Fans of Bruce Timm’s take on the DC Universe might show up hoping for a fresh look at the interplay between these two iconic characters. Look elsewhere. Public Enemies is yet another disappointing direct-to-DVD Feature out of the house that Timm built. At its inception, Public Enemies is disadvantaged, based as it is on a hard-to-swallow story of Lex-Luthor as president and both Batman and Superman as persona non grata. Despite the high-flying premise, Public Enemies takes barely a moment to explore (or even explain) its world. Instead, it rushes from action scene to action scene before ending abruptly. Not recommended.
Posts Tagged animated
Wonder Woman
Jan 1
New entries in Bruce Timm’s take on the DC Comics Universe keep coming at a regular clip, even if their quality is a bit spotty. Wonder Woman retells the origin story of its eponymous star-spangled amazon with respectable results. WW is beautifully animated and the action retains the impact to which Timm fans have become accustomed. As with most DC direct-to-video, Wonder Woman wrestles with a claustrophobic run-time, leaving precious little time for characterization and a bit too much time for punches and kicks. Once again, see it if you’re a fan, but it will not convert you otherwise.
I have been underwhelmed with DC Universe direct-to-video features since the end of Bruce Timm’s Justice League series. Green Lantern: First Flight is a return to form. GLFF retells the origin story of Hal Jordan, the first Green Lantern (not John Stewart, who took up the Green Lantern mantel in Justice League). The animation, action and acting are each top-notch and the story is surprisingly nuanced. GLFF is not a crossover movie–it won’t change the minds of anyone uninterested in watching animated superhero movies. For the rest of us, I highly recommend it.
Avatar (Real-D 3-D)
Jan 1
James Cameron directs an ambitious science fiction epic about human efforts to wrest mineral-rich deposits from the tribal denizens of a jungle planet, called Pandora. Critics of Avatar will note that its ambitions are limited to its visuals and that the story never diverges from its archetypal roots: there is an earnest human soldier and a fierce warrior princess; there is an aggro human general for whom explosives solve all conflict; and there are “spirit trees.” Strictly speaking, the criticism is not misplaced: every beat of the story can be predicted by anyone paying marginal attention, and the characterizations are paper thin.
But while we have seen this story before, we have never seen it like this. Avatar depicts Pandora with an unprecedented level of visual richness; it never feels like a slapdash of expensive computer-generated effects. Go see Avatar because it feels like being transported; you will not to see anything like it for years to come.
Waltz with Bashir
Jan 1
Waltz is an animated, Israeli documentary about the Lebanese War of 1982 leading up to the assassination of Bashir Gemayel and resulting massacre. It is somewhat informative, but probably does more to illustrate our ignorance of significant global conflict than to banish that ignorance. Waltz is gorgeously animated and cleverly told. Now I just wish I knew more.
Hulk Vs. (2009)
Oct 25
Marvel continues its direct-to-video insurgence with a slightly different approach in “Hulk Vs.” Instead of a single full-length feature Hulk Vs. includes two short features, with Thor and Wolverine respectively. Hulk fans should not be misled by the title–the Hulk operates more as a setting for his counterpart than a per se character. Both features are very superficial, focusing more on satisfying action and humor than a clever or unique story. Still, Hulk Vs. is surprisingly entertaining. The Wolverine feature is particularly funny, and the fights are well choreographed without exception. Comic book fans should enjoy it.
Batman: Gotham Knight
Jul 23
Much like the Animatrix, Gotham Knight offers a direct-to-video series of animated shorts about Batman. Each of the vignettes is presented by a different notable Japanese Animation director and the animation shows it ranging from whimsical to highly sophisticated and flashy. Gotham Knight also follows in the footsteps of the Animatrix by being highly uneven. Some of the stories play with interesting concepts, while others are completely boring. None are great. Also, while several of the shorts in the Animatrix tie in closely to the plot of the Matrix sequels, all of the Gotham Knight stories exist in a vaccuum. Simply put, unless you are a truly hardcore Batman fan, there is no reason for you to pursue this movie.