Superman vs. The Elite

It was as good as I remembered.

This is the question asked by this new movie from DC Comics and Warner Premiere: "Superman vs The Elite". Based on the comics' story, "What's So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way" by writer Joe Kelly (2001), the relevance (or lack of) Superman is examined in the light of modern day America, times and thinking--not 1938's. Do Superman and his moral values still count for anything in today's day and age? How about in the comic book world? Especially in light of more modern, grittier characters such as Wolverine and The Punisher. *Spoilers Ahead* The movie starts out with the "Superman status quo." He's the hero, maybe can sometimes come off as a bit cheesy...especially with a new Superman public service cartoon (a not so subtle dig at the old "Superfriends" series) he's promoting...but nevertheless, he's still America's number one hero. And, kids and adults alike love him. Things quickly change. From across the pond, a quartet of new superheroes show up in Metropolis: These British "Heroes" call themselves The Elite. Led by Manchester Black (trenchcoat, union jack tee, ever-present cigarette in the corner of his mouth--yeah, he *does* look pretty damn cool) these MI-5 special agents make use of psychokinetic, as well as superhuman strength, in quickly going about Superman's business of "protecting" the world...in a darker, grittier way. The Elite do not care about collateral damage--just getting the job done. Yes, this means killing the bad guys, too. As you may expect, The Elite are an overnight sensation (with a great backstory I won't give away here). People quickly drop Superman and cheer for them. They're cool, hip, and get the job done "right" the first time...permanently. Why waste time "capturing and recapturing the same bad guy over and over? We get the job done the first time?" What's worse, Superman isn't a match for them. At first, The Man of Steel tries to play nice and get them to see his side of things ("having morals is *always* relevant), but when this route doesn't work, Superman's powers don't, either. Manchester Black, psycho-kinetically, is Superman's match...and he's got a team to back him up. Protect Metropolis? They're going to "protect" the world; even going as far--despite Superman's pleading with them to stop--as to get involved in wars overseas. All of this sets the stage for a final showdown in Metropolis, with the whole world watching via satellite relays . Before the battle begins, Superman has one request: Let's take it outside. "I don't want spectators getting hurt." The Elite agree and warp all of them into space--bringing the satellite relays with them so everyone on earth can still watch. Superman is in over is head...he has virtually no offense at all in this four-on-one fight, and, with blood coming out of every visible orifice, he gets crushed into atoms. Remember the old saying, "You don't step on Superman's cape?" The world is in shock and disbelief. But then, out of the blue (sorry) a whirlwind forms. You hear Superman's voice emanating from within it thanking the Elite for showing him the "error of his ways." He then proceeds to QUICKLY kill all of The Elite except for Manchester Black--who flees back to Metropolis and surrounds himself with a psychokinetic force field. It doesn't do him any good. On literally a world stage, Superman attacks with a vengeance. Without giving thought to person or property, Superman rampages through Metropolis, quickly smashes through Manchester's force field...and to the horror of literally *everyone* on earth, he prepares to deliver the final blow. He doesn't deliver it. Turns out, to the relief of everybody, Superman didn't kill anyone (shame on you for thinking he had). With help from a few "friends", all of the spectators *and* all of the members of The Elite are alive and well. It also turns out that The Elite were never a match for Superman. He took a few "beatings" while analyzing their respective strengths and weaknesses...and came up with quite a clever plan for defeating them (watch the movie!). Finally, is Superman relevant? This movies answers the question with a resounding YES! Superman will always be relevant: whether it's today, or way back in 1938 (a very gritty time in its own right), or even 2138. I encourage you to give this movie a try--it is the best animated feature to come from DC with only one exception: "Batman: Under the Red Hood". Five Stars. DVD NOTES The voice cast is exceptional. George Newbern and "NCIS's" Pauley Perrette are spot-on with their portrayals of Superman and Lois Lane; I hope they will continue to voice the characters in future Superman releases. Robin Aktin Downes all but steals the show with his portrayal of Manchester Black. I hope we will see him again, reprising this character. Also look for "Metal Gear Solid's" Paul Eiding, and "Uncharted's" Nathan Drake himself, Nolan North. Written by Joe Kelly. Directed by Michael Chang. My disc also includes a "sneak peak" at DC's next upcoming animated feature: "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Part 1", and a photo gallery from the wildly anticipated "Dark Knight Rises". From the dvd case: WIDESCREEN VERSION PRESENTED IN A "MATTED" WIDESCREEN FORMAT PRESERVING THE ASPECT RATIO OF ITS ORIGINAL TELEVISION EXHIBITION. ENHANCED FOR WIDESCREEN TVS. Rated PG-13 for action violence and some language; 74 minutes. "Superman vs The Elite"

I loved Superman vs the Elite. It has all of my Superman essentials, and none of my deal breakers. My favorite parts were the scenes with Lois and Clark/Superman. This movie shows their relationship in its perfect form. No hero worshiping Lois, no Clark with an unrequited crush and no hot/cold Superman, these are just two people very much in love without any over the top sugary sweet sappiness or complications of a 2.5 sided triangle. It shows Lois being herself, a three-dimensional character with all the beauty and grace of a rose without losing any of the thorns. She will poke, pinch and bite with every word out of her mouth, but Clark can see right through that and even smiles at her all too real threats. We also see that Clark doesn't pull any punches either, at least where their professional lives are concerned. For Instance... Lois: "It's a given I'm getting the scoop on these newbies, right?" Clark: "Not unless you can type 5,000 words a minute." Lois: "Don't make me unleash my feminine whiles on you, Clark Kent." Clark: "Too Late." [Hitting send button] Lois: "For someone who plays fair, you can really suck sometimes." ...[Perry talking to Clark about the story story.] Perry: "Clark, you've got the point on this story" ... "take Lane if she's still talking to you." Lois: [to Clark]"Hope you like cold showers, Smallville." This entire scene is delivered tongue-in-cheek, and exploding with subtext. This dialogue really brings out the characters love for each and makes the scenes where Clark is confiding in her about his relevance in this modern world just that much more poignant. But even after Lois admits there are times when she personally wants the bad guys dead, she never varies in her support of her hero, even attempting to sway the crowd chanting for the death of The Atomic Skull, shouting "Stop! Listen to Superman!" As to the animation, while being totally forgettable, it also doesn't detract from story. Once I was three minutes in I was completely immersed and wasn't even thinking about the animation. At this point I must point out my ignorance of pieces of the Superman story. I have only caught hit and miss of the books since the wedding arch, including not having read #775. (Insert excuses citing, real life, career and two small children.) Therefore, if there is any backstory of the Atomic Skull other than what little is mentioned in the movie, I don't know it. This being said, I wanted to say I was taken aback when Supes uses his cape to cover the body of the Atomic Skull. If there was some back story where they were friends at one point this makes more sense, but in the context of the movie, this makes Superman look like he is honoring a fallen hero and is too off-putting for me. I agree with Superman giving the corpse of Atomic Skull dignified treatment, but not an honored one. Get a body bag from the city morgue, give him an impromptu pyre or even use a clean white sheet, don't use a flag and definitely not the cape. All in all, this is still my favorite animated Superman film to date. There were plenty of moments that kept me guessing. I loved Supes freeze and smash of the mech-bio-weapon bugs once he learned they were not alive. I loved the moment when Supes `goes bad' and started taking the Elite out. But in all honesty, I still hadn't bought `bad' Superman even with the "Is that Superman?", "Not Anymore," reaction from the public. It wasn't until the moment he let the car hit Lois that I thought for second, "OMG! NO!" It was at that moment that the realization of what an out of control, angry Superman actually would mean. And to be frank, it scared me. Thank you, Warner Brothers, DC Entertainment and Joe Kelly, for keeping Superman relevant in the age of modern warfare and terrorists. And thank you Jerry and Joe for giving life to the character in the first place. But most of all thank you, Superman, for being the beacon we will always need and for never failing to believe in us. ___ Stephanie Hicks

This movie has some inferior animation, but it is well characterized and feels like a full-length 1:30:00 movie, instead of about 1:10; which just proves that a well-constructed plot, with supporting cinematography, and near-perfect pacing, that a short movie can seem like a long experience. This movie is mostly philosophical, and just asserts and affirms Superman's stance on Justice. This movie was excellent, that is up until the last 5 minutes or so. Without spoilers, and especially the very ending, fell apart due to clichés, McGuffins, and other "feel-good" editing tricks, but far-be-it from abnormal for the genre according to their target markets: children. I grew to love Superman as a hero, this mostly due to his humanity and love for all life, but this just shows and proves, yet again, that Superman is not as intelligent as his functionality. I mean, if Anything whatsoever, just build a better prison, and maybe even one on another planet where escape is (nearly) impossible, instead of just putting these superweapons behind some concrete and calling it a day. Utter nonsense.

Podría aver sido un nuevo hit, para esta casa, me quedo con las anteriores, esta peca de prudente, y se queda corta, este Superman es demasiado...Buff,,, miarla y me lo acabais de decir....

Ce direct-to-video est à la base, une adaptation très libre d'un comics de la Justice League, où notre bon vieux groupe de héros se confronte à une nouvelle bande de "justiciers" nommée l'Elite aux méthodes violentes. La principale source d'inspiration de ce groupe est en fait The Authority (crée notamment par le grand Warren Ellis), qui nous présentait une vision crue et moderne de super-humains aux méthodes parfois limites rendant justice de manière radicale dans un monde dépassé par les évènements (super-terrorisme, conflits militaires, invasion de toutes sortes...) En confrontant cette équipe à Superman, les auteurs ne se contentent pas d'opposer 2 visions de la justice, mais confrontent le style des comics old-school (avec un Superman naif, trop gentil voire "ringard) au style "moderne" post "Watchmen/Dark Knight" avec des persos fashion, cyniques/cools, tuant pour un oui ou un non et pour qui la fin justifie les moyens. Si personnellement, j'aurai préféré un traitement graphique plus sombre et réaliste , ce film s'en sort très bien en abordant des thématiques intéressantes tout en divertissant les spectateurs par un bon rythme et des scènes d'actions réussies. Il nous rappelle aussi pourquoi, malgré ses 75 ans et sa naïveté, Superman est et restera une icône non seulement du comics mais de la pop-culture en général. Ça reste grand public (dans le bons sens du terme) mais c'est pour moi l'un des DC animated movie les plus réussis avec batman under the red hood Batman et Red Hood : Sous le masque rouge Une réussite donc, surtout quand on voit la tête de certaines adaptations ciné à gros budget...

Superman est une icône, connu dans le monde entier. Mais on lui attribue bien trop souvent cette image simpliste de boy scout, qui lui colle à la peau et qui fait qu'aux yeux de beaucoup de monde, il apparaît moins intéressant à suivre que les autres personnages phares de DC comics comme Batman ou Wonder Woman. C'est pour cela que ce film d'animation est très intéressant, car en plus d'offrir un très bon spectacle aux fans de l'homme en bleu, il dresse aussi une réflexion très habile, à travers l'histoire, sur le monde qui nous entoure. En effet, dans Superman vs the elite, on voit ici un nouveau groupe de super-héros gagner la confiance du public car ses membres ne rechignent pas à tuer leurs ennemis. Chose que Superman se refuse à tout prix, ses motivations y sont très bien représenté, ainsi que la dérive choisie par l'équipe. Un des meilleurs films DC, avec Superman à son meilleur. En ce qui concerne le Blu Ray, il est excellent, cet import américain et non anglais comme le précise Amazon, est en région free, il fonctionne parfaitement sur toutes les platines blu ray françaises, l'image est superbe, le son est très clair. Au niveau audio, c'est la vraie version française qui est présentée ici, pas de version québécoise, il y a également des sous titres français pour ceux qui préfèrent le voir en VOST.

OH WHY ARN'T THE RECENT LOVE ACTION SUPES FILMS AS GOOD AS THIS ?

Très bon moyen metrage d'animation sur superman. De plus les sous titres français sont bien disponibles sur cet import. Rien à redire