[SPOILER REVIEW] The Death of Superman

Last night (14th January 2019) I went to Cineworld for a double bill screening of the 32nd and 33rd DC Animated movies by Warner Bros Animation Studios; The Death of Superman and The Reign of the Supermen. I can say for sure that these two movies are easily on my top list for DC Animated movies, and that's coming from someone who has only gained interest in Superman over the past few years, but still hasn't read any of his solo stories in comics. I have seen all the other DC Animated films that include Superman including his solo films in order to gain any knowledge I can, but until now, I thought I understood Superman...I was wrong. 

The Death of Superman film opened my eyes to a version of not just Superman, but the entire Justice League as well, which I had not seen before, and although this was a shock to me because I thought I already understood these characters in their animated universes at least, it was also incredibly exciting, which made my viewing experience that much sweeter.

One thing this film did from the start, which to me no other film has done before, was to show the true strength of all these heroes. Superman being the main focus, let's start with him. Whilst fighting the Intergang (human gang members with advanced alien tech), we see the true extent of Supermans speed, which I don't think any other film has properly shown us. I knew he was fast, but in this film we see just how fast he really is. Whilst fighting the Intergang he is able to save civilians and move them out of harms way whilst fighting the gang members themselves, all within a matter of seconds.

Superman during the battle with Doomsday (The Death of Superman 2018)

During the second half of the movie, we see Superman's true strength and sheer willpower to fight on no matter how bleak the situation looks. The ferocious and horrific Doomsday monster is a force to be reckoned wtih, as Superman is by all appearances, truly beaten to standing on his last legs, as he has to truly force out the energy to keep fighting to save the people of metropolis. Broken, battered and barely breathing, the Man of Steel finally met his match when he faced of against the one enemy that took out the Justice League, even before Kal-El gets there.

Doomsday (The Death of Superman 2018)

Superman: Doomsday was my first real introduction to the monstrous character of Doomsday himself and to the death of Superman storyline, but after seeing this new film, Doomsday is more terrifying than I originally imagined. Of course if you ask anyone who knows about the character, you'll hear "Doomsday has no regard for life of any kind and is engineered for one thing....to kill all lifeforms it comes across" and that sounds scary, sure, but until you watch The Death of Superman, like me, you see the true horror and power of a monster such as Doomsday. One thing I loved about this films take on the character was the slow reveal of his appearance, as he first appears in some form of suit that hides his hideous and terrifying form. This creature is seen to have the strength to break even the will of Green Lantern, and the speed, or at least the intellect to predict the movements of, in order to hit the Flash as he zooms around Doomsday, beating him with Hawkman's mace. Doomsday is a true force of power, and this film reveals all of that in a way that previous films could not.

We see Doomsday kill all life forms it crosses, from Atlanteans, to human scientists, to a wild bear, some police officers, and of course innocent civilians. The animators did not hold back on the horror of these deaths either, as this film is bloody and the soundtrack as well as sound design, is incredible at building the scenes, making you feel uncomfortable in places such as hearing a blood curdling scream of pain from Martian Manhunter as he is set on fire after being thrown into a petrol station.

This film has all the elements it needs to make it a quality animated movie. It has action, horror, suspense, tragedy and comedy. The comedy doesnt seem forced either, it has perfect timing and is always in the right place at the right time. The other elements make this film a rollercoaster of emotions, which make it more than just a movie, it's an experience.

The soundtrack is nostalgic and powerful, adding emotion to each scene, putting you on the edge of your seat. The credit for this film goes to the entire team who worked on it. The writers wrote a spectacular script, the director gave us exactly what we wanted, the animators gave us true art on the screen, the voice casting was excellent and the entire workforce of this film gave us one of the best DC Animated films I have ever had the pleasure of watching. So thank you to all of those people. 

The film gave me a better understanding of Superman as a character. Back in 2013 I became more interested in Superman as a character after seeing Man of Steel. However, I still have not yet read any of the solo comics starring the man himself, but whilst I am familiar enough with the character, Man of Steel gave me a better understanding of his origins, as well as his struggle to fit in with life on earth. The Death of Superman film gave me a similar understanding, but this time it was Superman struggling to live a human life with Lois Lane, whilst already being an established character in the world. The Death of Superman has already established Superman as having been around for years in the previous DC Animated movies, so to see him still struggling to cope with human life gave me a better understanding of just how alienated he feels even after the world already loves him almost unconditionally. Not only that, but this film also showed me the impact of his passing, a true insight into a world without Superman. It shows this through civilians and heroes alike, as we see just how much the Justice League struggle with their loss of the greatest power on earth, including Batman himself who doesn't openly express this feeling, but it can be seen through his body language. We all know Batman and Superman were Best Friends/Frienemies, but its not until Superman's death that we see just how close the two actually were. It was emotional to see even the slightest reaction from Batman, even whilst everyone else seemed to be crying, a simple gesture of unease from Batman and you truly felt the impact of Supermans death. That is why this film is so good, because it can tell you the story through the smallest of details. 

Overall I would give The Death of Superman 9.5/10. The .5 that remains out of this film is simply due to my own knowledge. I think that given time, after I read some more superman, I'll understand some of the elements that I missed the joy of experiencing to it's full extent. However, this film in itself is educational for me. I want to read more Superman, and I will do just that since I already own two Superman graphic novels. For now though, I leave you with a simple request. If you are a fan of Man of Steel, or DC in any way but you haven't seen The Death of Superman, go and watch it. You will not be disappointed.