Ror Reviews: Superman/Batman: Apocalypse Animated Movie

Ror Reviews: Superman/Batman: Apocalypse Animated Movie

After the awesome Batman: Under The Red Hood, how does DC's latest animation, which re-teams 2 of its most iconic heroes, hold up?

Review Opinion
By MarkCassidy - Sep 20, 2010 05:09 AM EST
Filed Under: Superman (Animated)
Source: Ror Reviews
First of, I should say that the title of this latest animated feature is a bit of a misnomer. While Batman does feature, it would have been more accurate to call the film Superman/Supergirl Apocalypse, or even just Supergirl! As she is the main focus of the story. It doesn't make the film any less enjoyable, but just be warned that you get a lot less Bat for your buck than you might expect.



The story is based on "The Supergirl from Krypton", from the Superman/Batman monthly comic book title from 2004 by Jeph Loeb and Michael Turner and works as a sequel of sorts to the earlier animated film, Public Enemies. It begins with Batman investigating a strange meteor crashing into Gotham Harbor. The meteor's occupant is a young Kryptonian named Kara Zor El, Superman's cousin. Both he and Batman take her in and attempt to get her used to her emerging powers and to fit in as an Earth Girl. But Darkseid, ruler of Apokalips has other ideas. He kidnaps Kara while she is undergoing training on Paradise Island. So Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman along with a reformed Big Barda(The First Captain of Darkseid's honour guard) travel to Apokalips to attempt to get her back, but find that Darkseid's powers of manipulation have turned Kara against her former friends.

I haven't read the comics upon which this is based so I can't say how faithfully it follows the story, although I have heard its pretty spot on. The Superman/Batman team up series never really did much for me. Although well written, I always preferred the two as begrudging allies with mutual respect rather than firm friends. That was one of teh reasons I though Public Enemies was a bit disappointing. There were others of course. Like I said at the time, having Tim Daly and Kevin Conroy back to voice Supes and Bats is always a bonus and the two could voice those characters in their sleep, unfortunately that's exactly what they seemed to be doing at times in Public Enemies. Thankfully though, here they are back on form. Particularly Daly who has much more to do this time around than Conroy(Booo!). They receive ample support from Andre Braugher as Darkseid, Summer Glau as Kara Zor-El/Supergirl, Susan Eisenberg as Princess Diana/Wonder Woman, and Edward Asner as Granny Goodness. Glau at first seems like she might be a bit miscast(or her voice does anyway!) but she soon grows on you. Braugher, a veteran supporting actor, gets top billing here and although he seems a bit robotic at times his tones work very well for Darkseid. Eisenberg and Asner reprise their roles from countless tv animations and as expected do a bang up job. Its also a nice surprise(Or it was for me anyway!) to see Big Barda, here voiced very well by Julianne Grossman. The animation is pretty flawless too, but although there are slight variations in the style from movie to movie, DC animations never really disappoint in that area.

The story rockets along at a fare pace, again a staple of DC animations. In its 70 odd minute running time the action comes hard and fast. The pace only really lets up while Kara is on Earth and one sequence which sees Clark take her shopping does seem s a bit out of place, but then again this IS Supergirl's story and should rightly appeal to fans of that character as much as possible. I would assume many fans of her's are teenagers so those type of scenes aren't too hard to take, especially when we get such awesome action scenes later on. A 5 on 2 battle between Wonder Woman, Barda and The Furies on Apokalips and the final fight between Supes, Kara and Darkseid are definite highlights. The script is solid, if nothing special. I found there to be a lot more drama and build up of tension is many earlier films. Especially the Justice League centric ones.

But like I said, its really Supergirl's story and fans of hers should love it. But even if your not normally a big fan, I recommend you check this out. Its not up there with DC's best by any means and its not a patch on Under The Red Hood, but I found it to be more enjoyable than Public Enemies and all in all a highly entertaining flick.






CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS - PART 3 Digital Version Makes A Major Change To Mark Hamill's Joker Voice
Related:

CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS - PART 3 Digital Version Makes A Major Change To Mark Hamill's Joker Voice

New MY ADVENTURES WITH SUPERMAN Season 2 Clip Sees Atomic Skull Tussling With The Man Of Tomorrow
Recommended For You:

New MY ADVENTURES WITH SUPERMAN Season 2 Clip Sees Atomic Skull Tussling With The Man Of Tomorrow

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. ComicBookMovie.com will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

1 2
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 9/20/2010, 5:31 AM
I saw this last night, good review dude...

I liked PUBLIC ENEMIES much better and was far superior to this one!

This was good though, much better than most MARVEL ones but it just didn't feel an animated movie, was a bit rushed and not enough APOCALYPSE!

70 minutes tho wasn't enough!

lc
lc - 9/20/2010, 6:01 AM
hahah i fall asleep lucky me lol
aol2smoove
aol2smoove - 9/20/2010, 6:17 AM
@Lee77 it did feel kinda rushed i saw it yesterday as well i enjoyed it the fight scenes was a plus if only it was easy to film stuff like that on the big screen Smallville shld mimic a bit of story since they are introducing darkside & granny goodness with the rest of her crew.
Shaman
Shaman - 9/20/2010, 6:35 AM
Thanks Ror! Great review ;) Can't wait to get my hands on it :))
bethshaw
bethshaw - 9/20/2010, 6:44 AM



DetBullock
DetBullock - 9/20/2010, 6:45 AM
Personally, I preferred "Public Enemies" and "Superman: Doomsday".
Mostly because I don't like che "turnerish" character design.
selinakyle
selinakyle - 9/20/2010, 6:52 AM
I can barely remember what Public Enemies was about. That's how much of an impact that movie had. I agree with you tho about the title. It was more about Supes/Kara and Wonder Woman, Barda and the Furies. Have to disagree about Andre Braugher. His voice was not doing it for me. Who voices darkseid in JLA?
Dmon
Dmon - 9/20/2010, 6:54 AM
I liked the story but hated the animation of Superman/Batman: Apocalypse.
samadCBM
samadCBM - 9/20/2010, 7:00 AM
Nyc review dude !! i watched it yesturday..really enjoyed it...And the final battle was really the highlight of it !! But i would have to say that even though public enemies didnt had that much quality action like the apocalypse...it showed the friendship of bats and sups !! which i really liked...If only they had gave it a much more time in apocalypse...This could have been the bestest batman/superman animated movie for me..!!
jbak368
jbak368 - 9/20/2010, 7:34 AM
@MrDCUniverse - Batman Mask of the Phantasm is the best DC animated film, and there's no debating that.

I thought Public Enemies was okay, but I was actually pretty disappointed with Under the Red Hood. It's no surprise to hear this new one seems rushed - they all seem rushed (except MotP, but it got a theatrical release). New Frontier was especially bad about this, but that may just be because it would've been really great otherwise. I'll take any chance to hear Daly and Conroy as The World' Finest Team, so I'll definitely have to check this one out.
Kyos
Kyos - 9/20/2010, 7:39 AM
@MSKyle
In both the animated Justice League and the animated Superman shows it's Michael Ironside voicing Darkseid. Braugher didn't do it for me either, I was actually pretty dissapointed. And not only because Ironside IS Darkseid for me, much like the Clancy Brown/Lex Luthor combo (not speak of Conroy and Hamill...).

@Ror
Nice review as usual! I also found this to be a lot better than Public Enemies (why this boring thing gets so much love is beyond me), but nowhere near Under The Red Hood. I didn't like parts of the art style, though. Hurm, I'm actually tempted now to do a review of my own... ;)
InFamouslyCool
InFamouslyCool - 9/20/2010, 7:44 AM
krypto the superdog... LOL
ThaMessenger07
ThaMessenger07 - 9/20/2010, 7:46 AM
I Enjoyed it and Loved the Michael Turner Art. I would say I liked it a bit but not completely. The Fight was Great and would put it as my third favorite, after Wonder Woman & Public Enemies. I Hated Frontier!
patriautism
patriautism - 9/20/2010, 7:50 AM
I loved it, especially the last 15 minutes...epic!
blueorangeny
blueorangeny - 9/20/2010, 7:53 AM
@ Ror - The title is appropriate for the movie so it is not "misnomer". The story of Supergirl spanned about 5 issues. And it is faithful to the comic but the end is kind of changed a but if I recall. It's probably 3rd or 4th in terms of best, but at this point it's too early in the morning to think about the list.
selinakyle
selinakyle - 9/20/2010, 8:02 AM
@Messenger - I hated Frontier too.
@Kyos - Why couldnt they get him to voice this one? Darkseid's voice was killing the movie for me.
GUNSMITH
GUNSMITH - 9/20/2010, 8:13 AM
GUNSMITH
GUNSMITH - 9/20/2010, 8:25 AM
I LIKE THE ANIMATION, EVERYTIME DARKSIED FIGHTS SUPES, ITS LIKE DRAGON BALL Z(NOT LIKE THE LIVE ACTION MOVIE THAT WAS CRAP, THE CARTOON)
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 9/20/2010, 8:26 AM
Much obliged guys.

Blueorangey, its a misnomer because its not the comic! Anyone who hasn't read it and gets this expecting Batman and to a lesser extent Superman to be the main focus will be disappointed. I understand that the name of the comic is just carried over for the film but still, it IS a Supergirl cartoon!

Mskyle, like I said at first I wasn't impressed with Braugher's Darkseid, but then when the action kicked off he seemed to come to life a bit. No Ironside, but decent over all I thought.
superdog
superdog - 9/20/2010, 8:26 AM
whoaaaa whoaaa whoaaa.....did somebody say superdog? :)

mskyle@ micheal ironside owned darksied in the animated series, have no idea why they didnt get him for this one.
superdog
superdog - 9/20/2010, 9:28 AM
thats right, you better check yourself before i wreck yourself
selinakyle
selinakyle - 9/20/2010, 9:38 AM
lol...smh
BillyBlack
BillyBlack - 9/20/2010, 11:29 AM
I'll give anything DC animated a shot.

...even the horrible Mystery of the Batwoman... (cringe shutter) Ughhh...
superdog
superdog - 9/20/2010, 11:37 AM
how have all you people seen this already? doesnt come out til next week.
selinakyle
selinakyle - 9/20/2010, 11:55 AM
lol...the internets Super dog!
superdog
superdog - 9/20/2010, 12:00 PM
yeah i know, im asking how so i can go there and watch it myself :)
selinakyle
selinakyle - 9/20/2010, 12:04 PM
http://tvshack.cc/movies/Superman_Batman__Apocalypse__2010_/
superdog
superdog - 9/20/2010, 12:07 PM
sweet. you the woman.
113
113 - 9/20/2010, 12:08 PM
Just watched it on that solar movie website someone mentioned...thanks for the heads up on that by the way to whoever it was.

It's definetely close to the top on my favorite DC animated list. It might be the top spot but Crisis on Two Earths I really really liked too. Same with the New Frontier. Those 3 are the cream of the crop for me. Under the Red Hood and Superman: Doomsdays are in the next tier.

I always liked the Superman + Supergirl combo. I think it works well especially when the other heroes are there also. The action in this movie was near the best I've seen in the animated movies. Pretty much everything you wanted to see Superman do he did. Sometimes i get frustrated with some of the animated movies because they don't show Superman using all his powers. But he did in this one and so did Supergirl.

The first time I heard Darkseid speak I felt he was miscast but then his voice grew on me as the movie went on. In fact I think all that actors gave pretty strong performances, it just takes some getting used to cause it definetely throws you off in the beginning when certain characters speak (maybe it's just cause i'm used to the Darkseid from the animated shows in the late 90s/early 2000s).

One criticism I have is that I wanted to see Kara and Clark interact more with Ma and Pa Kent once they get back to the farm (after the battle). I think that would of been interesting to see.

Overall I really loved this movie and glad I got to watch it before it's officially released. But I will be supporting DC animated movies by renting it when it comes out anyway (possibly buying it on blu-ray later on too). I wish DC would try to continue the same story lines across movies though because I want to see Supergirl be introduced to the wider world and see her and Superman and the whole JLA interact.



selinakyle
selinakyle - 9/20/2010, 12:12 PM
you are welcome @supes
ThaMessenger07
ThaMessenger07 - 9/20/2010, 12:18 PM
@ MsKyle: It was just corny........and the art was awful.....and what was with superman vanishing for more then Half the movie and then coming Aquamans grand appearance at the end carrying him like they just got married under atlantean law???
superdog
superdog - 9/20/2010, 12:18 PM
dammit it keeps shutting down my internet and i have to keep relaunching. :(
selinakyle
selinakyle - 9/20/2010, 12:38 PM
oops...
@messenger...yeah it was a lil too toony for my taste.
thedon786
thedon786 - 9/20/2010, 12:40 PM
i loved this movie. bring more
ThaMessenger07
ThaMessenger07 - 9/20/2010, 2:39 PM
@ Kyle: And the Shorts Were killing me too lol. They looked like an All white Basketball team from the 50's
jaysin09
jaysin09 - 9/20/2010, 3:47 PM
Darkseids voice was definitely the worst part of the movie. It was very distracting but, after the great interpretation by Michael Ironside, it'd be tough for anyone to match up.
Aside from that the action was good, but the ending was completely changed. Not sure if I liked it, but i can understand the change to put in more action. I'd say this was an average movie and the comic book was much better. But, if you're Superman family fan, you could do a lot worse than watching this.
Still wish the S:TAS or JLU cartoons were still on. Those were awesome.
1 2
View Recorder