Death of a Hero
I have been loving the DC Universe Animated movies I have seen and have been trying to get my hands on as many as I can get/afford so when I noticed that they adapted All Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely I had to get this as I enjoyed the series. Having now read the series and watched the film if I wanted to I am able to compare the two but even though I will make some comparisons like pointing out the odd thing that I might have preferred closer from the comic or certain sequences missing that I would have loved to have seen, I will still try to keep this reviews main focus on the film.
Plot
Whilst saving scientists in space Superman is poisoned by an overdose of solar radiation, and is now dying. With not long left to live Superman does the things he wants to do before dying which mainly includes revealing his secret identity to the woman he loves, Lois Lane. Lex Luthor the man responsible for Superman being poisoned in the first place has plans of his own which include Superman's death and replacing him as the Earth's greatest protector.
Review
This was a good film and despite the fact it may not be the best DC animated film or the best adaptation of a comic in film I still enjoyed it. Having read and thoroughly enjoying the book I had high expectations for the film. The film didn't disappoint much. Okay, there were scenes I preferred in the comics and stuff I was upset to see missing (will mention about this later) but overall the film was very good and kept the emotion from the comics intact. I was also happy to see the symbolism kept throughout the film as that was the main thing I enjoyed about the comics, that Superman having been brought up by humans has human traits and emotions.
I enjoyed the scene where Parasite is chasing after Lex and Clark (Superman) for the energy inside them (mainly Clark). I still didn't like the look of Parasite in this version but to be fair it was very similar to the one from the comic which I didn't like in the first place. The idea of him continuously getting more bloated and having a vacuum like mouth is good it still doesn't look as good as some of the characters more classic looks. What I liked about this scene was how Clark and Lex interacted with each other and how Clark was hiding his Superman identity whilst trying to subtly save people from Parasite.
A sequence that I really enjoyed in the series was the Bizarro World sequence where Superman is trapped in the Bizarro World meeting all these Bizarro like members of the DC Universe including Flash and Green Lantern. I understand that certain sequences would have needed to have been cut out and although I would have preferred this to have stayed it was probably the best to go as besides showing more of Superman's character (which the film does enough of) it doesn't really add to the main story whereas most of the other sequences do. The other sequences in the film were also slightly different that the comic but main just sped up keeping the important parts. Even though it was sped up they were still very enjoyable sequences.
The entire long scene near the star where Clark reveals his identity to Lois was probably the best adapted as it kept most of the key elements and emotions whilst throwing in a few more as well. Although I preferred how he told Lois in the comic (as if I remember correctly he was more stumbling, clumsy Clark whilst revealing it) it was still very well done and the lack of drama from his side showed more of the Superman character shining through. I also liked how Lois was trying to enjoy her time with Superman whilst still thinking to herself that he's not Clark and that he's lying to her. Although I wasn't fond of the characters in the comic I thought keeping Samson and Atlas helped move this side of the story along and allowed more time to show Lois and Superman's adventure throughout this film.
Although like Samson and Atlas I didn't like the Bar-El or Lilo characters in either comic or film they were needed to show that it's being brought up as a human that has made Superman the hero that he is. I also think that unlike most villains or characters with bad intentions you aren't meant to like this pair and if you dislike them then they've done filled part of there purpose.
I will finish of by talking about the voice acting throughout this film which was very good. Although I prefer Tim Daly who voiced him throughout the 90's Animated series and other films, James Denton did an excellent job and with a new telling of Superman deserves a new voice actor. The other voice actors including Christina Hendricks voicing Lois, Edward Asner voicing Perry White were great but the voice actor I liked the most in this film was Anthony LaPaglia as Lex. He did such a great job voicing him and you could tell that he's a villain whilst feeling all this anger coming out. I also liked how he showed a different side when he is jealous of Superman as he's always wanted to be the Earth's greatest protector.
Final Verdict
This was a great film and I enjoyed watching it. People who love close comparisons might be a bit disappointed however, as there are parts either missing or sped up from the comic. This film also lacked in action so might not appeal to people who like animated films with plenty of action. I would still however recommend getting this film or at least watching it as it is a good film with
