The Age of Commercialism

Instant Favorite.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Blistering performances.

Essentially, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is just a vehicle to get Superman and Batman to fight a variety of other different DC characters. The plot is very stretched out, even at 75 minutes. However, even though it's not that good, seeing Batman and Superman fighting together still appealed to the little kid in me.

In preparation for the upcoming Batman V Superman film, I've decided to revisit a few of each of the heroes' feature films, especially those where they come in direct conflict with one another.2016 is a big year for comic-book films. Batman and Superman are obviously squaring off very soon, but so is Captain America and Iron Man in Civil War. For all intents and purposes, 'Public Enemies' is DC's version of that comic book storyline. We begin as Lex Luthor takes over as president, using tactics similar to a presidential candidate running for office this year, which gives this film an interesting significance among films of this genre. The film is very much formulated like every other superhero movie, but I liked seeing parallels and a few valid points about society as a whole today. For the most part, it's just one punch after another, but for the avid superhero fan, that's enough.Batman and Superman are close friends here and for once, on the same side of the coin. After a framed murder from Lex on Supes, him and Batman become public enemies among the entire country. This even includes other members of the Justice League who were dumb enough to think Lex was a serious presidential candidate. Throughout the film you get appearances from famous villains like Solomon Grundy or Mongo and heroes like Hawkman and Shazam, all there to take in Batman and Superman. The film loses its political and moral focus a bit as it slips into an action extravaganza with all these heroes and villains, but eventually it gets back on track.The best part about the film is once again the dynamic between Batman and Superman. Conroy and Daly once again voice the two heroes as they take on a friendly bond this time around. Heck even Christopher Drake does the score. If you're a superhero fan, it's hard not to believe you would enjoy watching this film, but it's nowhere near the cerebral masterpiece that The Dark Knight Returns or some of the other animated films are. At the very least, the film is a smart commentary on corruption and misrepresentation in the media, which is something you barely see in a superhero flick.+Voice talent, enough said+Cool appearances from heroes and villains+Christopher Drake+Commentary on our society-Fight scenes take over the fascinating elements of the story sometimes8.2/10

I always have to watch anything with the same TV voices of Batman and Superman."Was it interesting?" The beginning was a little too obvious social commentary. The last act seemed out of place for the rest of the film 1.5 out of 3 "Was it memorable?" The most annoying part was the artwork. That style mixed with the memorable voices just seemed to clash for me.1 out of 3 "Was it entertaining?" For a comic book movie, there is not too much to complain about the action. For just over an hour, this seemed a bit too long though.1.5 out of 3 Starting with 1 (because the people demanded), 1 + 1.5 + 1 + 1.5 = 5 A rather "meh" animated action movie for me. Some of the patriotism from a few of the characters seemed really far fetched.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies - Lex Luthor becomes president because the DC world inevitably tips the scales in favor of Lex Luthor for some reason. Superheroes become outlaws, and a meteor of kryptonite is going hit Earth. This is based on a comic series written by Jeph Loeb.One aspect of this story did not need to happen, and it's the meteor. By now, everyone must be rolling their eyes at the lack of rarity of kryptonite. Approximitely all of Krypton must have exploded onto Earth at this point. And there are other types of krytonite. Surely one of those could have brought a fresher element to the story, like say, Red Kryptonite? Batman and, more importantly, Superman being public outcasts (Batman has always been on the in and out with public opinion) is a far more interesting story. It the story this movie claimed to have been about, but decided it couldn't follow through on. Instead we get 5 minutes of plot and 55 of action. Intermittently there are spots of overly friendly dialogue between Batman and Superman (when the hell did that happen?) and fairly stark wooden dialogue from anybody else. Luthor's super-enforcers and Luthor's scene with Power Girl stand out best in my mind.The animation is decent, but why oh why is everyone so overly muscled? Did necks go out of style? Genitalia must have too for Captain Atom because that looks like a skin tight suit. Power Girl is kind of a joke too, albeit decent eye candy.Just to be clear, where did the rest of the Justice League go? And since when did Supes and Batman become an item (Batman doesn't like to be held? Awww. Intimacy issues)? Because the two men should be completely different and less trustworthy of each other to my knowledge, like when Batman kept a log on how to defeat every other member of the Justice League in case they turned rogue. It's a relationship the audience is to accept with no explanation, or lead into. There is a niceness to the differences in their combat styles. Batman's inventiveness, gadgetry and martial arts expertise are nicely demonstrated as he puts down superpowered foes. I also like Superman's ability to whip up tornadoes and flying of foes into levels of the atmosphere where they can't breath.Frankly though, a little goes a long way. While action is expected over story in a 65 minute cartoon, it's too much muscle and no meat and bones. There is almost no drama, tension or story. It's a slugfest, worthy of a generic video game. While other films like Justice League: The New Frontier, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, and Batman: Under the Red Hood had drama, themes and issues to explore, this film does not. Superman never loses faith in humanity or doubts whether or not he is in the right. Lex Luthor is simply evil and cannot be trusted, which WE KNEW. It would have been better if some other politician had come around to demand a ban of the superheroes. Marvel's Civil War this isn't. The less I say about the end the better. It involves a giant robot/rocket, an irritating Japanese boy out of left field, and Lex Luthor losing whatever menace he ever possessed.It's a shame and a lost potential. Kevin Conroy and Tim Daly should not be whored out like this for subpar animated films like this. And what the hell was with bringing John C. McGinley into the mix as Metallo and only giving him two lines?