Superman/Batman: Apocalypse

Good follow-up to Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. As with that movie, this is adapted from a comic book story written by Jeph Loeb. The story introduces Superman's cousin, Kara Zor-El (aka Supergirl). Not long after she arrives on Earth, Kara is kidnapped by the evil Darkseid. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman must travel to the planet Apokolips to rescue her before Darkseid can brainwash her into becoming one of his Furies.

Enjoyable and fun, with some pretty intense action scenes. The dialogue and characterizations are good. Love the voicework from old pros Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly, Susan Eisenberg, and Ed Asner. Summer Glau does a great job as Supergirl. Andre Braugher's Darkseid is unimpressive. Nice music and animation. The story is a little rushed and probably could've used more build-up before all of the Apokolips stuff, which is the weakest part of the movie. The action is exciting, particularly the climactic fight scene. It probably plays better to fans than people unfamiliar with these characters' histories but I don't think casual viewers will be completely lost. There's enough to enjoy that I doubt you'll regret trying it out.

The Superman/Batman comic stories' main attraction has always been the character interplay. How the two famous superheroes, different in every aspect like oil and water, lend their perspective on similar situations and in the end, pull together for the greater good. In that respect, "Superman/Batman: Apocalypse" does not disappoint as Superman, Batman and even Wonder Woman bring their unique personalities to the table when they face their latest little "problem".

The "problem" in question is the unexpected arrival of Kara Zor-El (Summer Glau), Superman's cousin who crash lands to earth, disoriented, unclothed but unhurt and lost in Gotham. In perhaps an intentional homage to Glau's previous Terminator character in "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles", She "procures" a coat from a trio of overly eager warehouse workers, but not before almost accidentally killing them. The unintentional destruction she causes while trying to flee from the cops alerts both Batman and Superman who take her into their custody. While Superman is overjoyed at finally meeting a fellow survivor of his home planet, Batman is skeptical and naturally suspicious (she did trash Gotham without even trying). More trouble follows when Superman tries to get Kara assimilated into earth culture but Wonder Woman has other plans for her as she too fears Kara's lack of control over her powers. But on the burning planet of Apokolips, the dreaded DarkSeid has his sights on the young kryptonian girl to be the latest addition to his warriors. What follows is a perilous incursion into Darkseid's palace with one deadly confrontation after another with the forces of Apokolips.

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse adapts the "Supergirl" story arc (NOT "Death of Superman" as another review mistakenly pointed out) of the Superman/Batman comic series by Jeph Loeb and the late Michael Turner. It is a rather faithful adaptation barring a few changes here and there and as such shares both the good points and the shortcomings of its source material. For one thing, the story proceeds at a rather fast pace, which is good as it keeps things from getting boring. However that means the time frame of the tale is difficult to follow. For example Kara was supposed to have been training with the Amazons for a few months but it seemed like only yesterday. We only know about the time skip thanks to some mandatory exposition.

Rather than its truncated story, it is the snappy character interplay, well written dialog and a top notch cast of actors that carry this show. Tim Daley, Kevin Conroy and Susan Eisenberg return comfortably to their DCAU roles of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. Everyone else is perfectly cast, especially Summer Glau, lending much emotional weight and realism to the characters. The only role that did not seem to fit as well was Andre Braugher's unmistakably African American sounding DarkSied. The tone of voice was right but a more neutral accent would have fit better.

Judging from the way the characters are handled, the target audience is most definitely long time fans who are already familiar with the personalities of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. That is because the "DC trinity" get little character development here, allowing Supergirl to take most of the development spotlight. That is not to say that the main trio do not get their chance to shine. Their differing views on life clash often and shed some light on their inner natures. There is even a dramatic comparison between Batman and one of the villains regarding Batman's code of ethics.

Viewers who have watched the previous "Superman/Batman: Public enemies" can treat this as a sequel despite the differing art styles. As the previous movie replicated Ed McGuinness's muscular look, this one manages to translate Michael Turner's bold designs barring a slight drop in art detail. The animation by "MOI Animation" is very fluid with no visible short cuts and a high frame rate.

For DC animation fans, readers who loved the Superman/Batman comics and superhero action junkies, "Superman/Batman: Apocalypse" would no doubt be a hit. More time could have gone into letting the story "breath" a little or making it a smart anecdote about growing up, stepping out from under a overprotective sibling/parent's shadow and finding one's place in the world. But no point lamenting what it could have been. Rather, enjoy it for what it is.

"Superman/Batman Apocalypse" is yet another winner from DC Animation. Good story, great chemistry between all the characters, lots of action/fights & pretty good animation. The story takes place after the events of the excellent "Superman/Batman: Public Enemies". I wish I could go into specifics on how S/B Apocalypse starts out but it would give away the ending of S/B PE. A meteor crashes in Gotham Harbor & of course Bats checks it out. It is a ship with strange writings on it. After many awesome mishaps, it is discovered that the lone occupant of said spacecraft is none other than Superman's cousin from Krypton who is confused, scared & highly destructive. Superman of course wants to give her a chance, Batman doesn't trust her & smells trouble. Now before any of you here start to think " Oh great, a Barbie movie with Supergirl" let me reassure you, it's definitely not. She's never even referred to once as "Supergirl" during the course of the film. Wonder Woman, Darkseid & yes, even Doomsday make significant appearances in the film (especially Darkseid who has his own evil designs for the cousin of Superman). Overall: a 8/10 & one definitely worth checking out even for casual fans.

The DC Comics Animated Universe has another high quality, fun DTV animated film in its' library, the sequel to "Superman/Batman: Public Enemies". A little longer, "Superman/Batman: Apocalypse" is darker and effective.

If you haven't seen the first one, don't read this and see it. If so, you know a big meteor, composes of Kryptonite, has landed in Gotham City Harbor, containing a Kryptonian spacecraft, containing Kara Zor-El (voiced by the cherub Summer Glau of "Firefly" and "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles"), Superman's adolescent cousin. The Man of Steel (Tim Daly of "Private Practice" is more than welcoming to her than the brooding Batman (Kevin Conroy of "Dynasty"), who sees her as a potential weapon.

Apokolipian monarch Darkseid (Andre Braugher of "Men of A Certain Age") takes advantage of that point by kidnapping Kara and molding her to be his captain of his Femme Furies squad. Even with the help of Amazonian princess Wonder Woman (Susan Eisenberg reprises her role from "Justice League: The Animated Series") and ex-Furies leader/Mr. Miracle's wife Big Barda (Julianne Grossman), can the Big Blue Boy Scout and the Dark Knight save Kara from Darkseid's clutches?

Nicely adapted from the story arc/graphic novel, "The Supergirl from Krypton" by Jeph Loeb ("PE") and the late Michael Turner (miss him), "Apocalypse" packs a punch at 78 minutes, giving an ode to anime, with a fun script by Oscar nominated scribe Tab Murphy ("Gorillas In The Midst" and the animated takes on "Tarzan" and "Atlantis") and crackerjack direction by Lauren Montgomery ("Green Lantern: First Flight").

As usual, Daly and Conroy are perfect reprising the roles they did when they had solo shows. Braugher's no Mike Ironside, who voiced Apokolips's lord in "Superman: The Animated Series" and "JL", but is dutiful. The female voice actors are equally superb, yet it's screwball funny to head Ed Asner ("The Mary Tyler Moore Show", "Up") as Darkseid's lieutenant, Granny Goodness.

Like the other recent DC Comics animated films, "Apocalypse" has a hard PG-13 rating; this isn't light kids' fare. Still, it's damn cool.

I love animation and greatly enjoy superhero movies. I found Superman/Batman: Apocalypse to be one of the best DC movies. There is very little that I found particularly wrong with it actually, though Andre Braugher for my tastes wasn't menacing enough as DarkSeid. Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly and Susan Eisenberg however are the embodiment of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman though, while Summer Glau is a nice surprise and Edward Asner is great fun as Granny Goodness. The characters are likable and are developed well, while the animation is full of lavish and atmospheric detail in background, character design and colour and the music is hauntingly rousing. The writing is razor sharp and intelligent and the story has exciting action, affecting drama and compelling storytelling in general, even if a tad rushed towards the end. All in all, has much to love about it. 9/10 Bethany Cox