Flash Gordon is the Greatest Film Ever

Best

The golden rule of film-making is 'show, don't tell'. By this token, Flash Gordon has to be the best film ever made. The story: meh. The acting: meh. However, these are merely the things it tells you, and are as such null and void. The visual design is amazing though. Everything is fascinating to look at. It almost looks as though the entire film could've been filmed in various rooms of Freddy Mercury's house, and that the payment for the soundtrack was made in costumes. In fact, the production of costumes for the film caused a worldwide shortage in sequins, driving the price up until supply finally equalised with demand again in late 1983^{[citation needed]}. Still, such an impact can only be expected of the greatest expression of visual art created by man.

Film

It is by the virtue of rule that dictates the nature of quality film making that Flash Gordon is the best film ever made. Every costume is magnificent, from the proto-shyguys to the fabulous Cylons, never mind Ming himself, dressed in a garb that would make pharaohs jealous. The sets are opulent, not a sci-fi stereotype in sight. Even the lasers add colour and flair to an already gorgeous film. Flash Gordon shows perfection and as such is the perfect film. It also has Brian Blessed.

EVER!

Animated Film Review: Superman/Batman: Apocalypse

Despite my criticisms of Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, I still enjoyed it and maintain that it is worth watching. So when I saw Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, I picked it up without hesitation, further ensuring that Blade Runner and Akira will remain forever on my ‘to watch’ list.

As it’s a sequel to Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, there are going to be a lot of comparisons made between the two. Not least because Apocalypse manages to better its predecessor in key areas, but then, just as you want to clap it on the back and say “well done”, it manages repeat some mistakes of the first film and even make some new ones of its own. These are never totally deal-breaking, but they are enough to stop if from really breaking out of the rut of “worth watching” that these animated superhero films so often fall into (for an exception, see Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker).

Whatever else can be said about the film, it definitely opens strong. An atmospheric flyover of Gotham (at night, obviously), a newscast voiceover setting the scene, and surveillance blimps surveying the streets below; the latter a definite nod to the opening of On Leather Wings, the Batman Animated Series’ pilot. Then bam! You’ve got a meteor, underwater Bat-investigation, a runaway rocket boat, explosions, and a mysterious woman, all before the opening titles have rolled.

Within seconds, the first thing you notice is that the design cohesion of the film is much improved over Public Enemies, the colours are a little more muted, the shading a little less stark, and overall the characters look to fit with the backgrounds a lot better, looking to be in the scene rather than superimposed over it. It almost seems as if the first film was in a style reflective of Superman, and this one in a more gritty Batman style. Whilst grim and subdued colours may be a little overplayed, at least in this case they provide a cohesive design aesthetic. It’s also important to bear in mind that all of this is in comparison with the style of the first film, which had a very bright colour palette on its characters. It’s not like Superman has swapped his red ‘n’ blue for beige and olive, just that the stark contrast has been ironed out with more gradual, even shading and fewer thick, black, character outlines.

Whatever the improvements in visual design, the film is inescapably brought down by its plot. Again, the film does a lot in its runtime (78 mins), but I just couldn’t connect with the story in spite of some good characterisation. Superman, in particular has a little more of his “big blue boyscout” naiveté, the impetuousness of the previous film still being there, but in a way that has him coming across as much less aggressive and more just an uncomplicated kind of guy. Batman remains as good as before, though in this iteration he is much more controlled whilst under the cowl, coming off even as cold. This may just be a heavy handed way of contrasting him with Superman’s earnestness though.

Dude, Sephiroth wants his schtick back.

However, the meat of the first act, the coming of age; finding one’s way; dealing with one’s ability to level a city without a thought plotline just didn’t speak to me and seemed to get an odd amount of exposure in a such a short film’s story. Yes this is an adaption the second story arc from the comics, with Public Enemies, being the first, but this isn’t the comic. It’s a film that even fans will probably pick up as a standalone or as a sequel to the first, not as a companion to the source material. So in this instance, it just drags on too long for a film of this length, the whole fish out of water thing is cute for a while, but not for as long as the writers thought it was.

The film does pick up after this, but the damage is done, once again the problem of unexplained characters rears its head. Not quite as bad as in the first film, but almost more annoying. There may be fewer characters to keep track of, but now we’re expected to have a connection to them. In all honesty, this film is really for pre-existing fans, but it would be nice to have some more internal context for the characters, especially since the continuity variances between different DC properties means that you may recognise a character but not this particular version of them. Still, you wish that less time had been spent shopping (oh yes) and more used to explain who the hell everyone is. Hell, even a little bit of insight into Darkseid (not a spoiler, he’s on the box) would have been nice.

By the end of this, you'll know all about his Omega Beams.

The lack of context for Darkseid means he just comes across as the dullest, laziest, kind of villain: evil for its own sake. We are shown nothing of his overall aims or motivations, just the specific thing that brings him into conflict with the protagonists. This is especially disappointing because Andre Braugher’s voice acting gives him real presence. He sounds powerful, a creature who really has no reason to fear anything. In spite of this, the use of Darkseid sadly comes across as unimaginative and arbitrary. It’s as if the writers chose him because they’d used Kryptonite last time and needed one of the few other credible threats to Superman (yes, yes, I know, I know: they did it because the comics did it) to give the story tension.

On the plus side, the action scenes in the film have real impact; the fluid animation quality and use of sound effects really give it a visceral rawness. Whilst the ‘camera work’ is fast and frantic, imparting real tension to the action. It is here that the film really shines, and what makes it fun in spite of the plot issues. It would be fair even to go as far to say that if as much care had been taken with the story as had been with the action, this would have been a great genre film. Even as it is, action is the one key area where film has the edge over comic books. So by getting that right, the film at least makes good where it really counts for this type of production.

Just as before, a Superman/Batman film comes off as a mixed bag. The nuts and bolts of the film are spot on, the animation, visual aesthetic, and action set pieces are above reproach. However, the story suffers for reasons that can be broadly summed up as dodgy pacing, and characters which are internally underdeveloped. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, if you’re a fan who can fill in the backstory gaps, or just want to watch superheroes fighting, go for it. It’s fun. However, if you want a good solid story, set in the universe, to engage with, or are looking to dip your toe into the vast waters of the DC ocean, move on, you’re just going to be disappointed.

Animated Film Review: Superman/Batman: Public Enemies

Cover Image Courtesy of covershut.com

Batman and Superman, the twin pillars from which all things that comprise DC seem to be suspended. Through the decades, despite changing trends; reboots; and death itself; these two have remained at the core of all that is DC. In short, it would be difficult to find a pair of comic-book characters with more combined importance, more gravitas, to throw together in a story, especially in a one shot animated film. So, the question remaining to be asked is: Just how good is Superman/Batman: Public Enemies? Well, it’s alright I suppose.

From the outset, I would point out that all of these straight to DVD DC movies that I’ve seen so far are aimed at existing fans. Unlike Hollywood comic films, they are assuming a level of background knowledge. As such I would not see them as being a good way into the mythos. At least, not on their own. 

Personally, I’m coming from a position of having watched pretty much the entire DC Animated Universe. Added to this, I’ve read a fair amount of DC graphic novels and have spent far, far, too long reading around the fiction online. This at least meant that I recognised most of the characters, even the minor ones just making cameos, and that I was equipped to keep track of a plot which seems to be struggling a bit to stay within its runtime. Both things I’ll get onto in more detail before the end.

Seeing as it’s so important, and I’ve just alluded to it, it makes sense to take a look at the plot of the film first. Straight out of the gate, in the opening sequence, we are treated to a nice concise dose of back-story showing how Lex Luthor gained the presidency of the United States. Before the opening credits have even run, Luthor has declared that “no one is above the law.” In addition to this, he has a group of Superheroes that have joined up in service of the government. It’s not quite the Keene Act or the Superhero Registration Act, but the astute will have already seen where the ‘Public Enemies’ part of the title is going to come from.

This is not to say that the film simply retreads the, by now, old ground of the idea of superhero civil war or public hatred of the power of costumed heroes. In fact, due to the run time, and the other major plot point: the gigantic kryptonite meteor heading towards earth, the ‘public enemies’ idea doesn’t really get as much mileage as one would expect from the title. Yeah, there are some exciting fight scenes, but that’s about it. Superman and Batman beating up villains and a few lower-tier heroes, but that is about the extent to which they are ‘public enemies’. I’m not sure what else could have been done, but a little more public revulsion to them would be nice. Instead, by being nominally outside the law, all that happens is that Supes and Bats fight heroes that are barely characterised within the bounds of the film.  As such the enemies they face may as well be B-list villains or juiced up flunkies made for the film.

It’s in these areas that the film really starts to come apart for the non-DC fan. I get a kick out of seeing Hawkman and Captain Marvel fight the titular heroes, but for somebody that maybe doesn’t know much about the DC universe even beyond feature films, it would be perfectly fair for them to wonder why a dude with wings and a guy in a bad superman costume have turned up out of nowhere to pummel the protagonists. It’s moments like these that make it clear that this is aimed squarely at the pre-existing fan base. On the other side of the coin however, you don’t need to be an uberfan to understand and enjoy what is going on. I’m certainly not, and I had fun with the film.

In the end, as has been hinted to, the real problem with the plot is the time constraint. The film really packs a lot into just over an hour, and does an admirable job of it, but it’s impossible not to notice that there is a definite strain to get everything in. When characters are appearing out of nowhere with little explanation, and major elements of the final act are only just being introduced at the same time that they become vitally important, it reeks of the writers having to cut things down to get the essentials in. In fact, if anything, the film has the feel of a good multipart episode from the Superman or Justice League DCAU series, only without the built in back-story coming from being part of an ongoing saga to lean on.

Speaking of the DC Animated Universe, the returning voice actors, especially in the case of Kevin Conroy as Batman and Clancy Brown as Luthor are real treat. For me, those two are the definitive non-comic incarnations of the characters. Luthor’s voice in particular really carries the arrogant superiority of the character; you can hear the smirk on his face. Even without seeing him, the voice tells you that the man is totally certain of himself, to the point where the mere suggestion that he hasn’t accounted for everything is laughable. The rest of the voice work is variable. Even then, it never drops to a level that jars you out of immersion.

Trust me, the stills don't look like it does in motion.

Other comparisons with the DCAU are unavoidable, and sadly less flattering. I found the character designs to seem a little off. Yes, the Superman/Batman comic line provided an aesthetic basis for the film, but still, the heavy detail; bright colours; and the minimal, but high contrast, shading really don’t fit in with the art direction of other elements of the film. Sometimes there is a real disconnect between the heroes and the backgrounds they’re on, and once you see it, it’s difficult to ignore. Moreover, this may be a minor gripe, but Superman’s design seems a little young. Whilst this fits some of the impetuousness he shows in the story, Superman and Batman are generally shown as looking roughly the same age, this is not the case here.

I would also like to add that these problems are not a product of this film choosing a different style to other DC animation, I loved The Batman’s style and that was a radical departure from both the DCAU and the ‘traditional’ Batman look. It’s the inconsistent aesthetic style and lack of cohesion that that brings that I find fault with.  A case in point is Power Girl; her look is different to anyone else’s with eyes and a facial shape that are much more heavily stylised. In all honesty, she immediately made me think of that freaky photoshopped girl from the Playstation adverts.

Pictured: Power Girl undermining my point by looking normal.

In spite of all this, the film doesn’t look bad overall, it’s just inconsistent. The animation has a few hiccups (watch any scenes of people walking down a hall toward the ‘camera’ then search ‘Weebl’s Stuff Scampi’) but beyond that it’s nothing worth losing sleep over. Moreover, despite my own issues with the design choices, the bright colours and minimal yet heavy stylised shading do make a change from the general grim n’ gritty colour palette that seemed to infiltrate design culture in the mid to late nineties and still has yet to be totally ousted. 

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is a solid animated DC adventure. It is far from being great, but it doesn’t need to be. When it all boils down, it provides an hour-ish of superhero entertainment and that’s clearly what the aim was. It may feel rushed in places and the art direction may be a little wayward, but overall it never becomes a bad film. If you’re looking for something to spice up a boring Sunday afternoon, it’s definitely worth picking up.