Rated PG-13

75 min.

Directed by James Tucker

Starring: Matt Bomer, Stana Katic, John Noble & Molly C. Quinn

Superman. What else is there to say? A man from an alien world that, for some reason, when he’s expose to yellow sunlight  he can do…crap…what’s that power of his again? Oh, right. EVERYTHING! Seriously, his abilities include flight, super strength, ice breath, super speed, x-ray and heat vision. I guess if the shoe fits, he wears it. And so, for my first review of a motion picture here on Morbidly Amusing, I’m reviewing the latest Superman movie.

Superman: Unbound is based on the graphic novel Superman: Braniac. Why they couldn’t just carry the title of the comic over to the movie is beyond me. Basically, it’s a tale of the super evil cyborg Braniac as he is about to come to Earth and do a typically evil thing: take all the information from the planet (presumably using some combination of Wikipedia, Google, and those things nobody uses anymore called books) and then blow it up. So of course, it’s up to Superman and his cousin Supergirl to stop him.

In my honest opinion, WB Animation has done very little wrong by the DC Universe (except canceling Young Justice and leaving audiences with an awful cliffhanger). This one is no exception. It is by far superior to the animated feature Superman: Braniac Attacks, but that’s honestly on par with saying Batman Begins is a better film than Batman & Robin. And a fair warning to you parents reading this: do not let your kids watch this movie! It’s very graphic, complete with blood and plenty of death, just the way a movie about an alien killer robot should be.

Everything about this movie is very well done. The animation, the voice acting, the script, you name it, WB does it right. That is, for the most part. If there’s anything about this movie that will rub fans the wrong way, it’s Supergirl. I get that she’s encountered Brainiac in the past, but honestly, she gets on my nerves. This is mainly because she just comes off as a whiney pain in the ass. One minute she’s using her superpowers to take down terrorists, the next she’s bawling her eyes out because she feels powerless. Things like that just take away from what could be a good supporting role.

Having said that, it’s really not that hard to get past Supergirl and once you do you’re in for a decent ride. The best part of this movie, by far, is that it’s not meant for kids. There’s massive amounts of blood being splattered everywhere and the villain is just cold and emotionless. Basically, this is the way that I personally feel superhero movies should function. Now, Marvel has been kicking DC’s ass in the live action realm for the past few years, but when it comes to animated stuff, DC wins handily. Since 2006, Marvel has released 9 animated features and only 2 of them are even worth mentioning.

The bottom line is that you can’t go wrong with anything starring Batman or Superman. Hell, even Plastic Man would probably make for a decent superhero movie. Basically, I’m still waiting for Marvel to make an animated film that can hold a candle to any made by their biggest competitor, DC. Superman: Unbound is just their latest success.

6/10