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The latest in the DC Comics direct-to-DVD adaptations is just as fun, just as beautifully animated, but suffers from…something. Perhaps it’s a lack of distinct and interesting plotting? Unlike Batman & Superman: Public Enemies, which thrived on a anime-obsessed young boy’s fantasy mash-up rock-sock-‘em storyline, Apocalypse is in constant strain between wanting to flesh out a storyline and creating an hour and twenty minute action sequence. I’ve said it before about these films and I’ll repeat myself here: they need to be longer. The pacing is all over the place, with events either moving at too breakneck a speed or not given enough room to be fully developed.
The story contains the reintroduction of Supergirl into the Superman mythos. Once again, she is a survivor of Krypton, and a direct blood-relative to Superman. All well and good, until Darkseid decides that he wants to brainwash her and use her to lead his Female Furies Battalion. With such a rich and textured backdrop for our storyline to spring off from, why does it feel so infinitely inferior to the similar terrain covered in Superman: The Animated Series?
Over the course of that show’s third season we had a slow burning expansion and introduction of the same elements presented in this film: Supergirl, Darkseid, Apokolips, Granny Goodness and the Female Furies, etc. The only elements that weren’t originally there were Batman and Wonder Woman. Barda was seen briefly in the New Genesis lineup (more screen time was given to Orion). “Little Girl Lost,” “Apokolips…Now!,” and “Legacy” told this story more fully and with more rounded out and complete character arcs and developments. Here everyone but Superman and Supergirl are given the short end of the stick. Batman is especially underused.
So the storyline is a rehash, so what? It’s based on a comic, which tell cyclical storylines constantly over the decades. The problem is that it offers up so many plot holes and contrivances along the way that make you scratch your head and go “Huh?” What happened to the whip-smart writing of Batman: Under the Red Hood or Wonder Woman? But there are also some problems with the animation and vocal performance, two aspects which usually excel in these films and can bring up the enjoyment and appreciation of them despite script problems.
Much like Public Enemies tried to replicate Ed McGuinesses’ artwork in the film’s design, Apocalypse tries to mimic the late-great Michael Turner. This isn’t a problem much since most of the character models look and animate fantastically. But Superman looks like he’s a lipstick application away from rocking the Robert Smith look, Granny Goodness looks like a wet poodle, and Superman and Batman both have mouths which are animated very oddly. These distract, but never really inhibit the overall quality of the animation.
And, lastly, the vocal work. This continues the tradition of the “gang’s all here!”-vibe of Public Enemies by reuniting Conroy, Daly, Ed Asner and Susan Eisenberg in their roles from the animated franchises. Newcomers Andre Braugher and Summer Glau are hit-and-miss. Glau nails the role, even if the writers have decided to dumb-down Supergirl into a vapid shopping-obsessed girly girl, bringing a toughness and vulnerability that plays nicely. Braugher is just an unfortunate bit of miscasting. His voice is too calm, almost too sleepy to really make Darkseid fearsome. He is a character that should inspire fear, he is a god. This is just too relaxed for that.
Batman & Superman: Apocalypse is the first of these that makes me say “Meh.” It’s roughly on-par with Superman: Doomsday, in fact, it shares many of that films same weaknesses right down to the ending which is one extended fight sequence followed by a brief pause and then another extended fight sequence. There are nice moments, but the film connecting them together needed more work. It’s fun, but only as a rental. I look forward to Batman: Year One next year though.
