Rating:  -
I purchased dvd as a gift
this is a great cartoon,
if you are a cartoon lover
or love superman you will
love this dvd.
I would recommend this
product for kids or any
adult that is a kid at heart.
Rating:  -
It is my belief that superheroes are dark entities. Let me explain further. Over the course of many decades, Hollywood has attempted to grapple the popularity of comic book heroines by releasing big studio releases based on what they have seen. It has been the opinion of many that these executives see color on the page, and immediately believe that the color is what has to translate onto the screen. There have been countless examples of this happening in cinema, take the most recent "Ghost Rider", or "Batman & Robin" or even the debacle of the final X-Men film. To bring it full circle, the reason that these films have not been successful, and why those smaller films seem to understand better the choices of the hero (i.e. why was "The Punisher" panned) and bring the grittiness to the surface. It is when a director sees the hero as a fallen angel, someone who is just as dark inside as the villains that they fight (i.e. see the most recent "Batman Returns"), that I believe they understand the printed page. An example of a failure on both ends is the most recent direct-to-video release of the popular 90s comic disaster, the Death of Superman. It stunned the world, killed the hero we believed couldn't die, and slowly and surely reconstructed the mythology of Superman. This animated film destroys whatever soul was remaining within this story. It takes creative risks, destroys sanity, and walks all over what is to eventually become of the Man of Steel. To be honest, I like animated heroes (the Batman and early X-Men on FOX has been particularly entertaining), but this goes a bit too far and ultimately corrupts anything of value within the written story.
What made the story of Superman's death enjoyable was that there was just this unknown beast awakened, so to speak, and fate brought these two indestructible beings together. It was the battle that drew us to the page, it was the punches that Superman threw and the unknown of this being later to be known as Doomsday, which kept us turning page after page. (Editor's note: I realize that perhaps Doomsday had been seen in other story arcs, that perhaps there had been other back story eventually created, and that other events had been leading up to this, but when I was young I just read this one particular story - the Death of Superman, and it is the basis for this review.) To fill nearly an hour and a half, perhaps the creators of this film decided they needed to bring Luther in to prove that they were making a Superman story, perhaps they needed to demonstrate a pathetic love story between Superman and Lane, perhaps they needed to show mass destruction in which people HAD TO HAVE died or been wounded, but it was done so poorly that it transformed a good idea direct-to-DVD to a DVD destined to be eventually found in the $1 bin. They story should have revolved around the big meeting between Doomsday and Superman, but instead the culmination involved this sub-story with Lex Luthor. I was hurt. Everything from Olsen getting a job at a trashy magazine, to the cheap secondary villain, to renegade clones just hurt over time. This was not the story of Superman fighting Doomsday, but instead several small stories using that brief moment to grow. It was not the excitement that I anticipated, nor wanted.
With the story in ruins, one would hope that the voice talent would at least bring a level of professionalism to the table, but again, I have been wrong many times before. Adam Baldwin is a "Firefly" god, but he doesn't quite have the power for Superman's voice. There wasn't the strength or humanity behind it, but simply your average man's voice behind the blue suit and cape. Anne Heche, voicing Lois Lane, seemed (and sounded) like she had been smoking twelve packs a day. It sounded like Anne Heche doing voice work on an animated film, not an actual character on screen. The rest were equally as bad. Case in point, if you need to use Kevin Smith's voice as a cameo in the film, than you need to realize that your film is failing. He is not credited, but I do believe they used him twice for two insignificant characters, but it was obviously him. There is one scene where Superman battles, well, with himself (when viewed you will understand), and the dialogue between the two are hysterical. It is not supposed to be, but it had me nearly in tears.
Story in shambles, voice work below average, what else could go wrong with this simple little direct-to-DVD release? Two more issues arose upon viewing which will confuse the more novice film viewer. Superman will not allow a child to be killed by Doomsday, but has no problem causing millions of dollars worth of structural damage to the city by merely hitting the beast? Who eventually has to pay for the rebuilding? Who made sure nobody was holding a meeting or having a small family reunion in one of those skyscrapers or obvious tenement buildings in Metropolis? The big battle raged which was fun, but the consistency of this animated Superman was perplexing. Why would he save one, yet endanger others? Or, could it be possible that all of this section of Metropolis was empty at this time during the morning? Too much chaos was happening to believe that nobody else was hurt during the rumble. The second point, which is brief, but those understanding the comics will get it - why were there no questionable supermen born from this disaster. Was anyone willing to follow the comic story at all - or was there more money in creating their own storyline?
Overall, this was not the film I was expecting. Again, having grown up reading that single volume of how the "Man of Steel" dies, I wanted to see perhaps a synopsis of his life, some of his adventures, all leading up (character development and story) to his big battle with Doomsday. I realize that more happens afterwards, at least in the comic, but what was presented here, in this film, is not the world or story that I imaged. In fact, all imagination was stripped away with the poorly voiced characters, the minimal "darkness" that needed to surround this iconic character, and the complete chaos caused with minimal consequences. I must say that the one point I did like from this animated feature was the fact that people did die. Not tons, but enough to surround the point. The escape of Doomsday, the fight with Superman, and even Lex's creature all killed, and it was interesting to see that in this DVD. In the end, it was a sorry, pathetic little film that is worthless compared to the comic it represents. For those fans, or even us casual ones, this represented nothing but commercialism and capitalistic opportunity - two words that should not be associated with either film or the printed page.
Grade: * out of *****
Rating: -
Here I was happy that they had made an animated film adaptation of the Death of Superman comic. Well, this is not an adaptation. It is a poor excuse of a movie. This does not follow the comic at all. Superman fights Doomsday, that much is fromt he comic. He is cloned like in the comic. Lex Luthor is the cloner though. The clone is not Superboy. There are none of the other supermen. This is not worth anyones time.
Rating: -
The DVD came quickly and also had a great 3D cover. The movie was worth every penny and kept my kids and I entertained the whole way through.
Rating:  -
I dont' usually get excited about 'cartoons', even if they are aimed at a more mature crowd-but this one is worth the time.
I'm sure most people know that Superman meets his toughest adversary-EVER-in this movie. Without giving the plot away, I only can say that you can really get into this movie. It's that interesting. A definite buy. I own it, and have watched it with the grandkids, and my oldest son. Enjoy the ride.
|
