Superman: Unbound

'Superman: Unbound (2013)' attempts to bring a more rounded and humanised vision of its eponymous hero by, essentially, making him more vulnerable and connecting the flick's central conflict directly to his home-world, introducing the beefy 'Brainiac' as its antagonist and having him 'collect' fragments of different civilisations including a segment of the long-gone Krypon. This makes for an experience that tries to emphasise the empathy with its protagonist, and does so successfully to a degree, but also resorts to the high-powered fisticuffs the character has ostensibly been known for without much hesitation, delivering these moments with confidence and providing some excitement at the same time but largely seeming 'stakes-less' since there's little other to care about besides some basic (if realistically rendered) relationships. The issue is that making the 'man of steel' physically weaker, or weaker compared to the antagonist as least, has been done before and better. It also isn't as interesting a conceit as when the hero is challenged mentally or emotionally. Still, there are some more cerebral and emotional elements here. For one, the inclusion of 'Supergirl' allows for some unique characterisation. Namely, a different examination of the abilities and responsibilities associated with being a 'superhero' of this sort. She's scared of the villain and shows it, at least initially, which is distinct and, actually, quite natural. It allows her to feel more 'human' and gives her something to overcome internally, rather than a baddie to beat with her fists. A few sequences of off-world antics open up the 'universe' in interesting, usually unexplored ways, too. The climax, however, comes down to the typical 'beat 'em up' type of stuff and even, in its conclusion, comes across as quite contrived and convenient, even if it is left somewhat open for a sequel. 6/10

The title basically says it all, the movie was fun and the casting was well suited, but the general story wasn't exactly a new one. That being said the new elements and the actors performances make it more than enough to be deemed a good watch for any DC fan.

For the past eight years, Batman received all the love at the movies when it comes to DC Comics' characters. That's all about to change on June 14 when "Man of Steel" hits theaters. DC and Warner Premiere aren't going to settle for TV commercials and trailers to get people pumped up. Two new comic books and a DC Universe Animated Original Movie entitled "Superman Unbound" are keeping the super hero fresh on everyone's minds as well.

"Superman Unbound" serves as a tasty appetizer for the main meal coming up. The Man of Steel joins forces with his cousin, Supergirl, to battle Brainiac after the super villain shrinks down Metropolis and adds it to his collection of cities from different planets he's destroyed. Superman must find a way to keep Braniac from destroying the Earth and save all the captured cities of the universe, including Krypton's capitol Kandor.

As is usual with the DC animated movies, "Superman Unbound" is loaded with action from the beginning to the end. Director James Tucker and writer Bob Goodman know how to keep the pace moving at a breakneck speed and demand the audience's attention. You take a 128 page graphic novel and shove it into a 75 minute film. There's no time for the viewer to get distracted or for the movie to lose steam.

The animation for "Superman Unbound" differs from what we've come to expect from the DC animated features. It varies in style greatly from "Superman vs. The Elite." One example is the Man of Steel's facial features. The other characters look different as well.

"Superman Unbound" is definitely a PG-13 movie. There are scenes of Braniac changing himself into a cyborg that would freak out little kids. His robots drill into the heads of their victims, which splashes a lot of blood around on screen. Lois Lane also flips Braniac the double birds in one scene. Superman even says a bad word at one point. There are also some light sexual references most kids won't pick up on, but they're still present.

"Superman Unbound" is a super tag team smack down with none of the heavy-handed social commentary or politically correct propaganda we experienced last time around.

I've been unsystematically going through a lot of these Warner movies and this is one of the better ones for me, if not the best. I'm an old (uh, maybe that's not the best word) Superman - Batman fan, so I keep an eye on the the two series and the Justice League from time to time.

Though others have described this movie as a basic super-people brawl, I found enough character development and interpersonal "stuff" to make it more interesting than a simple super-fistfight.

I would have preferred a bit of the "old" (40 years ago) comic book Braniac, as the current Brainiac doesn't seem very "brainy" in this outing, but I like what's going on with Super Girl.

My favorite Superman characteristic is that in the end he USUALLY outwits his opponents rather than simply pummeling then into the ground, and there is a version of that in this movie as well.

I don't know the numbers, but count me in as as adult fan who likes the stories to be as intelligent and "meaningful" as possible. Keep 'em coming, Warner Bros.

I've seen many Superman films: some good, some bad. This one is just about right as far as the entertainment factor goes.

In just about any Superman cartoon/comic you will see him battle an arch enemy: be it Lex Luthor, Braniac or Darkseid. Here it is Braniac.

The Braniac character sort of parallels Galactus a character in Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer cartoons/comics. Galactus is also referred to as the "Eater Of Worlds".

The plot of the film is simple: Braniace sends a drone to the planet Earth. Superman intercepts and destroys the drone before it can can transmit a locator signal to Braniac's mothership. Supergirl tells Superman from her past experience what an awesome threat Braniac is to Earth and retells about the miniaturization of Krypton's capital city of Kandor prior to the planet's destruction with her father and mother.

Superman then makes a voyage through deep space in order to track down and destroy Braniac once and for all...

P.S. I don't know what the title has got to do with this film. But if you like title beginning with "Unbound", I think you should watch this one: Frankenstein Unbound, a 1990 horror movie based on Brian Aldiss' novel of the same name. This film was directed by Roger Corman, returning to the director's chair after a hiatus of almost twenty years. This is his final directorial effort to date(he saved the best for his last).