Superman vs. The Elite (2012)

The driving force behind this animated movie is most definitely the premises. I just really like stories, where both opposing sides does have a point or at least can understand where they are coming from. Instead of it being a completely black and white movie. I like villain or anti-character like Black Manchester who is the epitome of a stereotypical Brit. The group called the Elite brings about this question that even most comic book readers may question. Why not just kill off the villains once and for all, instead of dragging it out to the point where they will cause more heinous deaths. I think the artwork should have been less goofy, since the premise and the story is actually quite serious. Plus the dialogue has meaning behind it and does make you question certain things. So yeah, besides the artwork I thought this was a interesting and meaningful animated superhero movie. This had the potential to be one of the best DC animated movies ever.7.9/10

"Superman vs. the Elite" isn't entirely successful in its discussions on politics and the price of power, but it's a decent superhero story. The story concerns a new group of superhero vigilantes that call themselves "The Elite". Manchester Black (voiced by Robin Atkin Downes), Coldcast (voiced by Catero Colbert), Menagerie (voiced by Melissa Disney) deal with supervillains their way: by killing them. The world seems to embrace these new heroes and shun Superman (voiced by George Newbern) as "old fashioned" and "cheesy". The conflicting ideals of these heroes pit them against each other.The quality of the animation varies from excellent to just OK and while most of the story seems grounded in semi-reality, with the fantasy and "comic-bookiness" being reduced to create parallels to our world, a scene with giant mutant insect tanks is really glaring and doesn't fit the tone of the story. What works is the chemistry between Superman/Clark Kent and Lois Lane (voiced by Pauley Perrette), the themes and ideas brought up by the conflicts and the discussions between our characters spread throughout the film. Adults that are familiar with the debate, which essentially is that of whether or not the death penalty should be a form of punishment, will find that they don't last long enough but it's refreshing to see the film take a stand on an issue it really believes in and stick with it. For younger audiences that haven't seen this material before, this is a good starting point and a way to generate some great conversation. Superman believes that killing is wrong under any circumstances, but he's also nearly invulnerable so does he really grasp the danger these villains he goes up against regularly really pose? To what extent is it OK to interfere with another country's politics and disagreements when you have the power to do so? If it is OK to take the life of another person, who judges how much is enough? When accompanied with the special features and commentary the film is a more complete experience and a lot more satisfying than just the feature by itself so it's preferable to set a generous amount of time aside and enjoying the special features immediately after to complement the faults of the film. The film is only OK by itself, mostly because it doesn't really have as much bite as you wish it would considering the themes, but it's worth your while. (On Blu-ray, September 29, 2012)

I went ahead and read Action Comics #775 before watching Superman vs. The Elite. It has the worst opening credits of any DC animated movie I've ever seen because the tone doesn't match the movie. The comic wasn't great but it had a good concept. The movie tried to copy that but there was so much that was completely unrelated to the comic that they didn't quite get the job done. You gotta wait for half of the movie to pass before you start seeing similarities. The question is should the life of a killer be spared or should equal justice be served? We all know Supes is a boy scout. The Elite, in the comic, are anti-heroes and portrayed to be more powerful than Supes. In the movie, The Elite aren't anywhere near as powerful but the filmmakers want viewers to believe that they could beat Supes. Yet they needed his help during a battle? In the comic, Supes shows them who's really the boss and is in total control of his actions. In the movie, he does the same but they want us to believe he's losing his sanity and morality at the same time. If you haven't read the comic, then you'll probably enjoy the movie for what it is. If you have, then you'll know where I'm coming from and will be disappointed. Lois Lane's voice made her sound like she was a bleached-blonde, Paris Hilton type and it really didn't help. The funniest part of the movie was the scene when she saw another lady kissing Superman. The laugh was like watching the "Jake from State Farm" commercial.

The basic premise is Superman meets, allies and later battles against a new group of superheroes lead by Manchester Black who, as the name suggests, hails from Manchester - despite his confusing accent. A civil war between neighbouring countries Pokolistan and Bialyia serves as the backdrop. As Superman is saving lives of Bialyia forces under attack from the Pokolistani bio weapons, the Elite arrive to steal his thunder. Superman returns the favour and helps the Elite save civilian trains following a terrorist attack in England. Black interrogates the terrorists and is about to kill them when Superman intervenes and lectures Black on not operating above the law, passing judgement or whatever sanctimonious nonsense he said. The film falls down quickly at this point with Superman battling The Elite over their ideological differences. YAWN. The last 40 minutes or so really dragged.The issues highlighted in the film only serve to illustrate, pardon the pun, the sheer stupidity of comic book writing and the shaky moral stance of so called heroes such as Superman, Batman, the Avengers, that pansy Spiderman etc, etc - Superheroes who capture villains and then hand them over to the authorities only they invariably escape and KILL again. As The Punisher once said "Mercy is for the weak". Give me mass murdering lunatics like The Hulk any day. There's a real Superhero.The voice acting is good but the dialogue awful. The characterisation of Lois Lane is completely wrong, she could not be more unlikeable. The animation is also poor unless you're a fan of the tedious, angular Japanese style. The films only saving grace is the fight scenes, they're excellent especially those featuring the Atomic Skull.