Lauren Montgomery's "Superman/Batman: Apocalypse"

Deviss wrote:"I can pound. I'm a good pounder."

• Story: Four and a half Stars
  
• Acting: Four and a half Stars
  
• Directing: Four and a half Stars
  
• Visuals: Five Stars
  
• Overall: Five Stars

When I sat down to watch "Batman: Under the Red Hood" last year, I had no idea I would become as interested in animated superhero movies as I am today. I don't watch every single animated superhero movie that comes out, of course. I'm rather selective with what I watch, especially when it comes to animated movies. Some took the encouraging words of friends to get me interested in them, while others were simply a "must-see" because of who was voicing certain characters. Then there were the ever so rare animated movies that drew me in solely because of how fun it looked, what characters would be used, and what type of story would be told. That is the case for "Superman/Batman: Apocalypse".

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Taking place after the events of Batman/Superman: Public Enemies, President Luthor has been impeached and the giant Kryptonite meteor that threatened the Earth has been taken care of. One night in Gotham, Batman discovers a teen-aged girl with super powers and a strange connection to Superman. Soon after her unexpected arrival however, the young girl attracts the attention of Darkseid, events take a decidedly perilous turn.

So, I feel like I should confess my unfamiliarity with the character of Supergirl aka Kara Zor-El. She unfortunately falls into the same category as most of the other DC super heroes, aside from Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and some others. I knew of the character and I knew a little concerning her back-story. Thankfully I have some friends who are much more versed in the comic book field than I am, and it was they who pointed me in the direction of this movie. Actually, it wasn't even the main plot of "Superman/Batman: Apocalypse" that initially drew my interest, it was a brief clip a friend had posted on Facebook showing the confrontation between Batman and Darkseid on the planet Apokolips. Even though it was only a few minutes, the clip itself was so good it made me want to see the full context of what had led up to that moment and what happened afterwards.

For what it's worth, even though I knew precious little of the character beforehand, I have to hand it to Summer Glau for her performance as Kara. While she was humorous more often than not, Glau did a good job during the more serious moments, namely the interactions between Kara, Superman, and Darkseid on Apokolips. It would have been nice to see some more elaboration on what took place between two characters before that sequence happened, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. Andre Braugher was pitch perfect as the ruler of Apokolips, bringing just the right amount of menace and condescension to the character. But then again, I haven't seen the character in much more, so I really don't have anything else to compare Braugher's performance to. He was enjoyable and he did the character right, that's all that really matters.

As for the rest of the voice cast, Kevin Conroy as Batman, Tim Daly as Superman, and Susan Eisenberg as Wonder Woman were all entertaining in their respective performances, as did the supporting cast. In terms of the character of Batman and those who voice him, Conroy is second to none as far as I am concerned. With Peter Weller, who delivered a great performance as an aging Batman in "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns", coming in second. The clip I mentioned earlier, of Batman confronting Darkseid, which was where Conroy truly shined as the caped crusader. The scene itself depicts Batman being able to cow the ruler of Apokolips using a method that would have surely failed were any other character to use it. It was the initial incentive for me to watch this movie, and it did not disappoint once I viewed it in context.

The animation style was one that was easily enjoyable. Every character was depicted in a realistic way, with no one looking out of proportion to the point of ridiculousness. I also found the fight scenes to be satisfying, with one in particular managing to get me invested in a character that I knew absolutely nothing about before watching this movie. Every blow sounded real and when it came to the climactic fight, the sound design had me wincing before it was over. And that scene itself, I can easily say that it caught me by surprise. I hadn't checked the timer since the movie started, so by the opening moments of that fight, I'd thought the movie done and over. Thankfully I was proven wrong, as we see just how powerful some characters are and how far they are willing to go in the protection of those they care about.

All in all, this was a fun animated superhero movie and should I ever find myself bored on a random afternoon, I'll definitely watch this again. If only for Glau's humor as Kara Zor-El.

This was a review by tMG, thank you for the read.