Review of Superman: Doomsday (2007) by Jay N — 03 Jan 2008

I don't like Superman, but I do like the DC Animated Universe. I was excited to see a new addition to it, but there's some feces to sift through before I could enjoy this.

I had a few issues with some story flaws. While I can understand, for example, Peter Parker refusing to tell friends and family he's Spider-Man in order to protect them, I don't understand Superman refusing to tell Lois Lane he's Clark Kent when she digs into him about it.

"I can't tell her I'm a nerd. Think of the danger that would put her in!".

I also had problems with the alien-with-no-substantial-back-story-created -merely-as-a-tool-by-writers-to-make-a-deadly-villain.

Since I'm a fan of the DCAU, I was disappointed that they didn't keep the original voice cast from the animated series. The cast for the movie isn't BAD, but I'm just picky. For similar reasons, I'm not a big fan of the art style, though I realize they've tweaked it for every incarnation of the DCAU. Still, Superman looks old, Lois Lane looks Asian, and Lex Luthor's head looks like it's about to over inflate and explode.

On the up side, there's great fight scenes, and the darker more violent one was a nice change from modern action cartoons on TV where even police are armed with lasers 'cause bullets hurt people. The shock of (I guess this is a spoiler, but if "based on the award winning 'The Death of Superman' trilogy" doesn't explain the plot I don't know how to get through to you) Superman kicking the bucket and how the people react, particularly his arch-nemesis Lex author, is the main point of the story, and Luthor's struggles are really what make the film for me.

All in all, the plot for the first half is weak, the plot for the second half is so-so, and the senseless violence is top notch. It's good for a cynical laugh.