Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
When a Superman dies..., September 9, 2008
The first in a line of straight to DVD animated features adapted from classic DC stories, Superman: Doomsday re-tells the much maligned Death of Superman saga from the early 90's in animated form, and despite what many of the negative reviews here say otherwise, it works. The Man of Steel (voiced by Serenity's Adam Baldwin) is in love with Lois Lane (voiced quite stiffly by Anne Heche) and both are enjoying their relationship, until his world is rocked by the arrival of the murderous creature Doomsday, who is inadvertantly let loose by Lex Luthor (Buffy the Vampire Slayer's James "Spike" Marsters). If you've read the comics, you know what happens next, but the animated feature wisely ignores the Reign of the Supermen part of the arc, in place of an imposter created by Luthor, which results in an apocalyptic showdown. Being the first in a line of newly animated features, don't go into this expecting something among the lines of the DC animated series' that had come before it. The animation itself looks similar to what we've seen before (veteran animator Bruce Timm is heavily involved here), but the tone is noticibly different. The voice acting is solid (Marsters is magnificent as Luthor, while Baldwin is servicable as Superman) and the action is nicely orchestrated as well, all of which makes Superman: Doomsday an animated treat. This new two-disc edition has a few new features, including episodes from the underrated 90's Superman animated series, but there isn't anything else here that really warrants getting double-dipped for.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not bad, but not what I remember..., September 20, 2007
I read the book/graphic novel over ten years ago, if I remember. This isn't much like that at all. Superman fights something called Doomsday and dies, then comes back to life. That's about all that remains of the original story.
Gone are the side stories about Superboy and Steel, which were very cool IMHO. Gone also is the interesting story about how Superman came back to life. The mechanics behind how he does so in this DVD are completely different, from what I recall.
Not bad for a fun hour's watching, but don't expect this to be like the original story.
I wish they'd have made the movie of it like they'd planned :(
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good, but could have been great, October 23, 2007
There's good stuff to recommend in this DVD, but there are some awfully big caveats I feel one should know before buying:
1.) Straight-to-video titles rarely have the production values of theatrical animated releases, so know going in that the animation is no great shakes - a notch above the latest Superman and Justice League shows on Kids WB!, but not a huge step up by any means. There are some inspired moments of animation, but they are few and far between.
2.) Don't be taken in by the "PG-13" rating. I suppose slapping "PG-13" on it works to WB/DC's advantage, suggesting the movie is a "hard" Superman story that attracts the fanboys. But while it does contain some language, violence and themes that you'd never see on the Animated Series on TV, in relation to what you see in theatrical films, this is squarely "PG" all the way.
3.) There is no way they could cram in everything from the Death/Rebirth of Superman storylines into a 90-minute film. I doubt they could effectively squeeze it all into a 3-hour film. So there's no Justice League getting whupped by Doomsday, no Supergirl or "heroic" Lex Luthor II, no Steel or Superboy, no Cyborg and Mongul colluding to destroy Coast City. No Kryptonian War-Suit.
If you go in with all that in mind, the film isn't so bad. IMHO, they did a good job of condensing the essentials of the storyline into a single digestible story. Those who strive for continuity with the comic books need not apply. They did manage to include things like the Eradicator (kinda), how Metropolis deals with the absence of Superman, the pain of Lois and Martha not being able to grieve openly, Clark being resusicated in the Fortress, the black suit and long hair, and the issue of whether Metropolis would be better served by boy-scout Superman, or a darker, more violent protector. So it's not a total break with the comic storyline.
Some of the dialogue is cringe-inducing, and I really didn't like Anne Heche as Lois. I've always found her voice to be a bit grating. But I really enjoyed Adam Baldwin as Clark/Supes. There's a great scene with the film's version of the Eradicator, where he rescues a cat from a tree and talks about "sweating the small stuff". Watch for it - one of the best parts of the film.
The animation was really a bit of a let-down - given how far in advance they'd been hyping this release, I really was hoping for something a good bit better than an episode of the TV show. So I couldn't give this four stars. Still, I would have given it 3.5 if I could have, as the overall narrative is pretty solid.
If you really like the Animated Series, and/or really want to see a movie-like translation of the Death of Superman storyline, pick this up. All others might be advised to rent and watch before buying.
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