The Batman Superman Movie: World's Finest

The Batman/Superman Movie: World's Finest is a FINE film itself. We see the world's two greatest superheroes fight against Lex Luthor and The Joker; pretty self-explanatory I reckon. What follows the colossal team-ups is colourful fun filled with comic-paced action sequences that makes up for great entertainment for kids and fully-grown-ass-men still loving their superheroes, like myself.

As a Batman & Superman crossover, this movie trounces Dawn of Justice tenfold in its entertainment factor and understanding of the characters. Is this a fair comparison considering this film was part of an already pre-established franchise in the DC-Animated-Universe? I'd say that yes, because this one was a result of the storytelling taking its time to build up to this point as opposed to just jumping right into it the way Dawn of Justice did.

World's Finest does its job well and caters to both fans of The Man of Steel and The Dark Knight perfectly.

In preparation for the upcoming Batman V Superman film, I've decided to revisit a few of each of the heroes' feature films, especially those where they come in direct conflict with one another.

The Batman Superman Movie: World's Finest is yet another example of a film that gets the relationship of the two most iconic superheroes, right. The Superman animated series took 3 episodes and made it into a mini TV movie, and for the most part, it plays out very much like both Batman and Superman's shows. The voice talent of Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy reprised their iconic voice performances as Joker and Batman respectively and head over to Metropolis for a few episodes.

The plot is essentially the same plot that Lego Batman 2 followed years later, but it's always fun to watch the dynamics of these world famous characters done justice. Joker finds kryptonite and decides to strike a deal with Lex Luthor, voiced by the incredible Clancy Brown, in exchange for money. So sure, the plot is pretty basic, but it served a purpose in getting the caped crusader in Gotham in the first place.

Bruce Wayne shares a relationship with Lois Lane which gave another reason for the two heroes to be on opposing ends of the stick. The dynamic was a little strange at first, but it grew on me a bit as it's really just a typical thing Bruce Wayne would do in that situation. The film's tone overall is very consistent with the animated series of the respected characters. So campy at times, and serious at other times. But if you're a fan of the animated series' than you would definitely be a fan of this mini movie.

The voice talent is incredible overall and the animation is exactly what it should be in a film like this. It's predictable in every sense of the word, but the dynamic between the characters we know and love is why you watch a film like this. It's exactly what I would hope the Batman V Superman film will be like.

+Voice talent

+Dynamics are handled right

-Nothing really new here

8.1/10

Down and out on a Friday night, I took refuge at a friend of mines house. Before long Brittany on MTV grew dull and we popped on the Batman/Superman Animated movie. At first a little edgy, thinking haven't they dragged them both though the mud enough, where does the marketing end. But With in seconds of the opening credits, I was glued to the screen, transfixed at what I was seeing there. A very classy, if somewhat gaudy representation of the two characters I grew up with. Batman and Superman, at first not willing to work together to stop The Murderous Joker and Side Kick Harleyquin on a vendetta to kill Superman, love those plot devices, but latter using their own unique style of vigilante justice in unison to bring the evildoers in. I really should write comics.

Animation wise it's a step above the usual Saturday morning cartoons of the respective heroes however its still at least a flight bellow your usual Disney feature film. I guess when you are paying the lowest bidding animation studio to slap this stuff together you cant be too picky. Produced by long time Batman writer Paul Dini. The man who is 90% responsible for bring the fantastic Batman animated series to us over the last 4 years, he really went and out did him self here. The dialogue is both witty and fresh with out being overly corny. Written with just enough innuendo and savvy to keep the older viewers smirking. When Bruce Wayne (Batman's alter ego) is seen to be making moves on Superman's main squeeze Lois, Clark remarks, `Of course you have been dividing your time between work and Lois.' Bruce replies with genuine arrogant charm `Is that a problem?' With Deadpan seriousness Clark retorts, `Let's just say I'm concerned. Your reputation is... dubious. In and out of costume.' I dare you to find better dialogue any where on Saturday morning television. The film flows with some modest attempts to flesh out the human sides of the characters but by this point in the evening we are too busy wondering how Lex Luthor's driver/body guard is to be taken seriously in that skirt. This straight to video release is basically the 3-episode arc that marks the pilot from the TV series of the same name. Compared to the last two big screen efforts, this really sets the standard for Batman films, Joel Schumacher should be forced to watch, pen and paper in hand and take notes, gaudy okay nipples bad.

Besides some enjoyable action sequences the fun comes in picking the actors who voice the main characters. Mark Hamil, yes Luke Skywalker himself, pulls of a Nicholson-esque joker while Timothy Daly of `Wings' fame does the Man of Steel. What's the bet that Tim uses that fact in pickup lines in bars? Kevin Conroy does Batman. That man must eat cigarettes for breakfast. On whole very enjoyable and fans should watch to see the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight actually done semi well. Though you might get some funny looks from the Video store clerk when you bring this to the counter. Tell him its for your nephew.

Being a fan of both Batman & Superman, I really wanted to see how they could possibly come up with a good, interesting, and exciting story between these two superheroes. Well, the writers were able to do just that. With two of the most famous superheroes joined together vs. two of the most infamous villains joined together. Batman & Superman vs. Lex Luthor & the Joker. The action and story are great, but one thing I really enjoyed in this movie that the writers did was that they really displayed the personalities of the characters very nicely and uniquely. Batman's way of fighting crime goes against the way Superman believes in upholding justice, while the Joker's crazy ways of breaking the law doesn't mixes well with the way Lex Luthor handles his illegal businesses. So this is more than an action movie, but a well written screenplay, bringing out the colorfulness and the fun into these classic characters as we get to see them finally interact with each other. This is a much better movie than what Hollywood has produced in the recent years. A must see for all Batman & Superman fans out there.

This video, the Batman/Superman Movie, was originally released during the Fall 1997 season of the New Batman-Superman Adventures on the Kids WB! network. It consisted of a three-part episode arc called "World's Finest,", and aired in a contiguous 90-minute special during WB's Saturday morning line-up.

"World's Finest" is one the best episodes of both the Batman and the Superman Animated Series, and features what so many fans, including myself, have yearned for: a team-up between the two icons of D.C. Comics' 60+ year empire, the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight Detective. The stalwart Superman and the bold Batman find themselves forced to pool their admirable abilities in order to fend off the fiendish Joker who has acquired a generous amount of kryptonite and plans to sell it to the Man of Tomorrow's greatest enemy, the vile industrialist Lex Luthor. A fine storyline plays out in this visually stimulating episode arc, wonderfully animated in the style of Emmy-winning producers Paul Dini and Bruce W. Timm. The two heroes are much like they were at the beginning of the Post-Crisis Era of D.C. Comics circa 1986. They are wary of one another, not friendly, and distrusting. However, we see early on that they discover one another's identities, which also brings about a great deal of problems.

Superman and Batman have continued to appear one another in their respective shows, including a fantastic episode "Knight Time," where Superman is forced to don the uniform of the Dark Knight in order to discover who or what's behind the disappearance of Bruce Wayne.

Check out these wonderful series, but don't bother to head down to Wal-Mart and buy the video. Just wait...it'll pop up on your local WB Network carrier, and if you can stand the commercials, tape away!

Highly recommended.