Superman: Doomsday
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Movie Reviews of Superman: Doomsday
Movie Review: "SUPERMAN DOOMSDAY" is indeed a winner. Highly recommended!
Summary: 5 Stars
It has been 15 years since the release of the "Death of Superman" comic books which was one of the coolest storylines to come from DVD comics and also to pump some needed energy into the Superman comic book series.
The storyline featured the intergalactic serial killer known as Doomsday. With super strength, virtually indestructible and the embodiment of evil, not even the Justice League could defeat him. That was until the bloody battle between Superman and Doomsday came to a head and in the end, Doomsday was defeated but Superman sacrificed his life to protect Metropolis and paid for it with his life.
With the release of the DVD of "SUPERMAN DOOMSDAY", the first animated Superman movie, is based on the popular battle.
Although the storyline of the animated movie is not exactly the same as the comic book series, the animated film manages to capture the essence of Superman and the bloody battle.
In this film, Superman and Lois Lane have been dating for six months. Lois wants to know more about Superman and she has a hunch that possibly he may be Clark Kent.
While the two are having a romantic vacation, Lex Luthor is still scheming on how to beat Superman and his corporat Lex Corp finds what may be an alien vessel (which turns out to be an imprisonment for whatever is inside). Of course, Lex Luthor authorizes the research team to open the alien vessel and Doomsday is unleashed.
Although the film focuses on the battle between Superman and Doomsday, the storyline goes in much deeper by focusing on the emotions of Lois Lane, Martha Kent and the people close to Superman post-death and that includes Lex Luthor who is so upset that he was not the person to stop Superman and feels cheated.
But all of a sudden when Metropolis needs a hero, a man with the blue tights and red cape is back. But is it really Superman?
So, the storyline is top notch and I wouldn't expect anything less from Bruce Timm, Lauren Montgomery and Brandon Vietti. Bruce Timm has worked on the awesome "Justice League" and "Batman" animated series and the storyline definitely delivers, thankfully to the cool screenplay by Duane Capizzi.
I must admit that I was not liking Superman's character design, since I was used to the animated series version and got so used to the "Justice League" animated series and to see Superman have lines around the cheek bones and a John Travolta style chin...(fortunately, not too Jay Leno) took some time getting used to.
As for the voice acting, Adam Baldwin did a great job as Superman and at first I was not too sure about Anne Heche's voice acting as Lois Lane. It was very different but as the film progressed, I got used to it and I admit, it was kind of unique for her character.
As for special features, the DVD comes with 70 minutes of special features including the "Documentary and Rebirth: Superman Lives!" which is an informative and awesome look of how the comic book creators came up with the "Death of Superman" back in the early 90's. I was impressed that they actually had a lot of video footage from the planning stages to the promotion. This feature alone is sure to be "golden" among Superman fans and readers who followed the "Death of Superman" series.
Also featured is a commentary by Bruce Tim and Duane Cappizi, voice director Andrea Romano and executive producer Gregory Noveck.
Also an exclusive sneak peak at DC Universe's "Justice League: The New Frontier", "Behind the Voice" featurette and "Superman's Last Stand Challenge".
I purchased my DVD from Wal-Mart and that comes with a bonus CD which features the actual "Death of Superman" comic book.
Although I tend to review mostly Japanese animation, when it comes to certain creators and people behind an animated series or film in the US, I have come to expect quality.
For me, Bruce Timm brings quality to DC characters and "SUPERMAN DOOMSDAY" does not disappoint one bit, although loosely based on the comic series of the "Death of Superman", the storyline that they came up with for this animated film is still just as emotional and awesome as the storyline that ran in the comic books.
I was among the comic book readers who highly anticipated the comic book release back in 1993, in fact, I bought 4 bagged and 4 regular, the collector's card series and collected the whole run. That is how hardcore I was into the series. I loved every issue and admit I was skeptical about the animated film, because I knew that there would be no Doomsday vs. the Justice League, nor will there be the funeral which featured nearly every major super hero from the DC universe, nor the four who tried to take on Superman's legacy.
But I do trust Bruce Timm and he has not disappointed me once with the animated television series, so needless to say, after watching this DVD, I enjoyed every minute of it.
It's interesting because Marvel has released several cool animated films within the past two years but DC's first animated film since the "Batman" animated film years ago, with "SUPERMAN DOOMSDAY", this release is a grand slam.
Great storyline, awesome special features and featuring one of the most popular heroic icon in American culture, "SUPERMAN DOOMSDAY" is indeed a winner. Highly recommended!
Movie Review: Superman is dead...or is he????
Summary: 5 Stars
This was a really nice surprise for me. I watched it not really expecting much of anything, but this is a really exciting and well-written animated movie. Based loosely upon the "death of Superman" issues of the comics, it is a retelling of the Man of Steel's untimely demise following his epic battle with Doomsday. There are many discrepancies from the comic, particularly Doomsday's origins, and the fight is considerably scaled down, but the fight sequence between them is still spectacular.
I was a bit disappointed at first to find that Doomsday is actually a smaller part of this story than you might think. However, that disappointment is short-lived, because the rest of the story is fantastic as well. As you might guess, Superman's death is only temporary and soon he's back in action, but it's quickly apparent that things are not what they seem.
Overall, this is just a really great story, especially considering it's "only a cartoon". I found myself more than once wishing this were live action, because that really would have been amazing. Still, as it is, this is easily up there with most of the live action superhero movies made recently (and it's WAY better than "Superman Returns"). I really like the sort of "oldschool" animation, that is, not computer generated. You don't really see this kind of thing that much these days, which is kind of sad, in my opinion. This animation style reminds me very much of the cartoons I used to watch as a kid. However, it should be noted that this is NOT for kids. With a PG-13 rating, it is considerably darker and more violent than any Superman cartoon I've seen. Plus, there's a bit of mild language and a more mature and emotionally complex story than what you might expect.
The voiceover work is great as well. Adam Baldwin has the Superman voice down perfectly, and Anne Heche is a surprisingly good Lois Lane. James Marsters, who of course plays Brainiac on "Smallville", this time provides the voice of Lex Luthor, and his performance is spot-on as well. Other vocal talents include Ray Wise, Adam Wylie, Cree Summer, and there's even a funny cameo from Kevin Smith.
If there's one thing here that didn't really work for me, it's Superman's goofy robot butler, which was really just cheesy and probably unnecesary. I guess it did provide some comic relief to an otherwise dark story, but I don't know, I could have done without it. He was voiced by Tom Kenny, the guy that does Spongebob, so I guess that's kinda cool.
Anyway, I think that for any Superman fan, this is more than worth checking out. Great action, and a great story. You can't go wrong.
Movie Review: Superman: Doomsday review
Summary: 5 Stars
Phenomenal.
I can't even express how impressed i was with this movie.
Is it the comic? not really. does that matter? hell no. this movie is based on "The Death of Superman," yes, but they never said it would be exactly the same. did they follow the basic premise and capture the essence of the story? hell yes, they did. and they translated all the most important parts of the story while still making it their own.
denying the pure quality of the movie itself is just a practice in bad taste. keep in mind that most of the people who will bash this movie for not being an exact adaptation of the three graphic novels it pulls inspiration from are probably the same people who own all box-sets of S:TAS and consider them to be bar-setting quality in Superhero television. was S:TAS exactly like the comics? hell no. in fact, to compare them on those grounds is just rediculous... they're about as different as they can possibly be, without S:TAS destroying the superman comic mythos. the key is that they kept the important parts the same, and delivered high quality writing, animation, etc. while still being allowed to add their own flavor to the stories.
the route they took with this movie was, i think, perfect for what they were aiming to do. they wanted to bring the classic story to the screen without bogging it down with all of the unnecessary plot tangents that drag the focus off of Superman himself. because that's what's important. Superman's death is what sold those comics, not the inclusion of the JLA. and then, subsequently, Superman's return from death after much mourning is done by the Man of Steel's loved (and not so loved) ones. all of this was captured flawlessly in the film and i think it deserves the highest of ratings for what it accomplishes in it's relatively short running time (even though the sheer scope of it makes it feel far more substancial than any other 70-80 minute movie i've seen).
basically, to wrap up, this movie exceeded my already high expectations and as far as i'm concerned, they already have my money when the Dvd is released.
i highly recommend it and suggest that you, at the very least, rent it regardless of any doubts.
Movie Review: Everything I Wanted It To Be, & More!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Finally we get a true comic book to movie film that works!!! True the movie does stray a little from the original comics, but it stays close enough that you still get the idea. This movie does not take place in Warner Brother's "Superman - The Animated Series" universe. There's no JLA, & Lex Luthor is a much more brutal, sinister Luthor. This Luthor is very familiar to those familiar with the comics. He's a take no prisoners killer. I also like what they did with "The Toyman" (it's to bad he won't be around for future pics :P). This is a PG-13 movie that deserves to be PG-13 (unlike Marvel's pathetic attempts at making animated feature films "Ultimates/Iron Man/Doctor Strange" YUK!), the fight scenes are brutal & you really get a sense of the power being thrown around between both Superman & Doomsday. This is the film Warner should've made with the recent "Superman Returns", live action this would've been awesome. There's a whole new voice cast that for this film that nail the characters dead on. The animation (again unlike the Marvel animation) is truely amazing you can tell the animators really put their hearts & souls into every frame. The return/rebirth of Superman storyline is a little different. Rather than their being 4 Supermen taking his place their is only one. I won't go to deep into detail as not to spoil anything for anyone, but it fits well with the story. 4 Supermen wouldn't have fit into one film & for thsi I'm glad they chose to change things rather than force it into a 90 minute movie. The special features are great too, you get an interview with the entire team that originally killed Superman with the Doomsday story line which is really cool (just think we have "Lois & Clark" to thank for "Supes" demise:P), cast interviews & a sneak peek inside look at Warners next DC animnated film "Justice League - The New Frontier" which looks just as equally amazing!! Anyway, those are my thoughts. Anyone who's ever liked Superman needs to watch this movie. That goes for anyone who's ever enjoyed animated films as well. This is a well put together film that I think everyone will enjoy. Buy This Movie!!!Movie Review: Great as a stand-alone movie
Summary: 5 Stars
I think people are way too biased when it comes to grading these direct to dvd animated movies. I've read reviews of the marvel movies and they're basically the same: some expert of the comics complaining about the story not staying more faithful to the source material. I've gotta say, as an avid comic fan myself, although it would be awesome to see an exact replica of the death of superman, I would be bored at the same time. Why not just read the comic?
*SPOILERS*
I will say though that I was a little confused at how quickly doomsday appeared and killed superman but then found myself pleasantly surprised that they went ahead and included the whole return of superman as well (yes different but still equally as enjoyable). I had no idea they were going to do that since I thought the whole movie was just the death of him.
Would it have been awesome to see the four versions of superman in the aftermath? Yes. But would they have been able to include all of that, make the back stories work so you care about the characters and still find an emotional way to bring the real superman back all within 75 minutes? Definitely not. There's enough material to make numerous seperate 75 minute movies about all that so they had to cut it down. (the whole death of superman and aftermath saga was like 2 years of comics...thousands of pages, ha)
When it came to the voicing of the characters, I was a little skeptical at first. Not that I have anything against Adam Baldwin or Anne Heche (two great actors, especially Anne) but when celebrities voice cartoons, (for me at least) it tends to interfere with the movie since I can't help but put their face to the familiar voice. My fears were quickly put down though and I totally forgot they were voicing until I saw their names again at the end in the credits. So kudos to them for doing a terrific job!
Overall, I can see how crazed-comic book fans might be disappointed but I still thought it was great. I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder, and this beholder's eye loved every minute of it.