Batman/Superman Movie, The (DVD)

*Waiter! There's a "Bat" in my "Supe"!"The Batman-Superman Movie" is actually a 3-part episode from the Superman animated television series.The episode's title, "World's Finest," comes from the DC Comics publication of the same name, which was a comic book series which regularly teamed-up DC's flagship characters -- Metropolis' "Man of Tomorrow" and Gotham City's "Dark Knight Detective."However, unlike the comic book version of "World's Finest," where DC's two top dogs were all chummy buddy-buddies, this animated feature more closely reflects the relationship they were reassigned with as part of DC's "post-Crisis" reconstruction ("FanBoys" of the genre know of what I speak). Here we have a Batman and Superman as polar opposites: Wayne/Batman perceives his space orphan counterpart as too much of a strictly by-the-numbers rulebook-following Boy Scout; Kent/Superman disapproves of the cowled outsider's heavy-handed vigilante tactics. Yet, they are more or less forced to set their disagreements with each other aside and form an uneasy temporary "partnership" when the Bat reveals that his arch-nemisis, The Joker, has arrived in Metropolis to form something of an alliance of his own with Superman's #1 foe, Lex Luthor.The Joker is hurting for cash, and is not having very good results filling his coffers via the usual illegally acquired means, so he breaks with "tradition," so to speak, and offers to "sell his services," as it were, to someone whom he knows has lots and lots of cash on hand -- Lex Luthor. And what he has to sell Luthor is definately something Luthor wants to buy... the death of Superman! (What else?)But even more so than our two costumed dancing partners, Luthor and Joker are extreme opposites, and their business arrangement is set on even less stable ground: Luthor is calm, methodical and patient, whereas Joker is hyper, manic and impulsive... not to mention deranged. Soon, the Joker is becoming an even bigger pain for Luthor than Superman and he eventually regrets having ever entered into any sort of a deal with the clown-faced lunatic.A romantic subplot between Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent's journalism colleague Lois Lane acts as filler.Initially, while waiting for the order it was part of to be processed, I was having second thoughts and seriously considered removing this title from the shipment, since I was completely unfamiliar with BOTH animated series this "movie" is based on, and I really did not think it would be anything worth getting excited about. Luckily, however, I procrastinated just long enough to miss the "changed-my-mind" deadline, because once I actually had the chance to view it could I appreciate just how special this story (and very likely the animated series this story was selected from) truly was.Not only was "Bat Soup" (as I affectionately call it) a good ride in and of itself (though the animation isn't exactly what one would call sophisticated by any means), but it also got me stoked in anticipation of seeing the Joker's return to face the two 'Batmen' of the 'old' AND the 'new' eras in the "Batman Beyond" OAV.* * *

Written by the great Alan Burnett, this is the script, or at least the type of story that should have been utilized in place of the material Zach Snyder relied on for BVS Dawn of Justice. The storytelling style is a throwback to romantic comedies of the 30s and 40s, it's the superhero movie that Preston Sturgess might have made, and that's what's so interesting about this ''movie'' -it is in fact three episodes from the 1997 season (Superman the Animated Series, season 2) prouted by Bruce Timm. It's not as flashy or violent as the superhero pictures now in 2016 that seem to be made with ever increasingly bigger budgets and thinner written material. Burnett, who has been writing these characters for television since the very early 70s at least, is the real star here. Burnett"s understanding of these characters, not simply as rivals but as moral and spritual dichotomies in the superhero lexicon is what drives every aspect of this story, which is as much a tale of failed romance as it is an action adventure story. It walks a fine line between child safe entertainment, and mature fiction, although parents may want to view it first as there are some adult relationships implied in the second half.The cast, Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly, Dana Delaney, Clancy Brown, and Mark Hamill, represent one of the greatest assemblages of actors ever in animation. It is too bad that as superhero fiction has garnered ever increasingly big budgets for TV and film, that masterpieces such as this animated series of episodes are not looked to for the remarkable precedent they set in sophistication and cinematic storytelling. The DVD is a worthy buy for anyone interested in sharing or discovering this series, but as it is thin on special features, buying the entire season two of Superman that this was excerpted from might be a better deal. As far as these DVD repackages that time warner insists on doing, this is one of the better ones, as these stories were always meant to hold together as one unified story.

I've gone on record before that this is among the finest projects in the DC Animated Universe (see my review for  Superman: The Complete Animated Series .) Well, I stand by that opinion. After all, seeing two of the world's greatest superheroes on screen together is indeed quite something. The animators, actors, director, and everyone else involved in this project were sure to put in the effort needed so that neither the characters nor the viewers would soon forget these epic events. When the Joker sets his sights on Metropolis and bringing down the Man of Steel, the Dark Knight follows his arch foe, who has teamed up with Lex Luthor. It was nice to see tension not only between Luthor and the Joker, but also between Batman and Superman. All four were set in their ways and these team-ups weren't what anyone wanted. But as Lex Luthor and the Joker drift farther apart, Batman and Superman grudgingly come closer together and ultimately understand that they need each other to defeat the threat of the super villains working as partners. It was nice to see Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock show themselves before we focused solely on Metropolis and Bullock's rants and complaints were as enjoyable as ever. As for the other supporting characters from both series, no one was short-changed. But I most enjoyed Bruce Wayne's and Clark Kent's scenes together out of costume...the greatness was just noticeable to anyone who knew what these two do with their free time. In the end, this cross-over was by no means a let-down, giving us all we could hope for from both heroes and villains...the World's Finest all around! Enjoy.

Superman und bat man erst gegeneinander dann miteinander. Denke da war der erste Gedanke damals die beiden super Helden auf einen Film zu bringen. Die typischen Gegner wie der Joker usw. sind auch dabei

Nice

My nephew loved the movie.

Looks to be in good condition though I can't watch it just yet. Might update if there turns out to be a problem, otherwise 10/10

Awesome flick and received on time