"Superman Versus The Elite" Feature Talkback (Spoilers)

[RoryWilliams]

I liked it right until the ending. So Superman possesses the ability to strip the Elite of those powers, and doesn't do that to the actual villains?

I'm not just talking Atomic Skull, the movie made a point of talking about how Doctor Light broke out of prison went on a killing spree after breaking out of jail for the umpteenth time and it was talked about like that was a widespread problem. So why is Clark not just taking away the abilities of psych rapists like Doctor Light? Especially when this is a standalone movie and not a running series.

It's just weird. The debate is present throughout the film and they just randomly pull out the "Don't worry, I can take away their powers so they'll never kill again!" card at the end.

 

[Medinnus]

I'm not just talking Atomic Skull, the movie made a point of talking about how Doctor Light broke out of prison went on a killing spree out of breaking out of jail for the umpteenth time and it was talked about like that was a widespread problem. So why is Clark not just taking away the abilities of

One of the things in the Doc Savage pulp series was that Doc Savage would perform brain surgery and excise the "criminal" parts of the brain on his captured foes, lobotomizing them into "productive" lives. The idea seems creepy and borderline evil to me - and does so Superman doing the same on a regular basis.

 

[BigFatHairyDeal]

I liked it right until the ending. So Superman possesses the ability to strip the Elite of those powers, and doesn't do that to the actual villains?

I'm not just talking Atomic Skull, the movie made a point of talking about how Doctor Light broke out of prison went on a killing spree after breaking out of jail for the umpteenth time and it was talked about like that was a widespread problem. So why is Clark not just taking away the abilities of psych rapists like Doctor Light? Especially when this is a standalone movie and not a running series.

Superman was able to take away Manchester Black's powers because he had specific intel on what was producing Chester's powers, and he had some assurance knowing that attacking that anomaly in Chester's brain wouldn't be crippling.

 

[RoryWilliams]

Superman was able to take away Manchester Black's powers because he had specific intel on what was producing Chester's powers, and he had some assurance knowing that attacking that anomaly in Chester's brain wouldn't be crippling.

When Coldcast, Hat and Menagerie are shown captive in the Fortress at the end, he casually mentions that they're being stripped of their powers so that they can never hurt anyone again.

 

[BigFatHairyDeal]

When Coldcast, Hat and Menagerie are shown captive in the Fortress at the end, he casually mentions that they're being stripped of their powers so that they can never hurt anyone again.

Maybe the file on Manchestr Black had pertinent info on those three, as well?

That might've been an oversight on the writers' part.

 

[Yojimbo]

Maybe the file on Manchestr Black had pertinent info on those three, as well?

That might've been an oversight on the writers' part.

When Superman was introduced to the other members of the Elite by Manchester, Manchester mentioned they were all part of MI-5 and they happened to all encounter one another in Africa then went freelance. I'm sure Vera's drive had intelligence on all of them.

 

[TrueMisterSix]

I thought Robin Atkins Downes did a great job as Manchester...D.

I mentioned my thoughts on the previous post but I'll say it again - Downes' accent was horrifyingly bad, it was like a chalk board scratch all the way through. Nobody sounds like that in the North of UK.

 

[Yojimbo]

I mentioned my thoughts on the previous post but I'll say it again - Downes' accent was horrifyingly bad, it was like a chalk board scratch all the way through. Nobody sounds like that in the North of UK.

Here's what Joe Kelly said on the voice of Manchester

It’s funny because everybody says the same thing: you can’t do an actual Manchester accent and expect to be understood, but Robin’s modified Mancunian accent is awesome.

Is what he is saying accurate?

 

[RoryWilliams]

I wonder if it's successful enough, might Kelly consider writing an adaptation of Justice League Elite?

You could easily enough pull some fanwank and say something happened so that Coldcast and Menagerie kept their powers or what not. But then again the whole premise (a black-ops JLA) might seem a bit too similar to Young Justice.

 

[quigonkenny]

I wonder if it's successful enough, might Kelly consider writing an adaptation of Justice League Elite?

You could easily enough pull some fanwank and say something happened so that Coldcast and Menagerie kept their powers or what not. But then again the whole premise (a black-ops JLA) might seem a bit too similar to Young Justice.

Pretty sure the Menagerie in JL:E wasn't the same one as in Manchester's Elite. They were sisters, IIRC.

 

[desi]

Wow, for a DTV, this is the cream of the frickin' crop. But, if there is one thing that irked me, it has to be the scene where it is revealed in a very indirect way by Lois Lane, that the Elite are indeed the villains of the story, putting an end to the moral dilemma faced by Superman and the audience. It's kinda like saying "Hmm, is it okay to be gay? Wait, this is just in, it was gays that were behind 9/11. That must mean being gay is wrong." It was just a cheap way to explain an argument but I get it, providing a valid argument would make for a very ambitious DTV. You don't script a big screen movie for a DTV pay. Either way, I love just about everything about this movie: the story, the animation, the anti-comic book character designs, voice acting, et cetera, et cetera. Would give a kidney for a TV series based on this incarnation.

 

[TrueMisterSix]

Here's what Joe Kelly said on the voice of Manchester Is what he is saying accurate?

No on both counts. Christopher Eccleston is a Mancunian and I don't think there was any issue with his accent in Doctor Who. Downes' modified accent is awful - it's a real mixed bag of Northern English accents and hugely inconsistent.

It really spoilt the whole film for me.

 

[Yojimbo]

Pretty sure the Menagerie in JL:E wasn't the same one as in Manchester's Elite. They were sisters, IIRC.

In the special features I think it was, Kelly said he was keen on a JLE movie. I would be too, I enjoyed the character of Sister Superior (Vera).

No on both counts. Christopher Eccleston is a Mancunian and I don't think there was any issue with his accent in Doctor Who. Downes' modified accent is awful - it's a real mixed bag of Northern English accents and hugely inconsistent.

I see! Thanks for the example, got it. Though now I wish Eccelston voiced Manchester.

 

[quigonkenny]

No on both counts. Christopher Eccleston is a Mancunian and I don't think there was any issue with his accent in Doctor Who. Downes' modified accent is awful - it's a real mixed bag of Northern English accents and hugely inconsistent.

It really spoilt the whole film for me.

I was going to give you a hard time on this and suggest you're being too sensitive about it, but then I remembered how annoying it is to see actors who think it's okay to portray a Texan using an overwrought attempt at a thick Deep South accent. "Yall" is not a two-syllable word in the Lone Star State!

In the special features I think it was, Kelly said he was keen on a JLE movie. I would be too, I enjoyed the character of Sister Superior (Vera).

Also Manitou Raven and Cass Cain. Especially Cass Cain.

 

[James Harvey]

The World’s Finest has caught up with composer Robert Kral for an all-new interview concerning his work on the Superman Versus The Elite animated feature, now available to own on Blu-Ray Combo Pack and DVD, On Demand and for Download. Kral is a familiar name to the DC Comics Premiere Movie animated line (and the Man of Steel), having scored the very first feature Superman Doomsday, among other installments in the acclaimed home video series. Now, Kral takes a few moments out of his busy schedule to answer questions about this latest blockbuster Superman tale and what he has in store for us. Plus, hear some music that didn't make it into the movie! Click here or the image below for more.

​

 

[Dusty]

I mentioned my thoughts on the previous post but I'll say it again - Downes' accent was horrifyingly bad, it was like a chalk board scratch all the way through. Nobody sounds like that in the North of UK.

Yeah, I got what you were saying the first time... you hated his portrayal... but I thought it was fine. Anyways, to each their own.

Also isn't Downes from The UK? I wonder why he didn't just use his actual accent, or does he not have one, or was this it?
EDIT: Nevermind about my above questions, I saw that they were already answered.


D.

 

[Bobbywoodhogan]

No on both counts. Christopher Eccleston is a Mancunian and I don't think there was any issue with his accent in Doctor Who. Downes' modified accent is awful - it's a real mixed bag of Northern English accents and hugely inconsistent.

It really spoilt the whole film for me.

Now I'm from Leeds UK and I'll admit his accent was a little inconsistent but I've met people who actually sound like he did in the film.

 

[TrueMisterSix]

Now I'm from Leeds UK and I'll admit his accent was a little inconsistent but I've met people who actually sound like he did in the film.

Really? We're they weird Scouse/Manc/Yorkshire/Oxfordshire hybrids too?

Anyway; I'm letting it go now. I've re-watched it and shut it out a bit better (expecting it helped) and can see the piece as a whole instead of focussing on one small element effecting my whole enjoyment of the film. (Although it's still valid)

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

Let me start of my review by saying a couple of things:

1.) I have never read Action Comics #775 and frankly have no real intention of tracking it down... so source material means little to me here.

2.) I don't paticularly care for politics. I keep myself updated to a degree but with no overbearing interest or allegiances of any kind.

3.) This is perhaps the first DC DVD that I wasn't all that excited about. The story sounded interesting but everything else got a shoulder shrug from me. (Except the return of Newbern. I was quite happy about that).


So I stuck it in the Blu-ray player yesterday, with no real expectation and... I was pleasantly surprised. More than pleasantly surprised actually.

Story: As I said the story sounded interesting, but I was worried that it was going to get a little preachy and allegorical but Kelley managed to keep it at a respectable level. He clearly understands the characters and explored their dynamics pretty well for the runtime. Manchester Black was a great villian (Charismatic but despicable at the same time) and the other three were fun visual fodder.

I really like how he handled Superman (this is the way he should be handled in the 21st Century). He had a strengh to him throughout the story and I believed strongly in his conflict. I was on his side the whole way through. A great thought-provoking and surprisingly touching tale.

Voice-acting: This movie was lacking the great Andrea Romano (thank God shes back for TDKR) with the voice director duties being performed by Dawn Hershey. While I've never heard of her she did a pretty good job filling out the cast. This was George Newbern's BEST performance as the Man of Steel since he started the gig over 10 years ago. He finally got to sink his teeth into something a little more meaty. It's funny to think the was merely thought of as the sub-standard replacement for Tim Daly back in 2001... he's come a long way and deserves ALOT of praise.

Pauley Perrette has a great spunky Margot Kidder-ish voice for Lois and it was nice to hear something alone those lines. She doesn't get to do alot and is very much the 'worried wife' for most of the piece. As good and I guess as serviceable as she was I kept thinking, ''Man I would really like to hear Dana Delany again!''.

Robin Atkin Downes did a great job and at times threatened to steal the movie but he was a little inconsistent with the accent so that docked him a few points. Everyone else was fine... like, Fred Tatasciore was a good Perry but I wouldn't clamor for him to return any time soon.

Animation: This is the movies biggest downfall. Not neccesarily because its overly bad but because I feel many won't give the movie a chance because of how it looks. These are not my favorite character designs and frankly they don't always work in motion. I don't know what they were going for but I don't think it worked 100%. The animation itself was fluid and dynamic enough... but certainly not the best WB/DC have produced. Overall I was satisfied with the look (And I actually liked it more than Doom. Go figure)

Music: A quick shout out to Robert J Kral. He did a great job with this movie and it was nice to hear the Doomsday motifs/themes again. I always get the feeling the composers on these things are ridiculously rushed and he always manages to produce great stuff.

I also enjoyed the funky opening titles and the Superman Adventure cartoon.

I honestly think that, despite it flaws, this is the best animated Superman movie from this DVD line. It's compelling, thought-provoking, emotional and action packed.

The guys involved really pulled off what I think will be an under-appreciated gem of a movie here and one of the best in the DC Comics Premiere Movie line.

8/10

 

[Omeganian]

Supeman: Doomsday soundtrack? Why didn't they keep the graphics then? And the neutrino bomb part might have been too much. Still, I liked it. Except for the beginning, somehow.