Review of Dylan Dog: Dead of Night (2011) by Martin B — 28 Apr 2011

I find myself really rooting for Brandon Routh. He's an actor who will forever be remembered for one role, but deserves to be recognized and better used. Recent supporting roles in Zack & Miri Make a Porno and Scott Pilgrim vs The World have shown that he really has a great comic side to him, and perhaps that's where he should continue to work.

In Dylan Dog, we definitely see his charm and comedic abilities. But as much as I wanted to like this flick, it falls short.

Routh's Superman fell short of expectation due to audience indifference - yet another recap of his origin, Lex Luthor AGAIN, and superbaby... A good film, but what faults it had were in the writing, not the acting (okay, maybe Bosworth). The same is true here. Routh is fun, and could have carried a solid flick, but the writing is lacking, the comic relief a little too over-the-top, the directing sloppy, and the special effects and monster makeup look like something from a television pilot. Even the film stock seemed to be garbage, as several scenes were overly grainy and blurry.

All in all, it's a decent distraction in a late-night-cable-movie sort of way, and a good showcase for Routh to keep showing he's more than just Superman. It's just not the film it could have been.