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Superman/Batman: Public Enemies

The first DC Universe Animated Original Movie in the Batman/Superman series.

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More to Love, Less to Hate, When Supes & the Bat Join Forces

  • Nov 9, 2010
  • by
Rating:
+3
To be perfectly honest, these direct-to-DVD animated flicks (SUPERMAN/DOOMSDAY, WONDER WOMAN, GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT, and now SUPERMAN/BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMIES) are very solid outings. More often than not, they hit pretty close to the mark in presenting excellent adventures within the established mythology and continuity of the DC Universe, and that's always been very important to comic book fans ... but I'm not entirely certain how pleased non-fans or casual movie viewers might be to embrace these films as they really don't 'gel' with any previous theatrical releases. In fact, they mostly ignore those takes -- understandably so -- all at the risk of creating a shorter-than-average shelf life for these supplemental DC properties. If anything, they do make me miss the days when BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, JUSTICE LEAGUE, and JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED were churning out much more regular visits to this universe ... but I won't dwell on that possible focal point for this review. I'll mention it, as I have, and I'll concentrate on the film.

SUPERMAN/BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMIES is an animated adaptation of the existing graphic novel collection of the same name. While it's a faithful adaptation, one could make the argument that it's too faithful in some spots when straying from the source material might've been more easily embraced by casual followers of either the Batman or Superman franchise. In a nutshell: Batman and Superman are crime-fighting partners; Lex Luthor is President of the United States; and a massive meteor of the planet Krypton is hurtling toward Earth. Everyone who knows a cape from a cowl knows that the resulting 'kryptonite' poses the greatest possible threat to Superman's adopted planet: not only will it decimate the population of Earth, creating its own E.L.E. (Existinction Level Event) to wipe out mankind, but the fact that it is 'kryptonite' means our greatest defense -- Superman himself -- is powerless to intercept it. This means Earth has to rely on Lex Luthor and whatever defense he can muster as President, but wouldn't you know it he's more than a bit pre-occupied with using this opportunity to destroy everyone's favorite Man of Steel? Before you know it, Luthor's nefarious scheme is set into motion, and Batman and Superman find themselves as fugitives on the lam from some of Earth's heroes who've fought at their sides for years.

It's all well and good so far as slugfests go, and PUBLIC ENEMIES delivers more than a Batcave full of fisticuffs and derring-do for caped and uncaped crusaders. That's what of the strengths here: a planet-spanning story gives the writers and animators a terrific opportunity to put some of the lesser known heroes on parade here ... but that's also a weakness. The casual viewer may wonder, "Who or what is Captain Atom, and, even worse, why should I care?" "Where did all of these supervillains come from, and what's the source of their power?" And "what's with the blonde girl in white with the killer breastline?" (All praise to Power Girl!)

PUBLIC ENEMIES is definitely worth the time -- it clocks in at a skinny 64 minutes -- but it would be served to be much longer. More screen time could've given the writers a greater chance to flesh out some of these secondary characters or to even beef up the exceptional witty dialogue so central to these Batman/Superman shared adventures. Also, greater time would've given the animators a bit more screen to work with -- amp up the budget a bit and elevate some of the background animation to better than Saturday morning fair, at least -- but those quibbles some might consider minor. What I absolutely didn't much care for was the massive amalgam rocket -- I'll spare the spoilerish description for those of you still inclined to watch. Such an obvious nod to the conventions of anime may be welcome; to me, they serve as a bit of a narrative distraction -- an insider's "nudge nudge wink wink" "aren't we clever" moment that I, personally, believe either of these franchises should be well past.

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June 01, 2012
Interesting recommendation. Thank you. "(All praise to Power Girl!)" I forget which one but in one of the Superman/Batman books the heroes have to distract a 12-year-old genius. They all look to Power Girl, who at first can't understand why they'd pick her for the job. Then she looks down and realizes. It's understated and kind of clever.
 
December 15, 2010
I saw this and thought it was great, though not as great as Justice League New Frontier. The second DVD features were great too, some even better than the main event!
December 15, 2010
Gotta confess that I didn't much care for NEW FRONTIER, but I also didn't much care for the source material. I thought NF was really one graphic novel spread out into two unnecessarily, so it ended up padding the story with a great deal of sidebars that weren't pivotal to the main storyline. Plus, I must confess ... outside of the art style, I never much cared for 60's storytelling. NF is a step forward in Direct-to-DVD animated projects, and I think DC is really kicking Marvel's butt when it comes to working these stories into direct-to-DVD products. Even when I don't much care for some of them, I say, "Keep 'em coming!" The more, the merrier, so far as I'm concerned.
December 15, 2010
That's fine. The art is a matter of taste and Cooke has gone on to other projects anyway. I liked these DC DVD's anyway and did not get to watch much of their TV products. Do they still have JLA and the DC teams on the air now? Marvel got the animated Spider-man but that's about it. They've really been lagging. With me I do like the Silver Age stuff, as hokey as it gets and that's why I think I liked the Frontier one better. Can't wait for the Green Hornet and Green Lantern live action -- from what the trailers show, they clearly are comedies and are probably cheesy, schmaltzy junk -- but keep them coming!
 
November 09, 2010
Thanks for coming back and participating in the Comics community! I do need to see Public Enemies, I heard a lot of good things about it.
 
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More Superman/Batman: Public Enemie... reviews
review by . May 26, 2011
posted in Speech Bubbles: Comics & Graphic Novels
The Earth is in danger as usual due to a comet the size of a small country quickly approaching. However, this isn't an ordinary piece of floating rock. The comet is made of solid green Kryptonite, that was left over from Superman's home planet Krypton which exploded ages ago. The new President of the United States, Lex Luthor, not only wants to stop the comet, but he wants to do it completely on his own in order to satisfy his ego.      Being pressured to seek help from …
review by . September 30, 2009
posted in Speech Bubbles: Comics & Graphic Novels
DVD
   Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is a direct-to-dvd animated movie produced by Bruce Timm and directed by Sam Liu for Warner’s Animated movies line that gave us “Wonder Woman”, “Justice League New Frontier” and “Gotham Knight”. It is the 6th in the DCU animated line and is based on the opening story-arc in the Superman/Batman comic book series written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Ed McGuinness. It is a faithful adaptation with minor alterations …
review by . October 09, 2009
posted in Speech Bubbles: Comics & Graphic Novels
Cover art
I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t eagerly awaiting the release of Superman Batman Public Enemies Animated Original Movie since having first heard of it nearly a year ago.  In what has been a very busy year for the DC Universe/Warner Premier (this being the third release thus far), I had the absolute highest of expectations going in to the film.  I’m very pleased to report that the production met and exceeded my expectations on every conceivable level but before I get …
review by . October 08, 2009
posted in Movie Hype
I would be lying if I said that I wasn't eagerly awaiting the release of Superman Batman Public Enemies Animated Original Movie since having first heard of it nearly a year ago. In what has been a very busy year for the DC Universe/Warner Premier (this being the third release thus far), I had the absolute highest of expectations going in to the film. I'm very pleased to report that the production met and exceeded my expectations on every conceivable level but before I get ahead of myself, let's …
Quick Tip by . October 02, 2009
I have the graphic novel and i LOVED IT.
see all Superman/Batman: Public Enemie... reviews (6)
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About this movie

Wiki

A desperate solution for a troubled country: Lex Luthor for President with the Justice League in the service of the government. Only Batman and Superman stand against the new regime – and their disloyalty proves to be exactly what Luthor intended. Using their outcast status to instigate a scandal against Superman, Luthor finally tastes a victory in his vendetta against The Man of Steel. From Executive Producer Bruce Timm and voiced by the cast from both hit Batman and Superman animated TV series including Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly and Clancy Brown, this DC Universe Original Animated Movie of Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness’s popular graphic novel seethes with political intrigue and action-packed battles between heroes all believing they’re on the right side of the law.
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Tags

Movies, Action, Film, Comics, Animation, Comic Book And Graphic Novel Adaptations, Batman, American Animation, Superman, Dc Animated Universe, Superhero
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Details

Director: Sam Liu
Genre: Action, Animation, Sci-Fi
Release Date: September 29, 2009
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Screen Writer: Stan Berkowitz
DVD Release Date: September 29, 2009
Runtime: 67 minutes
Studio: Warner Premiere, Warner Bros Pictures, DC Comics, Warner Bros. Animation
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First to Review

"Fun-Filled, Action-Packed Production By Bruce Timm But a Little Underwhelming..."
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