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DC Showcase

A collection of short films featuring characters that were deemed unable to carry their own feature, made up of three previously available and brand new short, that is by turns more adventurous than just about any of the direct-to-DVD full-length films, and proof that there is indeed room for expansion within the confines of “comic book film adaptation” for experimentation and growth. It’s a pity that not all of them amount to much of anything, but the ones that do are stellar.

Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam
This one kicks off the set, and it’s the sole shiny, new and exclusive addition, and ironically feels like the perfect beginning for a full-length feature on Captain Marvel, as he used to be called, and his corresponding mythology. Superman feels a tiny bit superfluous to the whole thing, and the insistence on blowing through at maximum velocity through his origin story to get to the prolonged fight is problematic.

Only the most committed and knowledgeable of readers will get all of the tiny references sprinkled through the film about Billy and his fictional world. I found myself left with more questions than anything and hoping for some kind of continuation to clarify, Captain Marvel has never been a character I followed much. But the voice actors assembled are quite nice with George Newbern and Jerry O’Connell returning from the Justice League cartoon. James Garner and Arnold Vosloo are unexpected additions, and they bring an appropriate amount of gravitas and menace to their respective characters.

The Spectre
Hands down this is both one of the most original shorts and probably the weakest of the lot. The Spectre is a hard character to write for, admittedly, but the plot here doesn’t amount to much and is really just a thinly connected series of cool moments. The best being his possession of various creature effects makeup and animatronics to torture and kill their creator.

While the plot doesn’t do the film many favors, the look and vibe of the whole thing is quite nice. The whole film has been given a grindhouse make-under – the film frequently looks scratched and dated, the colors are more muted than the other films, and the whole thing is made to look like it was done on cheap film stock. It’s appropriately noir-esque and very visually appealing proving that even superhero adaptations can be experimental in approach. Gary Cole also delivers a solid vocal performance as the titular character. It’s good, but could have been so much better.

Green Arrow
I am biased – I love Green Arrow. And this short film gave me everything about the character that I love. His rogue sense of humor, his cockiness and swagger, and a ridiculous arsenal of arrows that can do really cool tricks. Black Canary is unfortunately sidelined for too much of the action, but her eleventh hour battle cry appropriately showcases the dynamic between the two characters.

Like the previous two, Green Arrow is also heavy on the action and light on the plot, but this one is more engaging and exciting making full use of its airport setting. It’s also better than the Shazam! because it doesn’t try to shoehorn in his origin story anywhere in there, instead focusing in on showing us his character traits and the important things about him through visual clues and his actions/choices. Neal McDonough makes for a great Green Arrow and Malcolm McDowell is always great as the heavy.

Jonah Hex
Well, color me surprised, because I had no great interest or hope in a film about Jonah Hex being remotely engaging. But, shockingly, this is without a doubt the best of the lot. It’s very dark and aimed squarely at a more mature audience. It has a distinctly slower, more modulated pace, and it ends on a series of disturbing images and actions. Jonah Hex proves that comics aren’t just for kids, and neither are their animated adaptations.

Thomas Jane and Linda Hamilton give their characters very distinct flavors. Hamilton’s growly drawl as murdering saloon owner/prostitute Lorraine really sells her character’s rattlesnake-in-a-corset vibe. Jane, for his part, sounds like he sustains himself on whiskey and tobacco, and not much else. His Hex is a hardened man of the Wild West. The final sequence, in which Hex takes Lorraine out into the wilderness to find a cave where she dumps the bodies of the rich men she kills for money, and promptly leaves her stranded in there is horrifying. The final images we see are the decaying remains as her lantern slowly extinguishes. The film is also bathed in muted colors – mainly variations of browns, blacks and tans. It’s still appealing, but it looks so much darker than the brightly colored others and really stands out, in a good way.

This collection of DC Showcase shorts actually made the cases for expanded films on Green Arrow, Captain Marvel and Jonah Hex, oddly enough. With Jonah Hex being the best, Green Arrow and Shazam! tied for second, and in a very distant third place, The Spectre. Peaks and valleys like any collection of short films, but it offers up some pretty good thrills, nice animation and excellent vocal work throughout. At a little over an hour, five minutes maybe, it’s worth a look.
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Added by JxSxPx
11 years ago on 1 February 2013 22:25