ARCHIVE – Apocalypse: It's NOT a Disaster!
Originally posted at SciFi4Me.com 1.0 on September 28, 2010 by Jason P. Hunt
“Superman/Batman: Apocalypse” is the 9th entry in the DC Universe animated movies, and it follows what is quickly becoming a trend in these PG-13 projects: go bigger.
Following the events of “Superman/Batman: Public Enemies”, this movie picks up after the destruction of the giant kryptonite meteor, pieces of which are still falling to Earth. Along with the shiny green rocks, another piece of Krypton falls into Gotham Harbor: a spaceship carrying a young girl from Krypton, revealed to be Kara Zor-El, the cousin of Kal-El.
Superman (TIM DALY) is immediately ready to welcome Kara (SUMMER GLAU) with open arms, going so far as to take her shopping (complete with obligatory montage that makes Clark look like the doofus next to the teenager). But Batman (KEVIN CONROY) is his usual suspicious self, not knowing for sure if Kara is who she seems to be. With as many enemies as Superman has, it’s only natural for Batman to suspect someone might resort to this kind of deception to get inside the Big Blue Boy Scout’s defenses.
After Kara almost destroys a park with her heat vision, Wonder Woman (SUSAN EISENBERG) and Harbinger come to take Kara to Paradise Island to learn how to control her powers. Wonder Woman agrees with the Dark Knight, that Kara presents a threat because she cannot control her Kryptonian powers. Stress and panic cause her heat vision to go wild, destroying everything in her path. And Harbinger is having visions that foretell disaster for Earth.
That danger comes in the form of Darkseid (phoned in by ANDRE BRAUGHER), who’s searching for a new captain for his Furies after the defection of Big Barda. Discovering the existence of the Kryptonian teen, Darkseid captures Kara and takes her back to Apokolips to brainwash her and make her his new champion. Thus the arc is set for Kara, who first can’t conceive of being anyone’s champion at the beginning of the movie.
What follows is that “go bigger” trend: lots of high-energy combat between the heroes and the Furies, with the obligatory big explosions and high-impact fights. Superman has to convince Kara of Darksied’s true intentions while Batman, Barda, and Diana fight for their lives.
No spoilers, but if you’ve read the graphic novel by Jeff Loeb, you know how it ends.
The script by Tab Murphy rushes through the beginning, almost as if director Lauren Montgomery has to get to Apokolips as soon as possible, and the setup suffers for it. I would have liked to see more between Superman and Batman arguing about whether Kara poses a threat or not. And there’s really only one good scene between Batman and Kara to establish the animosity that eventually has to be resolved.
The first scene between Darkseid and Kara seems extremely rushed, almost as if it’s simply an obligatory scene to show us that Darkseid is a bad guy. But Andre Braugher’s performance lacks any menace at all. Frankly, he sounds bored. Until he’s blasting Superman with his Omega Beams. But until then (about the last ten minutes or so), Braugher just sounds like he can’t be bothered to be evil. Michael Ironside was a much better Darkseid (something you can hear for yourself, as four animated episodes are included in the Blu-Ray).
The other thing that bothered me about this one – the editing between combat sequences. There are three distinct fights: Batman v. the Hellhounds, Wonder Woman and Big Barda v. the Furies, and Superman v. Darkseid and Kara. Like any good action movie, it moves back and forth as the sequences get more tense and threatening, but the points where the cuts happen seem awkward, almost as if editor Margaret Hou went “Oh, yeah! There’s something else going on over here.” And bam, back to the other fight. It’s choppy and disjointed.
Like the rest of the series of films, this one’s not for the kids. Kara’s clearly naked in the opening sequence, even though she’s in shadow. And the violence is bigger and darker than in previous animated outings. Between Darkseid, the Furies, the Doomsdays (yes, plural), the giant Hell Dogs, and everything else, it’s a pretty fierce ride.
The artwork is clearly influenced by Michael Turner’s artwork in the comic, although the angles are a little softer. And the women aren’t as willowy. Solid performances from the veterans. Fans will be happy to hear Daly and Conroy again, and Eisenberg returns after so long away from “Justice League”. Edward Asner as Granny Goodness is inspired casting, always creepy to hear. But Andre Braugher is clearly miscast as Darkseid.
Also on the Blu-Ray: the next in the DC Showcase short films: “Green Arrow”, in which the emerald archer is at the airport to pick up Diana (and finally pop the question), only to get caught up in the rescue of teenage royalty. A fun ride, with Neal McDonough as Ollie Queen and Grey Delisle returning as Black Canary. Malcolm McDowell is really underused in this one, but it’s fun to hear him anyway.
Go ahead and get it. You’ll be glad you did.
