Superman: Brainiac Attacks

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source: Superman: Brainiac Attacks

(Spoilers) For over ten years now, the DCAU has provided us with the most quality superhero entertainment outside of a comic book. Fans who haven't been reading about these iconic heroes for years can easily dive right into the shows and not be lost, yet the shows still maintain a constant continuity throughout any adaptation. From Batman: TAS, Superman: TAS, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited, we have been allowed to follow these heroes throughout adventures that not only grow more exciting year after year, but we have witnessed relationships that have had time to grow year after year. I believe that this movie is a major disappointment in the Superman AU. Nothing was resolved, no characters were changed, and the environment our characters live in is found to be identical to when we came in. This movie was billed as a final confrontion for Superman and Brainiac and the final revelation concerning Superman's secret identity. I grew excited when I learned Superman would reveal his identity, after all, I believe the show is the only medium where he hadn't yet. And, once he did reveal it, I felt a sense of relief. I was glad she knew. Then, when it was revealed he had only expressed his identity to a phantom lois, I was disappointed. Since when has the phantom zone been a place where your greatest desire comes true? That's Mongul's area! Also, Superman already went to the Phantom Zone before, during TAS, and he should've known what to expect. Then Superman apparently changes his mind about revealing his identity for no apparent reason. I found this whole thing to be out of whack with characters, plots, and continuity. I would like to say thank you for getting my hopes up and giving me rubbish. I imagine this movie was made in haste to cash in on the new Superman movie. Don't waste any money on this.

This animated film is a prime example of sometimes having to take the bad with the good. First the bad. It was really weird hearing someone else voice Luthor and Brainiac, especially when their styles are radically different from Clancy Brown and Corey Burton, respectfully. Also, it would have been nice if the producers would have made an effort to fit this into the continuity that Bruce Timm and his company created, especially since they made an effort to enlist Curt Geda, one of "Superman: The Animated Series" best directors. Now the good. I loved the animation, which for the most part was a notch or two above what was presented for S:TAS. Also, after a six year absence, it was a delight to have Tim Daly back as the voice of Superman and Clark Kent. Overall, there is a lot to be dismissive about here, but there is a lot more here to enjoy as well.

This is a prime example of how little regard Marketing Execs have for the audience of their product. Instead of hiring Bruce Timm, or even one of the many excellent producers who worked under him on Batman, Superman, Batman Beyond, Justice League, or Teen Titans, (just like they did with the horrible Batman Mystery of the Batwoman) Warner Home Video hired new people unfamiliar with the show to make a direct to video movie. Bruce Timm and his team are just brilliant. Every time Warners (in one division or another) asked them to do something, they looked at it not as just a paycheck, but as an opportunity to make something great. They created the best versions of every character they touched in any audio/visual medium. They weaved complex characters with developing character arches over multiple episodes, seasons, series. But Instead, Warner Home Video decided to hire a couple of also-rans who had no love for the series they were creating an OVA for. First, they recast all of the villains. Lex Luthor, his body guard Mercy, and the Unstoppable, Self Replicating Brainiac. Then they discarded all previous character development. Lex still owns a large portion of Metropolis, but suddenly his evil schemes are paper thin, he's wall to wall jokes and wisecracks, and he has lost his composure. Lois Lane has traded in her might and equality to return to her vapid damsel roots of the very earliest Superman incarnations. Brainiac has stopped being Superman's most dangerous enemy, and instead is just a Giant Robot. Mercy was out of character. Perry White was out of Character. And Superman was not any Superman I could recognize. Causing Damage in Metropolis, instead of trying to take the fight out of the city. Whiney and Lovelorn. Here's the thing, if you are going to make such horribly drastic changes to the characters, they should have redesigned the characters based on the Superman Returns character looks , and got the cast of the movie to do the voices. Then you have the movie tie in, and the cast as a selling point, instead of a detraction. The same horrible script would have been just fine that way. By using the Bruce Timm character designs, and half the cast, they created an expectation this OVA could not achieve. I love DC Comics and buy every DVD that has characters from their comics, but now having been burned twice by Mystery of the Batwoman and Brainiac Attacks, I might have to start reading reviews first.

This addition to the Superman / Justice League body of work is a real letdown - the story is okay - and, of course, the entire Superman revealing his identity Lois subplot is enjoyable - But Powers Booth as Lex Luthor and Lance Hendrickson as Brainiac ruined this for me. Booth's portrayal of Luthor is a 180 degree departure from Clancy Brown's smart and sinister version of Luthor. I'm sorry - he comes across as a third rate pun-slinging evil car salesman - Lance Hendrickson put far too much emotion into the Brainiac role. Why couldn't Warner Brothers secure the original actor who portrayed Brainiac for the entire series? Just warning you - listening to Luthor's dialog will make you wretch - blech!

They get the majority of the voices (oddly enough not Clancy Brown despite his commitment to Justice League) from the Superman cartoon to return, but the writing is weak. It didn't follow any of the cues or tone set by the animated series, instead the writer(s) ended up making this feel more like Superman of the George Reeve's era (plenty of "Gee Ms. Lane." moments and other trite dialog) and there was never a sense that anyone was in real danger. Unlike the show where they have killed off characters during major events. Superman: Brainiac Attacks is a pretty weak showing and seems to be an attempt at cashing in on the imminent release of Superman Returns. Unless you're absolutely a Superman fan or are over the age of 12, you could let this easily pass up.

I already miss the Justice League. Is this normal? Brainiac with a smile, Lex Luthor Making Seinfeld type banter...this is not the usual great work I expect from WB Animation. On the upside it was nice seeing the character of Clark Kent open up a vulnerable state with the semi uncovering of his identity by Brainiac. There are a few nice twists inside the story but not enough to save it But I would have preferred a different direct to DVD Movie, perhaps the Story of Warhawk or another Batman Beyond movie with Terry a bit older, however this project seemed like a late night term paper turned in at the last moment. IT is there but It could be way better. Another faux pas, is the casting of alternate voice talent for Superman, Lex, and Brainiac. As Much as I have enjoyed the JLU Staff work in the past, this really lacks the quality work of the Warner Bros Animated Features to date, even Mystery of the Batwoman had a much better story, music, and overall feel to it. This very much is a cartoon for children, not for true fans of DC comics and WB animated work.

Q: What do you get when you take the animation style and (some) voice actors of--and characters unique to--Bruce Timm's "Superman: The Animated Series," and tack them onto characterizations and continuity from the over-twenty-five-year-old Richard Donner "Superman" movie? A: An unbelievably awful film; confused and angry fans. I'm not sure why Bryan Singer wanted to continue from the first two "Superman" movies of the late '70s: they aren't nearly as great as one's memory may deceive one into thinking. But I DO know why "Brainiac Attacks" was squeezed out: for no other reason than to make a quick buck off the buzz around Singer's upcoming film. It shows in every frame of animation and every line of dialog. Unconnected to Timm's prior series ("Superman: TAS," "Justice League," and so on)--in spite of the characters and designs drawn directly from them--"Brainiac Attacks" instead feeds us the campy junk that littered Christopher Reeve's movies: the clownish Lex Luthor, assorted foolishness (like Lois Lane wearing her regular clothes under her hospital robe), magic kisses, magic talking crystals, and a Phantom Zone that is unusually easy to break into and out of (for an "inescapable prison"). Worst of these is Lex Luthor; after seeing Clancy Brown turn Lex back into a genuine supervillain (even in the worst moments of the subpar "Justice League Unlimited," Lex was pretty scary), Powers Boothe comes along to play him up as a continuation of Gene Hackman's foolish nerd, whose greatest danger is his thoughtless abuse of the big toys at his command. The plotting--I'm using that word loosely--is excremental. By the time we hit the halfway mark, it's an overextended series of punch-fights, interrupted by overextended scenes of a dying Lois Lane imitating Ali McGraw in "Love Story" meeting Christopher Reeve in "Superman IV," and yet another overextended bit of Jimmy Olsen channeling Ron Stoppable (which, in the end, adds absolutely nothing to the story or anyone's character). What we have here is a one- (possibly two-) episode story dragged out to "movie" length for the sake of DVD sales. The Kryptonite poisoning that Lois Lane is suffering from looks painful--but it couldn't possibly hurt her worse than watching "Brainiac Attacks."

I've been away from the board for a while so bear with me. I was never really a superman fan but I saw the movie two nights ago and I new who superman was and stuff and I thought it was a fairly well done movie. I really liked to part where clerk and Lois are at the resteraunt and when she "findes out" that Clark is superman The quotes are to establish the question, you'll have 2 see the movie to find out what I meant. I grew up watching Batman mostly but superman is starting to grow on me.