Movie Review: The Death of Superman (2018 Animated Feature) *Spoilers*

Movie Review: The Death of Superman (2018 Animated Feature) Spoilers

From time to time I keep checking in on WB Animation to see what they're doing with their DC Superheroes, so, when I saw The Death of Superman appear on Netflix my first thought was... didn't they do this already?

2007's animated feature, Superman/Doomsday is based on the same Death of Superman comic and, while the two movies are not exactly the same story, they are very similar.

The main difference may be that Superman/Doomsday tells almost the complete story arc of the comic series it's based upon whereas this new feature continues the story in a sequel animated movie, Reign of the Supermen (which I haven't seen).

I've said before, I don't read comics, but I know enough that The Death of Superman graphic novel is meant to be one of the all time great Superman stories.

I don't know how faithful an adaptation this film is? Hopefully not close because it's terrible.

In this movie we have a Superman who is well into his Justice League years but seemingly can't reconcile on his own whether it's a good idea to let Lois Lane in on his dual identity secret.

We have a Justice League that's so ineffective they go up against Doomsday individually instead of as a team, meanwhile Superman is oblivious to the chaos because he's off introducing Lois to Clark's parents.

Lex in a Mech suit is just a bad idea.

Add to that Lex Luthor in a Mech suit that everyone seems to like but, in my opinion, it was a terrible idea to make him a literal 'Ironman like' superhero in the comics, and it looks ridiculous here.

Lex to me has always been a smart guy who moves the pieces from the sidelines. Actually punching anything is beneath him.

The Doomsday fight sequence alone just goes on, and on, and on, and on... and on, and on... and on, and did I mention it goes on, and on. I get it. It's a tough fight, and the comic book version has an entire issue that's one long fight sequence (so I've heard), but it's not even animated in a way that makes it interesting.

Extended animated fight sequences are mostly boring unless you can do something innovative with them. Unlike live action fight sequences where you can appreciate the training and effort of the stunt people and special effects co-ordinators, animated fights are usually unrealistic, have little artistry, and tend to make my eyes roll.

Is that Superman... or the Michelin man?

The final nail in this film's coffin for me was the first thing I noticed, the character design style and animation. It's some weird mix of Anime and Western style, with character proportions all over the place.To my eye many of the the characters looked inconsistent and were just generally drawn and animated poorly.

The saving grace of the film might be the voice casting. Everyone fit their character and did the best with what they had. I do feel Nathan Fillion would have been better cast as the Flash, and Christopher Gorham would've fit better in the Green Lantern role (basically swap parts) because Nathan's comic timing and delivery of funny dialogue is stronger.

Overall, this isn't great. By the time we get to the actual death of Superman, not too much has happened to make you really care. At best you may have some investment in Lois and Clark's story but that arc is just an aside because what's important is a big, overlong fight sequence, and seeing Superman die.

Zack Snyder did a version of this storyline as part of his movie Batman v Superman, only better, which isn't saying a lot, because the death of Superman had no business being in that film.

Remember all the flack Zack Snyder got for all the civilian casualties and city fights that Superman would have 'drawn away from the civilian population'? Didn't see much of Superman drawing Doomsday away from the city here... but he does save a boy from a collapsing bridge so it's okay.

WB Animation and DC Entertainment really need to stop adapting comics and start coming up with original, well thought out stories.

These adaptations may well have been great as comic books (or graphic novels) but they sure don't turn out well as animated movies. I feel I can say that with some confidence because I own a lot of WB's DC animated features on DVD. Not a single one has made me want to watch it a second time - and I've watched Joel Schumacher's Batman and Robin by choice many times!

The Death of Superman is an animated feature you'll be excited to watch once. Then you'll realize he's not even wearing the classic Superman suit, and he's almost as wishy washy as Superman as he is as Clark Kent.

Why can't we have all new animated Superman stories instead of rehashing and retooling the most well known books over and over?

Skateboard Trick Tips: Two Ways to Ollie North (Ollie One foot)

You have to be quick to see my Ollie Norths! Ollie One Foots, otherwise known as the Ollie North, is one of those skateboard tricks you learn and then tend not to do very much as more interesting trick challenges grab your attention. However it does look really cool if you learn how to kick your front foot well past the nose of your skateboard. Still shot from Braille Skateboarding's Ollie North tutorial. I was inspired to make my video below, showing two different techniques to achieve a successful Ollie One Foot, when I not only saw that Braille Skateboarding's Tutorial used a different method to the one I had learned but also, when I looked at various other video tutorials, I discovered yet another technique, with no one using the method I had originally learned. Braille's method is to simply Ollie and drag your front foot past the front of your board. The second method I came across in several video tutorials is to Ollie, drag your front foot and tap your

How to Transfer Any Line Art to Your Griptape - Easy Skateboard Griptape Art Tutorial

Dog Star Griptape Art by TET Griptape art is once again gaining popularity amongst modern skateboarders. For those of us who have tried to create our own griptape art, using paint pens, you'll know reproducing your design onto the grip, without making any mistakes is incredibly challenging. Mostly because you just have to go for it and draw the design freehand, with paint pens, directly onto the griptape. You can make the odd mistake here or there but if you get the proportions of the design completely wrong, it can be very difficult to fix. Often you just have to live with the mistake. To address the problem I've come up with an easy way anyone can transfer a line art design to their griptape, removing almost all the anxiety of getting the proportions wrong. In fact, you could do this with any line art design, even if you have no drawing skill at all. Watch the video below to see my technique in action and/or skip past the video where I highlight the basic steps to get your de

I'm Joining the Illuminati Brotherhood By Personal Invitation of Hiltom Rothschild... Wait, What?

How special am I to have finally come of age (53 years young) and am now eligible to participate in building the world alongside other members of the Illuminati Brotherhood... Yes I've received the call by way of an email, which I'm sure is real because I had to translate it from the Dutch language and it was personally written by Hiltom Rothschild, one of the non-existent members of the Rothschild family (or perhaps deep undercover because Google has never heard of them?). A Transcript of the email below: To: etourist From: Illuminati Brotherhood Subject: Illuminati Broederschap (Illuminati Brotherhood) I am Hiltom Rothschild, a member of the Rothschild family, one of the 13 families of the Illuminati brotherhood. I'm here to let you know that you've come of age and are eligible to participate in building the 🌎 world. It is a calling and a privilege to honor him with pride and gratitude as not everyone will ever be chosen by the LIGHT, many are called but few are ch

Robot Uprising Update: Robot Waiter, Fasta Pasta, South Terrace, Adelaide CBD, South Australia

On the second evening of my partner, Enigma, and I's weekend stay in Adelaide we decided to have dinner at Fasta Pasta . Strangely enough our hotel staff, at the Alba, had not mentioned Fasta Pasta as an option for an evening meal while their restaurant is closed for refurbishment, even though it is literally next door on the corner of South Terrace and Pultney Street. You may be aware that Fasta Pasta is an upmarket Italian restaurant franchise with its beginnings in Adelaide. Currently they have 19 restaurants Australia wide (with the majority in South Australia - we even have one in Gawler, our home town). I've never had bad food at a Fasta Pasta, and their food never looks like a franchise meal. You always feel you're at a restaurant that's a little bit more quality than your typical hotel/motel meal. Maybe it's because you don't see as much pasta based meals on an Aussie pub menu. Despite the name, it's not all pasta. I went with a basic plate of fish a

Looking for a Conspiracy Starter? Try The Conspiracy Theory Chart (2021) by Abbie Richards

Abbie Richards - creator of The Conspiracy Chart. I've never heard of Abbie Richards until today, while I was trawling the internet for something to post to this blog. She claims to be professionally obsessed with TikTok, a mis and disinformation researcher, and a research fellow at @TheARConsortium but she may just be an A.I. bot programmed by the far left to annoy right wing keyboard warriors, probably? Anyway Abbie produced an updated version of her Conspiracy Theory Chart to reflect more recent thinking (up until November 23, 2021 at least). Whether or not you believe anything listed to be a conspiracy or 'truth that will come out as more people wake up' the chart is a great starting point for anyone investigating 'new, enlightened thinking' with dubious connection to actual facts to draw their conclusions. Conspiracy theories are everywhere and people don't understand how harmful they are. I made the original Conspiracy Chart over a year ago. An update was

Are Ion Thrusters the Future of Flying Cars? Spoiler - Probably Not But... Hover Boards... Maybe?

Undefined Technologies Ion Propulsion Drone prototype 3D concept image. You may have heard of Ion engines or, more likely, Ion thrusters. NASA uses them on their spacecraft to help maintain a craft's position or to propel them through space. Upon hearing that you might think they're big, powerful engines, but actually they are not. They work well in the vacuum of space but, once any kind of atmosphere and gravity is involved they'd be hard pressed to launch you off the ground if you strapped four of them to your lawn chair and yelled "up, up, and away!" I am no expert on Ion thrusters - they're basically magic that science has an explanation for. If you want to know the details, The Space Techie website has a layman's explanation . Build Your Own Ion Thruster Earth based Ion Thrusters work a bit different to their space based cousins by Ionizing the same air that we breathe to create thrust (an effect known as Ionic-wind ). While they sound highly soph

"Life's Tough, Get a Helmet" - Literally!

Imagine if we took this quote literally for any tough situation we had to face. I can just see it now. You hear a voice from the other room... "Honey, I think the baby needs changing?" Better go get your helmet. Not just any helmet either. You'd have a range of helmets to suit whatever life throws at you. Big presentation at the office? You'll have a helmet for that. Job interview? You'll have a helmet for that. Helping the kids with their homework. You'll need a helmet. Having the 'Talk' with your teenage children? I think you'll need a specially designed helmet for that! There seems to be some debate as to where the quote Life's tough, get a helmet originates from? Some attribute it to Denis Leary whilst others attribute it to the TV show, The Hills , and still others say it's from the TV Show, Boy Meets World ? Personally I think we can rule out The Hills but we'll probably need a helmet to resolve this. All in

TET.Life (The Extraordinary Tourist Life)

Search This Blog