Hey folks, Valkor here. The DC animated universe has been on fire recently, with my favorite film of the bunch – Batman: Red Hood, being tops above all. Last week I got to hang out with the dudes over at New Game+ for the premiere of All-Star Superman, held in NYC over at the Paley Center for Media. And from what I've read and have been told, it's a great translation of the comic. However, after sitting through the screening, I can honestly say… I'm not all that impressed, but I'm definitely not gonna hate on it.
All-Star Superman, a film that's based on the comic of the same name, see our sees our favorite boy scout (Voiced by James Denton) facing his own mortality. A space crew on the first manned mission to the sun are attacked from within by a monster placed there and controlled by Lex Luthor (Anthony LaPaglia). Superman arrives in time to save the day, but because he's infused so much of the sun's energy, his cells begin exploding; in short, Superman is dying.
Faced with his own death, he does what he should have done in decades - tell Lois (voiced by Christina Hendriks) that he's really Clark Kent. Not only that, but they make a day of the affair (because it's also Lois's birthday); first he takes her to the Fortress of Solitude and cooks her dinner. He then gives her a concoction that allows Lois to have Supe's powers for a day, costume included! From there the two are off on an adventure of saving the day, battling heroes from the past (future???) and even gettin busy… on the moon (though that's more of an implication than actually watchin Supes and Lois bump uglies).
But there's more that has to be done before he "shuffles off this mortal coil" such as free Kandor, meet up with Lex, bust up a couple of rogue Kryptonians looking to take over earth, and also save earth from total destruction caused by Lex. It all ends with Superman's death that left me scratching my head.
Let me just point out that I've not read the comics that this film is based on, but I was told that they did keep a lot in. Just how much exactly, I'm not sure, but definitely leave a comment or two of your thoughts of the film in the comment section, pointing out any accuracies or inaccuracies if you will. And with that, let's jump into the TOV Breakdown!
The Good:
First and foremost, I was floored, amazed, stunned, and wowed by the fact that out of all the incarnations of Superman I have seen over the years, All-Star Superman actually nails the separation between Clark and Superman. Clark Kent has always been "Superman with glasses", the Donner film made him clumsy, but you can still see that he's Superman. And let's not even touch on Smallville. However the Clark Kent in this film can't ever, in any way, shape, or form be confused for Supes. He slouches, stumbles, bumps into things and his hair is just a mop of a mess - finally we have a clear separation of the characters. THANK YOU!! The story, while a bit all over the place, I found it to be quite entertaining and loads of fun. Especially all of the little side stories such as Lois and Supes hangin out, battling lizard men, the Kryptonians, and the prison riot. The voice acting is top-notch, with major props going to Denton, who I thought portrayed Superman perfectly. And Ed Asner as Perry White? Great choice! Finally the action is top-notch; very riveting and no-holds barred. Overall, it's not Batman: Red Hood, but it's a decent Superman story.
The Bad:
While I think Christina Hendriks is a cool actress, I feel she was the wrong choice for Lois. Maybe it's because I loved Dana Delany's take so much that it's difficult for me to accept anyone else; however, with Christina… I wasn't feelin the interpretation of the character. She came across too damn bubbly and cheerful. And while this is no fault of her own, there is a scene that's a take on Carrie's Sex in the City computer monologue; I thought that was completely out of place. The story is a bit all over and leaves no room to really feel sorry for Supes dying. I mean with him doing all this superhero stuff, you forget that at the end, he's supposed to croak. And speaking of endings, I have a touch of a complaint about that. *Spoilers Ahead*
So now the sun is blue (thanks to Lex), and since Superman's cells are exploding with energy, it only makes sense that he goes to the now defunct sun and unleash that energy there. So essentially the power of the sun now flows through Superman and only he can repair the actual sun with that energy. In short, Superman becomes this:
When they say Superman was going to die, I thought you know, he was actually going to die – maybe in a huge battle, not like the Doomsday fight, but some other fight that would use all of his energy, weakening him so that he'd succumb to his afflictions. Not become energy. So I was a touch disappointed with the ending. Finally, Lex's niece… right! They should have brought in Otis.
The Ugly:
The zombie creature Supes has to fight in the beginning. Just yuck!
The Funny:
When Lex fully realizes Superman's powers, you'd swear the dude was high. I mean essentially when he says he can see electrons, atoms and shit, he's pretty much saying he can see the air! Oh and Jimmy as a cross-dresser. Funny stuff!
All-Star Superman will be available on DVD, Blu Ray, and digital download Feb 22nd. For me, the good outweighs the bad and I do recommend checking out the film – fans and newcomers alike. Out of TOV 5 stars, I give All-Star Superman a 3 and it's been Valkor tested, TOV Approved.