Contains Big Spoilers.
I liked PUBLIC ENEMIES not only because Tim Daly and Kevin Conroy were back voicing the characters but also, because of how faithful and true it stayed to the comic. Well, APOCALYPSE is even MORE faithful than it's predecessor to it's respective comic book it is based off, Superman/Batman: The Supergirl from Krypton.
Up until the end, it almost was exactly like the comic in story and the feeling of it remained the same. The voice cast were very good in their roles for the most part.
Kevin Conroy and Tim Daly not surprisingly turned in more stellar performances and I was happy to see Susan Eisenberg, who voiced Wonder Woman in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited return and she did a good job also. It was interesting seeing Ed Asner voice Granny again and however odd the choice was, it still fits like a glove. I never could imagine Granny's voice sounding like woman really.. But Darkseid's voice played by Andre Braugher only made me miss Michael Ironside. It was definitely passable and at times very well done for sure but it just seemed a little off. Maybe if they retained that BOOMING sound in his voice that he had on Apokalips, It might have been a little better.
I liked Summer Glau as Kara too - She was good, just not amazing.
The animation is very similar to the late Michael Turner's artwork and for the most part, it fits. Some stiffness, especially in the facial features and lip movement here and there but nothing glaringly awful. The movie moves along at a breakneck pace for the most part and it was very well done, except for the ending which I didn't like as much as I hoped.
Music fits - Not amazing, nothing really memorable but it gets the job done.
The movie was a near flawless adaption of the comic book it is based on, up until the end. I was a bit annoyed by the some of the humor shoehorned in falling flat whereas the comic was pretty serious and straight forward and I couldn't help but feel underwhelmed how Superman was portrayed as less "Angry" when Kara was taken to Paradise Island or when she was kidnapped by Darkseid. I missed the glowing "Heat vision" red eyes too but overall, it was all good until the end.
Darkseid comes to Earth to kill Superman but promises to leave Kara alone as Batman made him hold his word when he threatened to blow up the planet using Darkseid's own technology against him. But Kara defends her cousin and holds her own against Darkseid while Superman very quickly, gets his butt handed to him and is thrown into space for a long period of time as Kara is the one who has a good chunk of the fight FOR HER. Of course, Superman comes back and gives Darkseid one of the most awesome beat down sequences ever shown in an animated film but still gets beaten and in over his head and needs Kara's help to finish off Darkseid.
Now, there are definitely BIG Downs in this ending but also some ups too. I'll start with the ups and work from there.
The Downs.
In Conclusion, it's easily one of my favorite DC Direct to DVD movies to date and beats PUBLIC ENEMIES by a hair. It would probably be my favorite if the ending wasn't changed so drastically from the comic. The movie was near flawless with a few nitpicks here and there until that..
Still, a strong effort from Bruce Timm and Co. and I hope this sells well enough to get another sequel.
I liked PUBLIC ENEMIES not only because Tim Daly and Kevin Conroy were back voicing the characters but also, because of how faithful and true it stayed to the comic. Well, APOCALYPSE is even MORE faithful than it's predecessor to it's respective comic book it is based off, Superman/Batman: The Supergirl from Krypton.
Up until the end, it almost was exactly like the comic in story and the feeling of it remained the same. The voice cast were very good in their roles for the most part.
Kevin Conroy and Tim Daly not surprisingly turned in more stellar performances and I was happy to see Susan Eisenberg, who voiced Wonder Woman in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited return and she did a good job also. It was interesting seeing Ed Asner voice Granny again and however odd the choice was, it still fits like a glove. I never could imagine Granny's voice sounding like woman really.. But Darkseid's voice played by Andre Braugher only made me miss Michael Ironside. It was definitely passable and at times very well done for sure but it just seemed a little off. Maybe if they retained that BOOMING sound in his voice that he had on Apokalips, It might have been a little better.
I liked Summer Glau as Kara too - She was good, just not amazing.
The animation is very similar to the late Michael Turner's artwork and for the most part, it fits. Some stiffness, especially in the facial features and lip movement here and there but nothing glaringly awful. The movie moves along at a breakneck pace for the most part and it was very well done, except for the ending which I didn't like as much as I hoped.
Music fits - Not amazing, nothing really memorable but it gets the job done.
The movie was a near flawless adaption of the comic book it is based on, up until the end. I was a bit annoyed by the some of the humor shoehorned in falling flat whereas the comic was pretty serious and straight forward and I couldn't help but feel underwhelmed how Superman was portrayed as less "Angry" when Kara was taken to Paradise Island or when she was kidnapped by Darkseid. I missed the glowing "Heat vision" red eyes too but overall, it was all good until the end.
Darkseid comes to Earth to kill Superman but promises to leave Kara alone as Batman made him hold his word when he threatened to blow up the planet using Darkseid's own technology against him. But Kara defends her cousin and holds her own against Darkseid while Superman very quickly, gets his butt handed to him and is thrown into space for a long period of time as Kara is the one who has a good chunk of the fight FOR HER. Of course, Superman comes back and gives Darkseid one of the most awesome beat down sequences ever shown in an animated film but still gets beaten and in over his head and needs Kara's help to finish off Darkseid.
Now, there are definitely BIG Downs in this ending but also some ups too. I'll start with the ups and work from there.
- I liked how they got rid of Superman's corny speech of what Kara will never experience as an Earth girl since she supposedly "Died" in the comic and since we found out she lived, it was just out of place and didn't sit right with me.
- I also enjoyed the fact that Superman and Kara to an extent aren't totally vulnerable to Darkseid's omega beams and how one hit is most certainly not going to kill them. But that also comes with FLAWS too.
- I absolutely loved the beating Superman gave Darkseid at the end. It looked great and it was a shame that it didn't finish Darkseid off like I hoped it would.
The Downs.
- I hated how most of the fight was Kara vs. Darkseid. I would have preferred Superman and Kara working together as a team to take down Darkseid but he seriously injures Kara forcing Superman to take down Darkseid on his own for most of the length of the fight.
- I hated how easily Superman was defeated and I missed the dark atmosphere of the comic that showed an unnatural dark storm showing up during the fight. I also missed Superman being enraged at Darkseid and overpowering him through sheer anger. I realize taking the fight to space while "TALKING" would have seemed ridiculous but I still missed the scene where Superman took Darkseid to the sun and was tempted to throw him in.
- I didn't like that it was KARA who defeated Darkseid instead of Superman trapping him at the Source Wall. And I hated the humor shoehorned in after such a big fight! I mean, come on! That was so lame.
In Conclusion, it's easily one of my favorite DC Direct to DVD movies to date and beats PUBLIC ENEMIES by a hair. It would probably be my favorite if the ending wasn't changed so drastically from the comic. The movie was near flawless with a few nitpicks here and there until that..
Still, a strong effort from Bruce Timm and Co. and I hope this sells well enough to get another sequel.