Again, not quite to the surprising standard of HULK VS., but still very exciting. I dare say a live action version of this would have grossed double what SUPERMAN RETURNS did.

There are also some weird moments that play with humor, from a James Stewart style commentator in the beginning to Luthor approaching Waller in a "sexually abusing boss" kind of way to some of the banter between Supes and Bats, but they all play out right.

Still, considering animation is a more visual medium than still comics, this feature makes it very obvious that Power Girl will NEVER, EVER, EVER be taken seriously until her costume design eliminates that hole over her breasts that serve no purpose other than to show people how large her breasts are. DC sometimes wants you to take her as seriously as Wonder Woman or other heroines, while all but having her fall out of her swim-suit. They can't have it both ways. "If you don't want people calling you a hooker, stop dressing like a hooker", basically. Come to think of it, Mark Millar's THE PRO (which was about a super powered hooker) showed less cleavage than Power Girl.

At any rate, the delivery of the three stars is iconic and classic. They all are natural in their roles and playing off each other, and they all seemed to enjoy the work and deliver even some modest lines very well. Batman and Superman come off like old friends more than rivals here, who at times quibble or bicker about stuff but in the end have literally fought wars together and would die for each other. Brown naturally excels at playing villains and some of his rants as Luthor here are excellent. There's not a bad performance in the disc.

The special features are mostly good, although no commentaries. There's two episodes of Superman, KNIGHT TIME and THE DEMON REBORN that were team-up's. They have some features on past features, same as the GREEN LANTERN disc. There's a preview for WORLD'S COLLIDE, a recycled 2004 script. The highlight is easily a dinner between Conroy, Timm, Andrea Romano and Alan Burnett. They discuss over 15 years of Timm & Co. animation, Conroy's epic standing in his role as Batman since 1992 and their professionalism alongside their genuine liking of each other as people. It's worth the extra $5 just for this alone on disc two. There's also a look at the psyche's of Superman and Batman as archetypes by some rent-an-experts, and while it's fine, it's not as cool as the "dinner". I do miss commentary tracks on these, though. BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT was the last one of the six releases to have one, and they're usually excellent (NEW FRONTIER had two commentaries). I guess everyone is just so busy churning these out.

Marvel hasn't released a Lion's Gate DTV since HULK VS. at the start of the year and the next one, PLANET HULK is due in Feb. 2010, so DC obviously has capitlized, releasing three of their own within seven months (WONDER WOMAN, GL, and this one). The only one I haven't seen is WONDER WOMAN. At any rate, this is a worthy addition to that collection. It's not the best but far above the worst of the discs. It's a team-up with two of the best known heroes on the block and in sheer adrenaline it delivers. Those seeking something a bit more naunced may have to wait until WORLD'S COLLIDE, or some other feature. This is Superman & Batman as action blockbuster heroes, and on that level, it works quite well.

Conroy, Daly, and Brown, though? They always work well together, and always perform solidly. For that reunion of talent alone, it's worth a rental at least.

As a fair weather DC fan, I quite enjoyed it, and have shown it to friends with equal applause.
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From that wall of text I got Tango and Cash with capes....im sooo there:woot:
 
Dread said:
I actually got SUPERMAN/BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMIES about 15 days ago at a local DVD/CD shop that often sells discs days or weeks before the "street date". They sold GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT about four days early, and for this they probably expected it to move fast, and it did. Over two weeks early and I snagged their last 2-disc special edition. I've watched the film about three times and figure the time is right for one of my long winded reviews, especially since I have read a few.

My quickest take on it? It's an entertaining popcorn adventure animated film with terrific voice acting and some decent action sequences starring two of DC's biggest superheroes. On that kind of level, it's quite fun. It doesn't quite reach the quality peak of Marvel's HULK VS. earlier in the year and it's not quality wise superior to GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT or JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER. However, it is aces better than BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT and a better Superman story than SUPERMAN: DOOMSDAY. If it has any flaw, it is on the story it was based on.

The DTV is based on the first six issues of the SUPERMAN/BATMAN comic book written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Ed McGuiness in 2003. This was when Loeb still had a lot of hype for works such as BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN and SUPERMAN: FOR ALL SEASONS as well as other works alongside Tim Sale. In some ways, Loeb is similar to Chris Claremont; when paired with an excellent artist and co-writer, he produces epic stuff. Alone, it's hit or miss. This would be 5-6 years before Loeb would write on HULK or ULTIMATUM and produce works of such low quality that they almost insulted the intelligence of the reader. This was years before he nearly ran HEROES into the ground within one season. In other words, this was the highest point of Loeb's recent fall from A-List writer to Rob Liefield territory; a writer who still sells while writing epically terrible work. Much like Marvel would do later with CIVIL WAR, this story sought to "tap the pulse of the nation" by having a story in which an evil man exploits a social situation and rises to power, and after he does he stomps all over civil liberties while filling key positions with wicked cronies. Yes, Lex Luthor was easily the cipher for George W. Bush; nerves were still raw after he "stole the election" in 2000, the war in Iraq was beginning, and it was barely a year before he would have to run for re-election. In essence, it was DARK REIGN some five years earlier, when it was at least socially relevant. Considering Lex Luthor, unlike Norman Osborn, hadn't actually been convicted of a crime (much less acts of murder or terrorism), it made more sense. The story ran it's course and had all the tact of a 1980's action movie with Sly Stallone, but that was part of the charm. It wasn't a story meant to make you think; it was a tale with some good narration alongside good visuals.

Stan Berkowitz rewrites the story for the DTV, and by and large is rather faithful.
The biggest change is how Luthor convinces the world that Superman is a threat; in the comic, Luthor blames the incoming Kryptonite meteor on Superman. In interviews, Stan Berkowitz had to very politely imply that bit was horse **** and instead altered it for the film, which worked. Various details were cut but by and large, this was as accurate to the original comic story as NEW FRONTIER was to that, perhaps even more so. Irked that Lady Shiva or Grundy went down so quickly? That was right from the comic. Throught the Hawkman/Capt. Marvel swap was awkwardly paced? That was in the comic, too. In essence, as it was based on an actual comic story about 85%, it also absorbed some of the flaws by proxy. If you dislike how little was made of, say, Clark Kent being a reporter or Bruce Wayne a billionare industrialist during Luthor's administration, which is implied was maybe 3 years into a four year term, well, that's from Loeb's original. Even a talent like Timm or Berkowitz can only do so much with a Loeb "dumb action epic". If there is any problem, it is that in 2009, a story with even a veiled hint of anti-Bush waxing to it feels dated, much like a comedian who makes Richard Nixon jokes is dated, or conservatives who can't get over something Clinton did.

Again, if you're looking for this to top JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED in under 70 minutes, you'll be disappointed. If you're looking for a really fun action romp, akin to TANGO & CASH with capes, this is for you. Because JLU covered a wealth of material, this also bridges into territory they covered, but Timm claims in one of the extras that it wasn't intentional.

Easily, the highlight of the feature is the voice cast; one wonders if reuniting Clancy Brown's Luthor, Kevin Conroy's Batman and especially Tim Daly's Superman in one adventure againt for the first time since, well, about 1998, was half the point of making the film. It was in production alongside GREEN LANTERN and would have been running side by side with it. Considering the last time Tim Daly reprised his role as Superman was for the terrible SUPERMAN: BRAINIAC ATTACKS churned out in 2006 (it was so bad, not even I could sit through past the first 15 minutes, and you are speaking to someone who literally saw STEEL in theaters), seeing him return to the role in a better work was great. Especially since, despite his name in the title, Batman actually has little to do with the story. He aids Superman in fights, and Superman hangs out in the Batcave with him, but by and large this is a Superman story, guest starring Batman. Superman gets more lines of dialogue. He gets more of the action sequences, including the first and last (the climax). Aside for token cameos by Bane and Mr. Freeze among group battle sequences, they mostly fight Superman's enemies (Metallo, Mongul, Luthor especially, etc.). Even Power Girl, who arguably is the closest thing the feature has to a female lead beyond Amanda Waller (CCH Pounder also reprising a role from JLU), has a connection to Superman, not Batman. For every time Batman saves Clark's rear in battle, Superman will save Bats' about twice. I had nothing wrong with that; but it is worth mentioning. Much as, in HULK VS. WOLVERINE or HULK VS. THOR, they are mostly stories about Wolverine and Thor, which the Hulk seems to interupt.

The all star cast doesn't end there. Allison Mack, from SMALLVILLE, plays Power Girl and she does a fine job considering she really doesn't have much to do beyond talk. She is physically in a few action sequences but does very little in all of them. Her connection to Superman is told and implied emotionally, but her complicated origin is not told, which probably is for the best. Condensed, she is Superman's cousin from an alternate reality, an alternate version of Supergirl. LeVar Burton, from STAR TREK:TNG and READING RAINBOW, plays Black Lightening, and while that is cool, he has even less to do. He probably gets about three lines and a few action scene type grunts. Xander Berkely, who recently played Mysterio in SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN, though, does more than both as Captain Atom. Much like the JLU storyline, Atom is stuck between loyalty to his government and loyalty to Superman & Batman, who he knows are honest heroes even if they disagree with Luthor. Unlike in JLU, Capt. Atom actually isn't too much of a jerk here, and ultimately makes an incredible sacrifice for them. Granted, it probably helps that his "evil double", Major Force (who is basically Capt. Atom's Venom, if that makes sense) fills that role quite well. John C. McGinley from SCRUBS plays Metallo, with Corey Burton briefly as Captain Marvel and Richardo Chavira as Major Force. Animation veteran Jennifer Hale also does some side voices, such as for Starfire and another reprisal, Killer Frost.

The plot, simple as it is, is mostly from the 2003 comic story.
Through opportunity and society chaos, Lex Luthor has run on a third party platform and captured the presidency. He's sought a legalized squad of superheroes loyal to "the law" (i.e. him), and that soon includes Atom, Force, Lightening, Power Girl, Katanna, and Starfire, among others. This also means some villains, like Metallo. When a Krytonite asteriod the size of a country is streaking towards Earth, Luthor capitalizes on it to get rid of his arch nemesis and advance his goals once and for all. He uses Metallo to frame Superman for murder, and then claims that the approaching mass of Kryptonite is driving the Man of Steel insane, and he is thus a public menace. Offering a billion dollar bounty on his head (not unlike Vash the Stampede from TRIGUN), every single costumed super villain wants a crack at the bounty. Batman, despite his cynical warnings being ignored, is quick to help Superman when he is nearly killed by Metallo and then throughout the course of trying to prove his innocence and find some dirt on Luthor. However, in the meantime, Luthor has been mixing Kryptonite with steroids into his body to anticipate his eventual physical showdown with Superman, complete with a bulky suit of green/purple armor left over from SUPER-FRIENDS POWER HOUR. It ultimately comes down to a slugfest between Luthor & Superman while Batman seems to ride a giant "mecha" created by the new Japanese Toyman (Calvin Tran) into the asteroid and seems to sacrifice his life for the world. Does Batman die? Is Chewbacca bald?

The film takes some risks not introducing a slew of characters, such as Power Girl or the rest; it assumes you know who they are or won't care about in terms of the film. Quite a few villains show up for the battle sequences, including but not limited to Grundy, Mongul, Bane, Mr. Freeze, Icicle, Killer Frost, Capt. Cold, Kestrel (a HAWK AND DOVE villain), Giganta, Brimstone, Nightshade, Grodd (Brian George), Hush, Lady Shiva, Despero, and so on. The storyboards for many of the fights originated from the comics but work well on screen. Again, not quite to the surprising standard of HULK VS., but still very exciting. I dare say a live action version of this would have grossed double what SUPERMAN RETURNS did.

There are also some weird moments that play with humor, from a James Stewart style commentator in the beginning to Luthor approaching Waller in a "sexually abusing boss" kind of way to some of the banter between Supes and Bats, but they all play out right.

Still, considering animation is a more visual medium than still comics, this feature makes it very obvious that Power Girl will NEVER, EVER, EVER be taken seriously until her costume design eliminates that hole over her breasts that serve no purpose other than to show people how large her breasts are. DC sometimes wants you to take her as seriously as Wonder Woman or other heroines, while all but having her fall out of her swim-suit. They can't have it both ways. "If you don't want people calling you a hooker, stop dressing like a hooker", basically. Come to think of it, Mark Millar's THE PRO (which was about a super powered hooker) showed less cleavage than Power Girl.

At any rate, the delivery of the three stars is iconic and classic. They all are natural in their roles and playing off each other, and they all seemed to enjoy the work and deliver even some modest lines very well. Batman and Superman come off like old friends more than rivals here, who at times quibble or bicker about stuff but in the end have literally fought wars together and would die for each other. Brown naturally excels at playing villains and some of his rants as Luthor here are excellent. There's not a bad performance in the disc.

The special features are mostly good, although no commentaries. There's two episodes of Superman, KNIGHT TIME and THE DEMON REBORN that were team-up's. They have some features on past features, same as the GREEN LANTERN disc. There's a preview for WORLD'S COLLIDE, a recycled 2004 script. The highlight is easily a dinner between Conroy, Timm, Andrea Romano and Alan Burnett. They discuss over 15 years of Timm & Co. animation, Conroy's epic standing in his role as Batman since 1992 and their professionalism alongside their genuine liking of each other as people. It's worth the extra $5 just for this alone on disc two. There's also a look at the psyche's of Superman and Batman as archetypes by some rent-an-experts, and while it's fine, it's not as cool as the "dinner". I do miss commentary tracks on these, though. BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT was the last one of the six releases to have one, and they're usually excellent (NEW FRONTIER had two commentaries). I guess everyone is just so busy churning these out.

Marvel hasn't released a Lion's Gate DTV since HULK VS. at the start of the year and the next one, PLANET HULK is due in Feb. 2010, so DC obviously has capitlized, releasing three of their own within seven months (WONDER WOMAN, GL, and this one). The only one I haven't seen is WONDER WOMAN. At any rate, this is a worthy addition to that collection. It's not the best but far above the worst of the discs. It's a team-up with two of the best known heroes on the block and in sheer adrenaline it delivers. Those seeking something a bit more naunced may have to wait until WORLD'S COLLIDE, or some other feature. This is Superman & Batman as action blockbuster heroes, and on that level, it works quite well.

Conroy, Daly, and Brown, though? They always work well together, and always perform solidly. For that reunion of talent alone, it's worth a rental at least.

As a fair weather DC fan, I quite enjoyed it, and have shown it to friends with equal applause.
Click to expand...
Always love reading your posts Dread. :up:

Also can't wait to pick up my copy.
 
nice review dread.

only thing is, I know Superman Brainiac attacks is known for being sub par, but I actually liked it. I feel that the first 15 minutes were probably the worst part, so i understand that you stopped watching, I would recommend watching the whole thing. I think it picks up really well towards the end.
 
I bought the blu-ray and I thought it was pretty good. It could have -- no, should have -- been longer, though.
 
oh totally it would be nice if these dtv were like 90mins.
 
I liked it a lot. I actually don't think running time was as much of an issue in this movie as it was in the previous films. Yes, it was almost non-existent on characterization, and yes the plot was little more than an excuse for Batman and Superman to fight a bunch of cool heroes and villains...but that's exactly what the original comic was. They made some deviations, but they all worked really well, I thought, and only made the movie better.

If anything, the big flaw with this film was that it didn't deviate enough. Personally, I would have been very happy if they had cut a fight or two in the second act and instead added scenes that gave more depth to the characters and plot, rather than stick to the original comics' spirit of over-emphasized bash-em-up battles.

The other small aspect I would have preferred added is if they could have adapted the whole differing Superman/Batman perspectives (thought boxes) of the comic. I really think those few lines here and there really add a lot to the characterization of both characters. Although I will say, the banter the two have that is in the movie, is great.

Overall, a pretty strong addition to the collection. Not my favorite as it lacks the subtlety of The New Frontier, but I could definitely say it may be the most enjoyable of any of the films yet simply due to how fun it is.
 
It was pretty good, the fight scenes were well animated and seeing Batman and Superman in realistic type of animation instead of the simplistic Bruce Timm style was sorely needed.

Even the music score was good and epic but why do these DC animated features have to clock in under 70 minutes, would it kill them to a full 90 minute length? Supposedly it's so that Cartoon Network can run these movies and pad it with commercials into a 90 minute block.

One reason I bought this was because Kevin Conroy was back as Batman which is how it should be.
 
It's also probably because the longer the movie is, the more it costs to produce.
 
CConn said:
It's also probably because the longer the movie is, the more it costs to produce.
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Well they've already done several DTV movies, how hard can it be to add another 20 minutes?

I hope WB/DC never do an adaptation of The Dark Knight Returns if they think an epic story like that can be told in 70 minutes.
 
Jolly Rolly said:
Well they've already done several DTV movies, how hard can it be to add another 20 minutes?

I hope WB/DC never do an adaptation of The Dark Knight Returns if they think an epic story like that can be told in 70 minutes.
Click to expand...
...because each individual DTV might not make enough to sustain an extra 20 minutes in budget?
 
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