What happens when two people happen to want to do the same thing here on Broken Infinite? WE COLLABORATE!!! So, Me and Caleb have our separate views lined up with a discussion to follow.
Mike's Review: Superman Vs. The Elite asks some pretty intriguing questions to Superman. Is he the hero that today needs? Or wants? Are any of his values still resonate with modern society? These are great questions and they are fairly well answered in the film whilst leaving enough room for discussion for the viewer. The voice work, as been the case with most of DC's DTV movies, is solid stuff all around. Everyone sounds great and in character. The action is fast and snappy but not the main focus as has been the case in other DC movies. Plenty of time is spent on presenting this ideological conflict towards Superman. Bottom Line: Another fine addition to DC's film series. I'd dare say it is to Superman what the Red Hood movie was for Batman.
Caleb's Rewiew:
Before Justice League: Doom, I was ready to throw the DCUA team under the bus. Each of their films were direct adaptations with nothing really new to add to the work. After Justice League: Doom, I was so happy to be singing the praises of DCUA again, something I hadn't really done since New Frontier, and even that wasn't quite to the level of the praises I sung for Doom. Superman vs The Elite continues this trend, even if it takes the smallest of steps back towards the end of the movie. I think my ability to like this film is attached pretty prominently to my own philosophies and ideaologies, which may or may not be the case for all people. I think if you can let go some of those, or at least look past them, you'll find a very enjoyable film that's at the quality these DCUA films have been at animation and sound wise, but also at a story telling point too.
Now, advance warning, while our reviews above don't delve into spoilers, our discussion does. You have been warned.
Caleb: So, what did you think of the movie to start off with?
Michael Flinn: I thought it was pretty good. I'm coming from a position of not having read the source material so I can only judge the film on itself. I thought that it asked some interesting questions to Superman and while I did find his final response a little out of character at first, the end result was satisfying. Also, Black Manchester was the only one of The Elite of interest. The rest felt poorly done and just there as things for Superman to punch.
Caleb: Fair warning though, I must say that What's So Funny is my least favourite Superman comic ever. Superman vs The Elite, I actually really liked on the otherhand. That is, up until the final showdown.
I think the Final Showdown still acts out of character to such a horrific degree to make the entire point Superman was making just as much against to him as it was to the Elite too. We don't like seeing our Police Officers kill people, but we're also not fans of excessive force. Superman, most definitely, gave excessive force. What's worse, is that the film almost seemed to be leading up to no showdown. I was wholey expecting them to not have that ending and to have Superman solve the problem with words.
Michael Flinn: One thing I did like is that they really nailed how scary Superman could be if he ever decided to really lose hope.
Caleb: Yeah, but I think that concept is done much better in the pages of Irredeemable, where the Superman like Plutonian becomes, as the title suggest, irredeemable. I think Superman's action is kind of right on thet redeemability line. Would have been much better if he had just asked: "Where does it end? You're willing to kill a murderer, government officials who you see as indirect murderers, and now you're willing to kill any hero who stands in your way? What will become of the regular people who stand in your way? What will become of the children who steal so that they don't starve?" And like it was as if asking them "Why don't you just put the whole world in a bottle?" Manchester would breakdown entirely.
Michael Flinn: Still, you'd have people pissed because it wasn't "faithful" to the original story.
Caleb: And those people could cry to their mama's. They're not even a 10th of the amount of people who buy the DVD.
Michael Flinn: None the less
Caleb: But what I liked about the film more than the comic, was that up until then, it wasn't anything like the comic. It had the ideas in there, but instead of a Holier Than Thou Superman, we had an honest and sincere Superman. A Superman I didn't think lorded over his superiority to mankind and had to act like our babysitter, our big brother, feeling we NEED protecting like he's Mister Majestic, but a Superman that seemed like he just wanted to be able to do the right thing, to help people, to stop threats no one else could, and to be a hero the world to look up to and be inspired by.
Michael Flinn: Yeah. I saw that too. It contrasts well with The Elite, who are representative of 70's hyper violence or, in the movie's case, 90's anti-heroes
Caleb: Not only that, but I felt for them too. Mostly for Manchester Black. But still, by extension, the entire team. They seemed like very well meaning people who felt that their action was the right one, and had power to back that up. But they were still misguided. In the end, I wanted to see Manchester actually learn something. I wanted to see them become honest to goodness heroes who tried to attone for their sins.
Michael Flinn: That would've been a pretty cool ending
Caleb: There's a line in the comic that says that he didn't actually lobotomize him, and that he just did a psy pulse. Makes no sense, but it makes it okay for what happened. The movie lets you think Superman actually lobotomized him. As much as I can see him needing to do that, I still think it's wrong to do it.
So the final verdict is that Superman Vs The Elite is a pretty solid film overall that actually makes the viewer think a little bit. Go and check it out.
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