LoginFun animated movie based on an enjoyable comic book story by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness. The story has Lex Luthor becoming President of the United States (!) and using his new authority to go after Superman. Batman steps in to help his buddy and the two find themselves pursued by their government and their friends. A solid script with nice banter and one-liners. Not as meaty as the original story but still good. There's some subtext about patriotism and the difference between loyalty to country vs loyalty to government. But, for the most part, this is just an exciting action story with lots of superheroes and supervillians and big fight scenes. Nothing at all wrong with that.
The voicework is excellent with Kevin Conroy, Clancy Brown, Tim Daly, and CCH Pounder all handling the characters they have perfected so well. In addition there's solid work from Xander Berkeley, Allison Mack, LeVar Burton, and many others. The animation is fluid, colorful, and bright. The story is smarter than it had to be, which I appreciate. It probably plays better to fans but I think the uninitiated can still enjoy it. I'm not a big supporter of the direction DC animation has taken in recent years. I loved their stuff from the '90s and early '00s but lately they only seem concerned with appealing to the lowest common denominator. This one was made after their prime but when there was still a little bit of magic left. Very entertaining and packed with action.
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies Reviews
"Clark, what the hell are good villains?"
Posted : 1 year, 10 months ago on 5 July 2022 08:18
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"Superman/Batman: Public Enemies" (2009)
Posted : 8 years, 10 months ago on 18 June 2015 08:46
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Lex Luthor has been elected US President, and Batman and Superman maintain their distrust. Kevin Conroy and Tim Daly reprise their classic roles, and their banter is every bit as delightful as you'd expect. And Clancy Brown continues to be the best Lex Luthor ever. :) My favourite scenes are when Luthor arranges a meeting with Superman and surprises him by bringing Metallo along as backup ('cos I love me some Metallo!), and his claim that the approaching kryptonite meteor is affecting Superman's judgement – and the way he manipulates footage from the meeting to support that claim. God, what an evil slimeball! The climax, however, is a bit of a disappointment: whereas the first half is all about brilliant character interactions, the last act just devolves into nonstop mindless action. It's an action climax that doesn't feel earned; it feels like the movie just gave up. I enjoyed this movie on the whole, but did find it very lopsided.
My rating: 70%
Lex Luthor has been elected US President, and Batman and Superman maintain their distrust. Kevin Conroy and Tim Daly reprise their classic roles, and their banter is every bit as delightful as you'd expect. And Clancy Brown continues to be the best Lex Luthor ever. :) My favourite scenes are when Luthor arranges a meeting with Superman and surprises him by bringing Metallo along as backup ('cos I love me some Metallo!), and his claim that the approaching kryptonite meteor is affecting Superman's judgement – and the way he manipulates footage from the meeting to support that claim. God, what an evil slimeball! The climax, however, is a bit of a disappointment: whereas the first half is all about brilliant character interactions, the last act just devolves into nonstop mindless action. It's an action climax that doesn't feel earned; it feels like the movie just gave up. I enjoyed this movie on the whole, but did find it very lopsided.
My rating: 70%
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Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 12 September 2010 01:28
Based on the Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness comic, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies presents a gangs-all-here voice cast that includes Tim Daly and Kevin Conroy and a plot that only slows down long enough to let our titular heroes breathe before launching into the next action sequence. It would have been nice if more time and energy had been used to give the plot room to breathe, but as a non-stop action-adventure buddy film it works like gangbusters. I also wish that the character designed didn’t rely so heavily upon McGuinness’ artistic style since every character consistently looks too bulky, too embellished, cartoony to the point of distraction (Power Girl’s body is especially distracting for her top heavy proportions).
While I really enjoyed the film, it does play out like a thirteen-year-old boys’ manic manga-inspired fever-dream team-up. When you see this new young Japanese version of Toyman, and his gadgets that help save the world, you’ll understand completely what I mean. While it was a hoot to hear Tim Daly, Kevin Conroy, Clancy Brown and CCH Pounder reprise their roles, the designs that accompany them take a minute or two to get used to. With no real reason given for Batman to team-up with and help Superman, besides the ‘greater good’ that they fight for, it’s also a little thin in the plot development. A fun time to be had, but it could have been better if it had been longer and more fleshed out.
While I really enjoyed the film, it does play out like a thirteen-year-old boys’ manic manga-inspired fever-dream team-up. When you see this new young Japanese version of Toyman, and his gadgets that help save the world, you’ll understand completely what I mean. While it was a hoot to hear Tim Daly, Kevin Conroy, Clancy Brown and CCH Pounder reprise their roles, the designs that accompany them take a minute or two to get used to. With no real reason given for Batman to team-up with and help Superman, besides the ‘greater good’ that they fight for, it’s also a little thin in the plot development. A fun time to be had, but it could have been better if it had been longer and more fleshed out.
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