'Superman: Doomsday' review

Rating: ***1/2 out of ****

With every superhero movie there is a delicate balance between the action and the human elements of the story. That is what made movies like ‘Spider-man 2’ and ‘Batman Begins’ so excellent – they could walk that line extremely well and neither aspect suffered. ‘Superman Returns’ could have been so much better. With the exception of the jet-plane rescue, the action was far from stunning and the human plotline felt flat. Some may see ‘Superman: Doomsday’ as the film that ‘Superman Returns’ should have been.

Based on the best selling graphic novel of all time, ‘Superman: Doomsday’ begins with Lex Luther’s mining company digging up an alien vessel buried in the earth. It turns out that it is not a transport, but rather a prison meant for holding Doomsday, an alien soldier deemed unstoppable. When he was created, Doomsday was unable to differentiate between friend and foe. Therefore, he kills everything in his path. When it was discovered that Doomsday was unstoppable, his creators trapped him in this prison (somehow) and sent him hurdling through space. When uncased on earth it is up to Superman to stop him.

The ensuing battle is something so epic; it felt longer than the battle at Helm’s Deep. I mean that in a good way. I found myself enthralled in the battle between the hero and villain. They fight non-stop through the city of Metropolis, underground, through the air, through buildings and even into space. There is even a moment where Superman lifts a tugboat out of the harbor in order to throw it at his enemy. In live action, this would probably come across as laughable, but I was thrilled.

Superman perishes in the battle and the world is devastated. The film manages to examine the effect of Superman's demise in surprising depth. From the emotional loss felt by Lois Lane, to the pain felt by his mother. Ironically, even Lex Luthor mourns the fact that he was not the one to defeat Superman after all this time.

Weeks after his death, Superman returns (no pun intended). The world is shocked by his Christ-like rise from the grave. However, we learn that Lex Luthor has created a Superman clone in order to fool Metropolis and secretly control the city behind the scenes. The real Superman is resurrected though, with the help of his robot assistant at the fortress of solitude. This all builds into a climactic final showdown between the real Superman and the clone. I wondered if the robot character was thrown in as a nod to Kevin Smith’s infamous draft of a Superman movie in which Brainiac has said robot assistant. Smith even has a cameo in the film, which furthered my speculation, but I digress.

‘Superman: Doomsday’ is not all action. With a running time of only 75 minutes, it manages to have a well-plotted, multi-layered story while being surprisingly realistic and adult. The human elements are done very well. Lois and Superman are seen as sexual beings; their attraction feels realer than ever. Each character reacts to Superman’s death differently, with Jimmy becoming a disillusioned, sell-out paparazzi and Perry White turning to booze to ease his pain. The voice work here is well done. Anne Heche plays a convincing Lois with just the right amount of spunk and attitude. The film is also surprisingly violent and may not be appropriate for smaller children.

‘Superman: Doomsday’ could have stood to be longer and a few elements could have been explored more. I would have liked a bit more back-story on Doomsday, perhaps a glimpse of his home world. The dialogue is a bit corny at times, but it fits perfectly in the cartoon realm. In spite of its flaws, it manages to be one of the best films in the franchise. The film is stripped down to its essentials which keeps the pace and excitement going non-stop; and given that it is supposed to be a children’s movie, that’s appropriate. However, I have a feeling adults may enjoy this more than their kids may. Perhaps Bryan Singer should give this DVD a watch before he goes to work on the ‘Superman Returns’ sequel.