Superman: Desatado

This movie is brought down by its villain. Braniac is a complex character. Things felt convoluted at times. There is an inconsistency in the strength of the characters. They would be weak and vulnerable one moment and too strong and successful in the next. There is a lot of action but it gets redundant. I needed something more.

For the past eight years, Batman received all the love at the movies when it comes to DC Comics' characters. That's all about to change on June 14 when "Man of Steel" hits theaters. DC and Warner Premiere aren't going to settle for TV commercials and trailers to get people pumped up. Two new comic books and a DC Universe Animated Original Movie entitled "Superman Unbound" are keeping the super hero fresh on everyone's minds as well.

"Superman Unbound" serves as a tasty appetizer for the main meal coming up. The Man of Steel joins forces with his cousin, Supergirl, to battle Brainiac after the super villain shrinks down Metropolis and adds it to his collection of cities from different planets he's destroyed. Superman must find a way to keep Braniac from destroying the Earth and save all the captured cities of the universe, including Krypton's capitol Kandor.

As is usual with the DC animated movies, "Superman Unbound" is loaded with action from the beginning to the end. Director James Tucker and writer Bob Goodman know how to keep the pace moving at a breakneck speed and demand the audience's attention. You take a 128 page graphic novel and shove it into a 75 minute film. There's no time for the viewer to get distracted or for the movie to lose steam.

The animation for "Superman Unbound" differs from what we've come to expect from the DC animated features. It varies in style greatly from "Superman vs. The Elite." One example is the Man of Steel's facial features. The other characters look different as well.

"Superman Unbound" is definitely a PG-13 movie. There are scenes of Braniac changing himself into a cyborg that would freak out little kids. His robots drill into the heads of their victims, which splashes a lot of blood around on screen. Lois Lane also flips Braniac the double birds in one scene. Superman even says a bad word at one point. There are also some light sexual references most kids won't pick up on, but they're still present.

"Superman Unbound" is a super tag team smack down with none of the heavy-handed social commentary or politically correct propaganda we experienced last time around.

I've seen many Superman films: some good, some bad. This one is just about right as far as the entertainment factor goes.

In just about any Superman cartoon/comic you will see him battle an arch enemy: be it Lex Luthor, Braniac or Darkseid. Here it is Braniac.

The Braniac character sort of parallels Galactus a character in Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer cartoons/comics. Galactus is also referred to as the "Eater Of Worlds".

The plot of the film is simple: Braniace sends a drone to the planet Earth. Superman intercepts and destroys the drone before it can can transmit a locator signal to Braniac's mothership. Supergirl tells Superman from her past experience what an awesome threat Braniac is to Earth and retells about the miniaturization of Krypton's capital city of Kandor prior to the planet's destruction with her father and mother.

Superman then makes a voyage through deep space in order to track down and destroy Braniac once and for all...

P.S. I don't know what the title has got to do with this film. But if you like title beginning with "Unbound", I think you should watch this one: Frankenstein Unbound, a 1990 horror movie based on Brian Aldiss' novel of the same name. This film was directed by Roger Corman, returning to the director's chair after a hiatus of almost twenty years. This is his final directorial effort to date(he saved the best for his last).

Like the previous Superman animated DTV 'Superman vs. the Elite', 'Superman Unbound' also has the Man of Steel squaring off against a super-powered foe who can truly match him punch for punch. The difference is that while the conflict in the previous film was centered around a larger philosophical and ethical debate, this conflict is pretty much a superhero vs. super-villain battle played straight. And the villain is none other than one of the most iconic members of Superman's rogue's gallery...

The portrayal of Brainiac, and Superman's clashes with him, are easily the highlights of this story. Another interesting point is Kara/Supergirl representing the helplessness of a powerless civilian against overwhelming threats, and the desire for such a person to set the world right when given a chance. Less impressive however is the attempt at showcasing tension in the Clark-Lois relationship. 'Superman Unbound' is ultimately a sci-fi story at its core...and attempts to introduce romantic elements sorely stand out in what is otherwise a pretty decent production.

Kal-El aka Superman has spent a lifetime defending his adopted homeworld of Earth. For years, he had thought of himself as the last son of Krypton. Only his fortress of solitude and his cousin Supergirl serves as a reminder of the world Superman was born on. But now, Superman will be faced with a dark figure from his planet's past. What seems like another typical day of foiling heavily armed kidnappers turns into a fight for Earth's survival as a dangerous robot probe from outer space is identified as a drone of "Brainiac". Brainiac, as Supergirl recalls, was responsible for the disappearance of Krypton's capital city, Kandor, along with Supergirl's parents. Superman leaves to confront Brainiac while Supergirl dishes out her own brand of justice on earth.

What follows is possibly the most epic of all Superman battles ever put to screen. We have Superman taking on hordes of advanced machines strong enough to hurt the man of steel. We have Superman facing down the cybernetic enhanced Brainiac who is smarter, faster and more powerful that he is. The movie earns its PG-13 rating with blood and violence. After all, Brainiac seeks to hoard all knowledge in the universe. What better repository of knowledge than the brains of living creatures? Ouch!

The conflict against Brainiac truly pushes Superman to his physical limits. Staggering action, epic in scale, is beautifully animated by Moi Animation who bring graceful fluidity to the movements of the characters.They manage to blend the 3D CGI vehicles seamlessly with the traditional 2D characters while giving everything a slightly more "Japanese anime" touch.

Our characters are, once again, voiced by a wholly different cast as is the case for each DC animated movie production. What stands out is how witty the humor is in the script. The humor works and it fits perfectly without feeling forced. Delivering a near perfect performance are the voice cast directed by the impeccable Andrea Romano. Special mention goes to John Noble as brainiac, Stana Katic as a very Margot Kidder-ish Lois Lane and Matt Bomer as Superman/Clark Kent. Bomer especially takes great pains to have different accents when playing the dual personality of Superman and Kent, helping to highlight Kent's Kansas upbringing. The story devotes a good amount of time in developing the relationships Superman has with Lois and Supergirl, which in the end makes for a very human look at the Man of Steel.

Central to our narrative is the theme of one being protecting others to the point of intruding into and controlling their personal lives. The way Superman is constantly looking over Lois' shoulder even in peacetime, the way Supergirl intervenes in international conflicts, how are they different from the way Brainiac keeps his captured subjects in line by policing their actions under the excuse of protecting them? That parallel is drawn more than once, along with the constant question of whether Superman's loyalties lie with Earth or other Krypton survivors.

For all its good points, Superman Unbound is one of the more visually inconsistent DC animated projects to date. The character designs are angular, somewhat skinny and rather similar to the designs seen in 2005's "The Batman" TV series. It does take some getting used to, particularly for those who did like Gary Frank's art in the original "Superman: brainiac" graphic novel. The least they could do was to keep the art consistent though. Just take a good look at Superman's chest-to-head size ratio which expands and shrinks from scene to scene.

Then you have some obvious animation mistakes that just look weird, especially this one scene where Superman seems to have a hilariously long arm. The level of detail in the artwork is good for the most part, with metallic reflections in metal surfaces on the robots, folds in Superman's costume and cape and a good light/darkness contrast in the colours. But then you have a good number of scenes where the level of detail drops to the level of a low budget TV series. Oh and remember that bit about trying to give the show a more "Japanese anime" touch? You have scenes just like Japanese anime; a still frame with minimal motion tween movements, complete with exaggerated anatomy, weird angles and action lines.

If one can look past some of the visual shortcomings, there is much to enjoy about this animated film. The music by newcomer Kevin Kliesch takes cues from both Hans Zimmer and classic Jerry Goldsmith while still paying due respects to the timeless John Williams style. The way Clark Kent and Lois Lane play off each other is cutely reminiscent of the Christopher Reeves Superman movies, and the humor is truly funny without being corny. Overall, this would have been truly awesome in live action. Hopefully July 2013's "Man of Steel" would be able to top this in all aspects of storytelling and characterization.