All-Star Superman Review

Adapting beloved comic books to the screen can be a tricky business. Particularly when it’s a specific story arc that is lengthy, and has several key moments that fans will surely clamor for, and prematurely condemn the project for not including. Previous DC Universe direct-to-DVD projects have already displayed both the positives and negatives of this process, and there may yet be room for improvement, but overall, they seem to be finding their footing. This release has a nice mixture of streamlining the core story of the comic, nixing unnecessary tangents, and injecting just enough deviation to keep it fresh and avoid being a simple copy/paste effort, from page to screen.

As well-received as Grant Morrison’s 12-issue All-Star Superman was, it was difficult to believe that a single, 75-minute, animated adaptation would be enough to capture the emotional resonance and charm found in the source material. Alas, there are pieces missing that would have been wonderful to see so beautifully animated, but given the allotted run-time, I feel that the excluded segments were necessary cuts. Besides, worst case scenario, I can always go back and re-read those parts, and in fact, it’s hard to view their exclusion as a detriment when it may very well persuade curious viewers to pick up Morrison’s original work.

The film does a fine job of capturing the essence of what Superman represents as a self-sworn member of the human race. It seems quite the accomplishment that his character is so deeply explored and fleshed out in the relatively short amount of time given to do so. His actions are clearly motivated by the purest of intentions, but he is also subject to emotions, and shows it, when perhaps emotions are not the best motivation (a distinctly humanizing quality).

Not one to be left out of the spotlight, though, Lex Luthor has a major part to play, and this is an equally fantastic representation of him. Every interaction between these two is pitch-perfect, from Clark’s interview with Lex at the Stryker’s Island prison, to their final, super-powered confrontation, these characters play off each other like poetry. The touch of irony added to the ending is icing on the cake, including Lex in Dr. Quintum’s plan. If you’ve read the book, you’ll know what I’m talking about, but I don’t plan to spoil it for those of you who are new to this story.

In the end, this is a very solid entry in the DC Universe line-up and I highly recommend it to anyone who has either already been enjoying their prior releases, is a fan of the comics it’s based on, or is simply a fan of the Superman character in general.

-Russ