Superman: Unbound

'Superman: Unbound (2013)' attempts to bring a more rounded and humanised vision of its eponymous hero by, essentially, making him more vulnerable and connecting the flick's central conflict directly to his home-world, introducing the beefy 'Brainiac' as its antagonist and having him 'collect' fragments of different civilisations including a segment of the long-gone Krypon. This makes for an experience that tries to emphasise the empathy with its protagonist, and does so successfully to a degree, but also resorts to the high-powered fisticuffs the character has ostensibly been known for without much hesitation, delivering these moments with confidence and providing some excitement at the same time but largely seeming 'stakes-less' since there's little other to care about besides some basic (if realistically rendered) relationships. The issue is that making the 'man of steel' physically weaker, or weaker compared to the antagonist as least, has been done before and better. It also isn't as interesting a conceit as when the hero is challenged mentally or emotionally. Still, there are some more cerebral and emotional elements here. For one, the inclusion of 'Supergirl' allows for some unique characterisation. Namely, a different examination of the abilities and responsibilities associated with being a 'superhero' of this sort. She's scared of the villain and shows it, at least initially, which is distinct and, actually, quite natural. It allows her to feel more 'human' and gives her something to overcome internally, rather than a baddie to beat with her fists. A few sequences of off-world antics open up the 'universe' in interesting, usually unexplored ways, too. The climax, however, comes down to the typical 'beat 'em up' type of stuff and even, in its conclusion, comes across as quite contrived and convenient, even if it is left somewhat open for a sequel. 6/10

Terrorists kidnap Lois Lane who is not that concerned. Superman and Supergirl come to the rescue. Something is falling out of the sky. It's a robot and Superman defeats it. Supergirl recognizes it from before. An army of them sent by Brainiac had devastated Kandor on Krypton and somehow took away the city along with thousands of Kryptonians.

It's basic animated DC. It's much better than I expected. There is some character work. It's revealing a well-known Superman villain. He's not as formidable as he should be. Then Superman is too lackadaisical in handling the aftermath. I guess that he's not always the smartest superhero in the bunch.

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.

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.

I've been unsystematically going through a lot of these Warner movies and this is one of the better ones for me, if not the best. I'm an old (uh, maybe that's not the best word) Superman - Batman fan, so I keep an eye on the the two series and the Justice League from time to time.

Though others have described this movie as a basic super-people brawl, I found enough character development and interpersonal "stuff" to make it more interesting than a simple super-fistfight.

I would have preferred a bit of the "old" (40 years ago) comic book Braniac, as the current Brainiac doesn't seem very "brainy" in this outing, but I like what's going on with Super Girl.

My favorite Superman characteristic is that in the end he USUALLY outwits his opponents rather than simply pummeling then into the ground, and there is a version of that in this movie as well.

I don't know the numbers, but count me in as as adult fan who likes the stories to be as intelligent and "meaningful" as possible. Keep 'em coming, Warner Bros.