Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009) (V)

Director:

Sam Liu

Writers:

Stan Berkowitz (written by)
Jeph Loeb (comic book)

Release Date:

29 September 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Drama | Fantasy

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Enemy | Batman | Asteroid | Slash In Title

Cast

Clancy Brown	...	Lex Luthor (voice)
Kevin Conroy	...	Batman / Bruce Wayne (voice)
Tim Daly	...	Superman / Clark Kent / Kal-El (voice)
Xander Berkeley	...	Captain Atom / Nathaniel Christopher Adam (voice)
Corey Burton	...	Captain Marvel / Solomon Grundy / Additional Voices (voice)
Ricardo Chavira	...	Major Force / Clifford Zmeck (voice)
Allison Mack	...	Power Girl / Kara Zor-L / Karen Starr (voice)
John C. McGinley	...	Metallo (voice)
CCH Pounder	...	Amanda Waller (voice)
LeVar Burton	...	Black Lightning / Jefferson Pierce (voice)
Calvin Tran	...	Toyman (voice)
Mark Jonathan Davis	...	Newscaster / Additional Voices (voice)
Brian George	...	Gorilla Grodd / Captain Cold / Leonard Snart (voice)
Jennifer Hale	...	Starfire / Killer Frost (voice)
Rachael MacFarlane	...	Nightshade / Eve Eden / Lady Shiva / Sandra Wu-San (voice)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for action violence throughout and a crude comment.

Runtime:

USA:67 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #45567) | Singapore:PG | Australia:M

Trivia:

In the fight at the beginning between Metallo, Superman and Batman in the cemetery one of the headstones reads "here lies stu deo adaelaide 1996 - 2008"

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: When Billy Batson says the word "Shazam" while fighting Batman, the subtitles misspell it as "Shizam."

Quotes:

[first lines]
Captain Atom: So this is what you've been up to these last few months.
Major Force: Chasing cars.
Superman: I help wherever I'm needed.

Movie Connections:

References Superman/Doomsday (2007) (V)

Superman/Batman are shaking their heads

I think anyone who was a kid during the 90's was a fan of the Batman animated series. It was just unlike any other cartoon we'd seen before and it was so faithful to the heart of the character. Plus we got the best Batman voice of all time Kevin Conroy. Even though I've outgrown the animated series, I've still remained fond of the old days and I check in on what they are doing from time to time. I was really impressed with Gotham Knight animated film that came out around when TDK came out. It was really fresh and unique to the Batman animated world. I was looking forward to seeing more mature animated Batman films that adults could enjoy.

When I heard about this film, that it was PG-13, was an adaptation of a comic, and starred Kevin Conroy, I was very interested. I'm sorry to report that the film is a major let down. It's all action and no substance what so ever. It's as though Michael Bay had directed the movie. It's just non stop fight and fight and then the movie is over. There is no time taken to construct much of any narrative and the one that is there seems more suitable for a video game. And don't get me started on the totally moronic finale with the transformer wannabe.

It's a huge step down from the direction that the series was taking with Gotham Knight. The only reason that this film got a PG-13 is because of a totally unnecessary use of a swear word that adds nothing to the scene or the story. With out the swear word and this film is definitely a kid film. I'd say it's more for children than even the 90's animated series. I really think that they should go back with the direction they were taking with Gotham Knight. Continue to take risks and tell edgy stories. There are so many amazing graphic novels from the Batman universe that would make amazing animated films if they were done with respect.