DC's animated superhero films...

[Joel_Kirk]

I've been trying to catch up on the DC animated superhero flicks...*ahem*Youtube is my friend*ahem*ahem*

One thing I like is that they are usually around 75-77 minutes. Some examples of those out there:

Superman: Doomsday
Batman: Under the Hood
Wonder Woman
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

...and so on...

I just wanted to get an idea of what some of the posters (who have seen these films) thought.

Good writing? Too short?

 

[DarthPipes]

I thought Batman Under the Red Hood was great.

 

[Brikar99]

I like them, for the most part. Sometimes they feel too short - "New Frontier" I thought felt like it was missing five or 10 minutes that would've made it really special. Sometimes the animation isn't all that impressive - "Superman/Batman: Public Enemies" was pretty lame in that department. My favorites so far are "Wonder Woman" and "Batman: Under the Red Hood."

 

[Kirkman1987]

I catch them whenever one appears on Netflix streaming. Most of them aren't anything great, but not a bad way to spend 75 or so minutes.

I Liked New frontier and Superman Doomsday the best of the ones I saw.

 

[Showdown]

The DC animated films are fantastic. Crisis on Two Earths, Batman Under the Red Hood, Public Enemies, and Green Lantern First Flight just to mention a few. Can't wait for the Superman/Batman Apocalypse.

 

[TheRealStarbuck]

I've missed a few of them here and there, but overall they've been high quality efforts. If you're a fan of the characters, they're worth the time.

"Under the Red Hood" had a very different feel to it, and a great cast. I was surprised how good Bruce Greenwood was as Batman.

 

[Mr Light]

They're all pretty good. Wonder Woman was a little meh. And GL First Flight pissed me off a little with the changes to my favorite DC franchise. Superman Doomsday was way too rushed, would have worked better as a 2-3 parter so we could have seen the 4 new Supermen and Cyborg-Superman and Mongul.

 

[TheRealStarbuck]

Wonder Woman was a little meh.

I thought the same. I would have rather seen her take on a 'supervillain' instead of a mythology based story. I know it's her origins and all, it just doesn't do much for me.

 

[Joel_Kirk]

They're all pretty good. Wonder Woman was a little meh. And GL First Flight pissed me off a little with the changes to my favorite DC franchise. Superman Doomsday was way too rushed, would have worked better as a 2-3 parter so we could have seen the 4 new Supermen and Cyborg-Superman and Mongul.

I agree with Doomsday.

Wonder Woman was a little meh.

I thought the same. I would have rather seen her take on a 'supervillain' instead of a mythology based story. I know it's her origins and all, it just doesn't do much for me.

That's something they could probably do for the sequel.

 

[Mr Light]

To me the most interesting part of Death of Superman was the four new Supermen, the mystery of who was who, them teaming up, and the revelation of the ultimate bad guy. Doomsday was just the set up to the real story.

 

[Warped9]

I generally find them enjoyable although there are occasional lame ducks. Superman: Braniac Attacks comes to mind.

 

[Mr Light]

That one really doesn't count! It was not made by the current team. It was a rushed tie-in to Superman Returns and was generally crappy in all respects

 

[DarKush]

I've pretty much enjoyed them all, except for Gotham Knight. My favorites have been Wonder Woman, Batman: Under the Red Hood, and Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. The rest were decent to good IMO. Of the other Batfilms, I liked Mask of the Phantasm and Mystery of the Batwomen the best.

I would've liked Superman: Doomsday more if the animation had been better. I hated those lines in Superman's face. The end for New Frontier didn't work for me.

 

[Mr Light]

Oh yeah, Gotham Knight didn't wow me. A couple of the stories were alright but there many so-sos.

 

[Warped9]

I've pretty much enjoyed them all, except for Gotham Knight.

I'd pushed that one from memory because I disliked it so much.

 

[Too Much Fun]

Wow, the "Wonder Woman" criticism surprises me. It's my favourite of the recent animated DC movies. I loved how the relationship with Steve Trevor was central to the movie. I'm not a huge fan of the Wonder Woman character as I find her harder to relate to than Batman (with his psychological vulnerability) and Superman (with his being an outsider), so Steve Trevor worked perfectly as the audience identification character instead of her.

He gave the movie all the humour it could possibly need (thanks to Nathan Fillon having so many good lines and giving a great performance). The relationship between Steve Trevor and Wonder Woman also gave the movie a lot of heart, and in the process I believe showed Hollywood how to do a live action Wonder Woman movie properly. I hope when they do make one, they will replicate that relationship and use a similar characterization of Steve Trevor. He was so funny, yet managed to be surprisingly sweet and heroic in the end. At first he just seemed like a typical obnoxious male character, hitting on Wonder Woman, teaching her about swearing, etc., but then I was shocked by his poignant and romantic line, "Maybe I figured the world's not worth saving if you're not in it."

I enjoyed Alfred Molina's performance and character too. This was something else that surprised me, because I generally prefer superhero movies to be more grounded in the real world. To my surprise, the movie integrated the supernatural/mythological elements and characters of Wonder Woman's world (Ares, the Amazons, etc.) with the real world (her being sort of a 'fish out of water' in the city with Steve Trevor as her guide) wonderfully.

 

[Mr Light]

That's my number one problem with Wonder Woman in general, I just don't go for the mythological gods and monsters in the DCU. I like the concept (and visual) of Wonder Woman but I don't like her stories.

 

[DarKush]

^
Wonder Woman was my favorite of the recent DC animated films. I've always liked mythology, particularly Greek mythology, and I thought the movie handled it well. Plus, they had top notch voice actors. The animation was very good as well. I don't get the WW movie dislike either.

As for the comics, WW has more than mythological villains though Themyscira (sp) and mythology does play a huge role in a lot of the stories I've read. That's fine with me because the mythological angle helps the character stand out, makes her unique. However, WW has a decent rogues gallery, even with non-mythological characters. Giganta and Cheetah are two that spring to mind. I got hipped to some of them after reading the Who is Wonder Woman? trade by Jodi Picoult I believe. With a Geoff Jones style rivitalization (like he did with Flash's rogues), WW's baddies might get more notice and respect. Also WW's supporting cast is filled largely with non-mythological characters like the dude Nemesis.

You might be interested in checking out JMS's take on Wonder Woman, where he's wrecked Themyscira and wiped out most of the Amazons. The mastermind has yet to be revealed and might turn out to be Ares or Circe, but so far mythology hasn't played that big of a factor in the series.

 

[Mr Light]

I'm reading JMS' run on WW and hating it

Just last night I read "Who Is Wonder Woman" actually. The art was great, the story was alright, but the villains are lame Cheetah and Giganta are examples of good villains?

 

[issreliant]

So far the DCmovie's have been entertaining, while there have been mis-steps, ie: extended story on doomday, and more adhearence to new frontier, i have enjoyed them all. my top favs are WW, and Under the hood. i would love to see a crisis movie, hopfully with a longer runnig time!