Released: September 2007
Directors: Lauren Montgomery/Bruce Timm
Rated PG-13
Run Time: 75 Minutes
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Genre: Action/Animated
Cast:
Adam Baldwin: Superman/Clark Kent/Dark Superman
Anne Heche: Lois Lane
James Marsters: Lex Luthor
John DiMaggio: Toyman
Ray Wise: Perry White
Adam Wylie: Jimmie Olsen
While I’m not what you would call a big comic book reader, I did get around to reading The Death of Superman. This story about Superman’s death and subsequent resurrection had an enormous effect on fans around the world. It’s not the first time that DC had actually killed the character, but it was the first time that the death of Superman had real emotional weight and serious consequences. The story not only took on what it would take to actually kill Kal-El, but also in how the world would respond to such an event. People got real emotional about the character not realizing that DC had an ace up their sleeve, The Reign of the Supermen. Some people thought that it was a gimmick, and a lousy one at that, but the impact that the story had on the comic book industry in general was felt for years. The impact was so much that people were wondering whether or not that such a story could be made into a movie. Ideas were getting thrown around for the better part of a decade, but nobody really knew how to do it properly. Now, most people would look back to Zack Snyder’s Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice film as the first attempt at bringing The Death of Superman to life. Here’s the thing, though: It wasn’t. The first crack at the story was back in 2007 with the animated film, Superman/Doomsday.
Superman/Doomsday opens as miners come across a mysterious alien bunker. Confused at to what this thing is, the miners take a closer look at it when it opens and a large monster jumps out and starts killing everybody. Shortly after leaving the mine, the monster goes on a rampage throughout the country-side while making its way to Metropolis. Alerted to the impending threat, Superman faces down the monster known as Doomsday in an epic battle that ultimately leaves both the monster and hero dead. After a period of mourning, even by Lex Luthor, the city is later relieved to find out that Superman is still alive, but is he the same? Look, I’ll be the first to admit that turning The Death of Superman into a film wouldn’t be anything less than a monumental challenge, especially if you want to do it right. I read the comic and subsequent novelization back in the mid-90s, so when this animated film came out in 2007, I was confused. Where was the Justice League? What about the 4 Supermen that showed up months after Kal’s death? This animated feature is a total wreck. Say what you will about Batman V. Superman, at least that movie had the decency to build up to the final battle with Doomsday. Here? They crammed so much crap into 75 minutes that none of it really works. The only thing that this film gets right in terms of story is the fight between Superman and Doomsday. That part was epic, but there needed to be a larger build-up to that, and it was handed to us within the first 25 minutes of the film. The rest of the film goes into these nonsensical subplots that involve Jimmie Olsen quitting The Daily Planet to work for a sleazy tabloid paper and Lex Luthor cloning Superman to be his own personal assistant. It was confusing, confounding, and irritating. Don’t get me wrong, the movie moves at a brisk pace given its run-time, but there was absolutely no respect for the source material shown here. By cutting a lot of the other stuff that included the Justice League, Superman/Doomsday completely undercut any goodwill that it would have garnered had more time been spent on it.
I will give credit where credit is due. The film actually looks pretty decent. The art-style is based on the look from the Superman animated series back in the 90s. That was an awesome show, so I definitely dig the look of the characters and designs in this film. Each character has their own unique look and design, from Superman, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor to Doomsday, Toyman and Jimmie Olsen. The animation is actually pretty good to, as well as the sound design. The fight between Superman and Doomsday is the highlight of the film, obviously, but you could actual FEEL the pounding that Superman takes and delivers. The final battle between Superman and his clone is also pretty good. The action and destruction sequences are top-notch. The music by Robert Kral is actually pretty good, too. There was definitely effort put into Superman/Doomsday, but not where it needed it most.
The voice acting is another area in which the film does a pretty good job, although there are some folks who have been miscast. Adam Baldwin(who will always be Jayne to me) voices Superman in this film, and…..he does well enough, but what he was given wasn’t particularly good. He comes across as mostly wooden, and that’s a shame, because Baldwin is a very talented actor. Anne Heche fares a bit better as Lois Lane, giving her almost the same kind of fire and attitude that Margot Kidder did way back in the day. Ray Wise was fantastic as the overbearing Perry White. James Marsters, though, wasn’t exactly the right guy for the role. Again, talented actor, but he doesn’t have that suave/threatening tone that the character requires. John DiMaggio plays the criminal Toyman, and he’s suitably creepy. Notorious film director Kevin Smith shows up in a cameo as a grumpy bystander that was actually pretty funny. Not a big fan of Smith, but that was pretty cool.
If you had no idea about The Death of Superman story-line, then I could see you thinking that this would be a good movie, but here’s the problem: The Death of Superman got world-wide attention, so it was very hard to escape hearing about it at least, even if you never read it. The fact of the matter is, is that Superman/Doomsday is just not good movie and it is definitely one of the weaker entries in DC’s animated film line-up. Now, they mostly got it right with the recently released The Death of Superman and Reign of the Supermen, but even those films weren’t perfect. The Death of Superman is one of the most controversial and beloved story lines in comic book history, so there are going to be issues bringing this story to the big screen properly. Here’s what I want to see: A proper live-action adaptation of The Death of Superman. In order to get it right, the story would have to be split into three movies, each one at about 2.5 hours each. The first film would deal with Superman’s death and subsequent funeral, the second film would deal with the 4 Supermen, and the final film would deal with the destruction of The Flash’s home city and alien invasion from Mongul/Darkseid. I imagine it’s possible for them to attempt it again, but it’s going to be quite a while before it does.
I think Superman/Doomsday is a passable animated film. If, like me, you really loved the actual story, this movie is going to piss you off. I don’t hate it, but I find it detestable that the film-makers would try and cram in so much material that some of the more important aspects of the story would just get left out. 75 minutes is not long enough to tell the entire story. Is it fun? It can be, with some pretty solid action and destruction, but some of the voice acting is a little suspect and the overall quality of the film isn’t where it needs to be. The story took the worst pounding, though. Hopefully, someone, somewhere will want to revisit The Death of Superman and actually make a live-action film that is worthy of the story.
My Final Recommendation: 6/10