"All Star Superman", the Movie -- Spoiler Free

I hadn't planned on watching this today (I usually rent before buying a movie unseen), but the tragic death of Dwayne McDuffie moved me to see All-Star Superman, for which he wrote the screenplay. I've read the miniseries, and consider it the best Superman story I've read in my lifetime. So...how did the movie compare?

Quite well, actually. This is one of the best DC animated films I've seen.

McDuffie is a fine comics writer in his own right, and did excellent work on Justice League Unlimited, and here, for the most part, his adaptation of Grant Morrison's script does not disappoint. I say "for the most part" because, even though I understand the neccessity of it, huge portions of the story were cut. Some I can understand (the ending of one particular chapter would have been way too meta for the average viewer), but two of the best parts of the series were left out. Despite all that, McDuffie succeeds in keeping the story flowing. What was used from the original source flowed very well from one part to the next.

The voice casting for the film was also well done. Christina Hendricks did a believable Lois Lane, and James Denton's subtly different reads for Superman and Clark Kent were good. Not the best, but not bad. I didn't have a problem with any of the actors cast, except for Alexis Denisof as Dr. Leo Quintum. Not that it was bad; it's only that the Leo Quintum voice I "cast" while reading the comic was British. I think it was that technicolor waistcoast that reminded of another Doctor.

Even with the cuts made to the story, All Star Superman turns out to be a very enjoyable film.

I bought and watched All-Star Superman over the weekend. First, I found it shelved in the “action/adventure” section rather than the “children” section, so that’s something. Second, I found it to be a most excellent adaptation of a work from another medium (in much the same way The Watchmen movie was an good adaptation of the comic book). Comic books translated to the big or small screen are almost never as good as their source material (and vice versa), but the animated feature did a good job of translating the basic overall plot into a cartoon movie.

If the movie didn’t inspire me to re-read the Grant Morrison/Frank Quitely comic book series (which it did), the “Superman Now” interview footage of Morrison and Dan Didio did. Morrison reveals himself to be a very deep thinker, whereas I thought he was just plain weird. Seriously, after watching “Superman Now” I realize that, having read All-Star Superman only once in monthly installments, I missed a lot of the underlying theme and structure. All-Star Superman is a good cartoon based on a brilliant comic book.

Replies

Jeff of Earth-J February 28, 2011 at 8:32am

I bought and watched All-Star Superman over the weekend. First, I found it shelved in the “action/adventure” section rather than the “children” section, so that’s something. Second, I found it to be a most excellent adaptation of a work from another medium (in much the same way The Watchmen movie was an good adaptation of the comic book). Comic books translated to the big or small screen are almost never as good as their source material (and vice versa), but the animated feature did a good job of translating the basic overall plot into a cartoon movie.

If the movie didn’t inspire me to re-read the Grant Morrison/Frank Quitely comic book series (which it did), the “Superman Now” interview footage of Morrison and Dan Didio did. Morrison reveals himself to be a very deep thinker, whereas I thought he was just plain weird. Seriously, after watching “Superman Now” I realize that, having read All-Star Superman only once in monthly installments, I missed a lot of the underlying theme and structure. All-Star Superman is a good cartoon based on a brilliant comic book.
Don Collett February 28, 2011 at 12:39pm

I haven't watched "Superman Now" yet. I'll have to do that.
Jeff of Earth-J March 1, 2011 at 7:52am

Let me know what you thought of it after you do.

This reply was deleted.