Review: Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009)

Yet one more movie in the chain-watching, super hero madness that has consumed my life as of late, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is another DC animated flick that brings the two biggest money-makers together to face down the smartest villain on the planet - Lex Luthor. Unfortunately, there’s not much to this movie. It’s basically a series of punch-fests that feature Batman and Superman facing off against different opponents while Luthor laughs maniacally in the background. By the end, I was almost bored enough to turn this one off.

The story begins with Lex Luthor being elected to the office of President of the United States. He does all sorts of great things to help people, but, naturally, Superman and Batman don’t trust him. Luthor also manages to bring lots of other super heroes to his side, making them official guardians of the US. When a giant meteor (made of nothing less than pure kryptonite) threatens to impact the Earth and destroy it, it’s up to Luthor to save the day. But his plan sucks and he fails. So he goes to Superman for help. Or rather to pretend to ask for help while he actually provokes Superman into acting illegally.

So then the namesake of the movie comes in - Superman and Batman get declared public enemies for killing a super villain-turned-hero that works for Luthor. After that, the duo must fight groups of super villains looking to get a huge reward, groups of super heroes trying to do right by the President and groups of… well, pretty much just different groups of super-powered beings. Over and over and over until the movie is done.

The animation throughout the movie is okay. The character design and most of the static elements look good enough, but the action is choppy and unimpressive. Added to the fact that this movie is composed of probably about 60-70% fight scenes, it’s a bit boring to watch unless all you want is to see new combos of villain vs. hero and hero vs. hero. Don’t look for too much character development here.

The folks at Rotten Tomatoes give Superman/Batman: Public Enemies a not-so-good 67%. In my opinion, that’s probably more than it deserves, especially when measured up against other DC animated properties. It’s mellow enough to be great for kids though, with no killing or blood or anything like that. I’m guessing maybe this one was aimed at a younger audience. Adults might like it too, but don’t expect anything outstanding.

Photo Credits -           

Public enemies courtesy of comixbrew.net