Review of Superman/Batman: Public Enemies

Today is my review of the movie, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (SBPE) But first, the obligatory:

***WARNING!***

Possible spoilers ahead! If you haven't read the book or seen the movie Superman/Batman: Public Enemies and don't want it spoiled for you, then STOP READING NOW!

****You have been warned! ***

What I liked the most about SBPE is that my favorite busty superhero chick, Power Girl, makes her first appearance in an animated film. My only gripe about her appearance is the voice chosen for her. I think it was a little too high pitched and girlish for a character who is supposed to be an adult woman. Plus, given PG's reputation as someone who is brash, in SBPE, she almost sounded "Valley Girl". In short, I don't think her voice matched her character.

I also liked the fact that another busty superhero chick, Starfire, also made an appearance. This isn't the teen Starfire from the TV series, Teen Titans, but the adult Starfire from the comics. Unfortunately, she has no lines in the film, which is odd, given that she is known to be outspoken and emotional. Granted, this film was about Superman and Batman, but the right kinds of touches on these two ladies would have gone a long way to making the film better.

Anyway, having read the SBPE storyline when it had hit print some years back, I was curious as to how faithful the film would follow the storyline in the comics. In that, it was very faithful - and perhaps a tad TOO faithful. Granted, the producers of the movie were likely thinking of the annoying comic geeks that would point out EACH and EVERY example of how the film's storyline didn't follow the comic book's storyline, but such translations can be difficult. I think it would have been more important for the film to be entertaining rather than faithful to a familiar storyline.

As far as entertaining, it was just that: entertaining. And if I hadn't already read the comic book version of that storyline, then I probably would have enjoyed it more. What having read the book first did for me, though, was to demonstrate to me how much the film was trying to follow the comic book, and it was a bit distracting. Still, I must admit that it was awesome seeing Supes and Bats in action. That was the best part of the film.

However, there was one scene in the film that I think outdid the book, and it was the appearance of the Silver Banshee. In the book, her appearance is heard first before she is seen. She interrupts the conversation that Superman and Batman were having by belting them with one of her sonic screams. In the film, that scene was made even better by actually hearing the scream. It actually startled me a bit!

Overall, it was a very good movie; one definitely worth watching whether or not you read the book first. But like I said, I think it tried too hard to be faithful to the book, and it messed with its pacing. It's because of this that I can only give it an 8 on a scale in which 1 is a bomb and 10 is THE bomb.