Hey everybody, Comic Book Boy here with this week’s little gem, “Superman/Doomsday.” The movie was released on DVD Tuesday and is the first of a series to go straight to DVD, which will focus on adapting individual graphic novel classics into 70-80 minute animated features.
The best thing about this up and coming series is that they are all stand alone stories. None of these really involve any major knowledge of the comics. Someone with a basic knowledge or no knowledge at all of the characters could enjoy these movies as well as use them as a gateway into getting into comics.
This film is adapted from The Death and Return of Superman series, which ran in the early Nineties. That being said, I assume you can tell what the basic storyline of the film is.
Now this film does an amazing job of taking a year and a half’s worth of storylines, and reducing them to their most important and iconic details, and brings the storyline up to the modern day. Normally, I would be complaining about the deviations and changes they made from the sacred texts; instead, I went along with it and had a great time.The filmmakers streamlined the story and focused on three characters rather than having to worry about including the 20-30 other characters brought up in the comics. This story focuses on Superman (played by Adam Baldwin), Lois Lane (played wonderfully by Anne Heche) and Lex Luthor (played masterfully by James Marsters).
The most interesting of the three is Luthor because we see a side of him that is not focused on enough, that is, the dark and demented side. The jealousy, the hatred and the mistrust all of the things which boil up inside and drive this character we see and yet never have fully explained. Then there’s Lois Lane; we get a rare glimpse of her vulnerable side. She is a strong-willed tough girl – always has been and always will be. But no one can always be so strong, hence she has Superman. He is the one who always saves her when things get out of control, and he’s always the one who will look out for her.
Overall, I enjoyed the film. It is a step up from the mid-’90s Superman animated series mainly because this film certainly is not for young kids. I know what you’re going to say: An animated superhero movie not for kids? Ridiculous! Well, it’s true. The film has a PG-13 rating and it’s no joke. It’s a solid PG-13 with some brutal fight and death sequences as well as some mature themes. None of it is done for shock value, all of it is done for the story and the characters.
This is Comic Book boy saying, “Take Care!”
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