Superman/Batman: Public Enemies

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies continues the trend of strong direct-to-video DC Comic based films. Plucked right out of comic book story lines, the movie basically revolves around Superman, Batman, Lex Luthor, and a big meteor made of kyrptonite.

Lex Luthor has used his money and powers of persuasion to become the president of the USA. He doesn't trust superheroes, but has created a task force of superheroes, which include Power Girl and Captain Atom) to do his bidding. He tries his best to solve the meteor problem without the use of superheros. Superman and Batman try to figure out his intentions and their own solution to the problem. The movie is jam packed with fight sequences and interesting dialogue, but the pace and parts of the plot becomes the downfall of the movie.

The movie is visually stunning and continues the high caliber that the DC direct-to-video films have been. The colors are lush and have a strong range from gritty and dark to bold and bright. The animation isn't the same as the 90s animated series where everyone was boxy, but the more comic book visuals didn't distract from the movie at all. Also notable were the really strong opening and closing credits. Though they were similar to other direct-to-video DC movies, the colors were vibrant and the sequence was reminiscent of 60s James Bond sequences.

One thing that Public Enemies doesn't shy away from are the action sequences. Out of all of them I loved the big fight between Superman/Batman and the army of villains from various areas of the DC universe trying to get the two. Not only do they make references to villains from the Flash (Captain Cold) and Wonder Woman (Cheetah), I loved the quick reference to Captain Boomerang; the fact that a lesser known villain wanted the bounty on Superman/Batman was interesting. It does seem unlikely that all these villains would pop up from behind bushes and behind buildings at the same time, but the fight was so interesting to watch that I just shrugged it off.

After making the mistake of having an all star cast voice the DC superheroes in Justice League: The New Frontier, Public Enemies makes the right decision to keep the voices of Superman and Batman to their classic voice actors. Kevin Conroy has been the voice of Batman/Bruce Wayne since the Batman animated series of the 90s and Tim Daly was the voice of Superman in the Superman animated series of the 90s as well. There was a nostalgia factor in hearing the two voices together. The rest of the voices do a fine job as well and all are quite believable. To make it better, I appreciated the dialogue between Superman and Batman. There was both trust and uneasiness in their decisions made. It clearly showed that the two have been working together for years and understand where each are coming from.

There were a few plot holes that I felt were never answered. The biggest question for a non DC comics fan would be: Why does Power Girl trust Superman? As a DC Comics reader I know that there is a familial relation between Power Girl and Superman and she has had a tenure as part of the Justice League. The movie never refers to either fact. We are just supposed to believe she doesn't trust Lex Luthor.

I was very confused as to how Starfire shows up in the movie. The movie makes no reason for her to show up and she appears as one of Lex Luthor's helpers in the middle of the movie. Her character didn't need to be there and she had no lines. She just chased around Superman for a little bit, then helped him. I also found the sequence involving Captain Marvel and Hawkman to have been a little confusing, even if it was explained in the few minutes after the sequence ended.

While there were nice visuals and strong voice acting, I felt like the plot went by too fast. The movie followed the comic that it was based off very closely, but things like inner monologue were cut out. The movie is 67 minutes long, but it felt even shorter; other recent DC animated movies were about fifteen minutes longer. Public Enemies could have benefited from at least another ten minutes which would have explained a few of the plot holes.

While this movie has some flaws, the overall package of Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is strong. The movie was accurate to the comic and the hours of bonuses that were included in the DVD were a nice touch. Any DC comic fan would love the film, but there will be a handful of non-dedicated fans left confused after watching it