Superman vs. The Elite.

A new DC Animated movie has arrived, bitches! Enjoy the rare occasion I actually review a film any more, even if it is an animated one....

This is based on a story created by DC which was basically bitching about my favourite comic 'The Authority' - so this is a warning if I'm a little biased. I mean I actually do get the argument that superheroes aren't really superheroes any more if their kill count is as big, or if not bigger than the people they are facing and although I'd argue that that isn't completely true especially considering some of the enemies The Authority faced and what they did, I too also do admire heroes who have all this power and are still able to hold back, rather than just taking the easy road even if this is completely impractical. But overall The Authority was praised, the story bitching about The Authority was praised and this film has received a mixed but not exactly horrible critical reception, so I guess no harm done.

SVTE is a critique about the world. About all the horrors that go on in the world and what little justice we ever actually get. And how, if we really did have superheroes, wouldn't it be better for everyone if we stopped the evil for good? They would be the ones to have the power to - rather than now how we have to put them in a nice cushty cell before they come out and repeat offend. And it's funny because despite attempts to make The Elite look like villains due to their violent tendencies and so on, Superman just spends the movie coming across as a naive idiot and hell characters in the movie have more support of the Elites than they do of Superman. And in the end Superman resolves everything by playing it the same way as the Elites. Symbolism? Way to support the main character of your movie, movie... This has to be one of the worst written Superman's I've ever come across.

Manchester Black, our leader of The Elites and parody of Jenny Sparks, leader of the Authority, grew up in poverty stricken England...somewhere. His accent was so awful I couldn't work out where he was from and despite seemingly knowing the difference between England & Britain still wears a Union Jack on his chest, not a George Cross - I guess he could be from Manchester? It's also impossible to place what time he is from, because his back story is full of imagery ranging from about the last 100 years of England's development. But whatever. His Dad is a violent drunk etc etc this is a pretty typical back story, his powers eventually finalise when he saves his sisters life after she almost gets killed by two policemen. Symbolism? It is later implied a good portion of this is made up or details are left out with the implication he murdered people to save his sister and also killed his Dad because...he could. However this is left unexplored, which seems a shame.

The Elite are the 'superheroes for the 21st century' - they don't bother with idealism and instead concentrate on taking down the villain, permanently, whatever the cost may be. And I can't say I really knock their no nonsense way to crime fighting, although I can't really agree with all the innocents they harm in the process. It does make me laugh that The Authority had clear parody elements of both DC and Marvel and then DC made a parody for The Authority which was already a parody of them with the Elites. Does your brain hurt now?

The Elites are nowhere near as awesome as The Authority and the awful voice acting in this movie does nothing to save them. Gotta love those godawful stereotypes. We get a French stereotype, a black stereotype. I actually found the segment of the film set in England nigh unwatchable - I mean on the one hand I suppose I should be glad this movie doesn't think we still live in this alternative history steampunk Victorian period but it was still full of either awful Londenesque accents, 'Well bugger me, tha gits gat sam bawlls! we're ganna blady kick da snot outta you! Innit!' or the well to do English person, 'Well I do say good sir, my God, this was positively awful!'. Just awful. And slightly offensive. And really, Superman says wankers? For shame. That isn't to say for a second that all the voice acting is bad, George Newbern (IE Superman from the Justice League and justice League Unlimited show) and Pauley Perrette do a great job as Superman and Lois Lane respectively.

One of the biggest criticisms of the film has been for its art style...and it doesn't take long to realise why, SVTE is cheaply animated and extremely cartoony and for such a serious storyline, the animation and art style are frankly insulting. I mean the action is still fun in that big epic, superhero sort of way but a lot gets lost in translation when you're trying this hard to make it look like a kids cartoon despite it being a story not for kids. And I really can't stress that enough, despite the goofy child like aesthetic SVTE isn't for kids, it's a story as much about the politics as it is the violence. And when the violence does happen...my God is it violent. It isn't some stupid gorefest like that stupid animated adaptation of The Death of Superman and some of the more brutal stuff does happen off screen, but some of the stuff you do witness on screen, you won't find in your usual Saturday Morning cartoons.

Subpar animation and terrible voice work from most of the main cast never truly, completely, take you away from the story. And Superman vs. The Elite tells an incredible story, it's an incredible timecapsule for post 9/11 America and just generally a post 9/11 world - of hysteria, paranoia and want for action. Often when stories attempt to do these kinds of things with things like superheroes thrown in it all comes across a little silly but SVTE does a great job of telling the story of post 9/11 paranoia in a world where superheroes exist too. It's just a shame that art style doesn't take the story quite as seriously as the writers did.

So do I recommend this? Superman vs. The Elite isn't bad but it isn't quite up to the level of 'it isn't perfect but bloody great at the same time' either. It has a great story to tell and some exciting action to tell it with but its own execution holds it back. The art style undermines the entire tone and feel of the story it's trying to convey and being English and having to follow a character like Manchester Black is just painful. Also the story seems really confused with what kind of message it's trying to convey, I think we're supposed to root for Superman but the movie makes him look less than the hero we know him as. I still recommend this but I also still feel that with a story this good, it deserved a better movie...or at least one that better understood and appreciated the story it was trying to convey. 

Think About It!

-Locke