DC Animation’s newest feature Superman: Unbound is based on the Geoff Johns comic book storyline ‘Superman: Brainiac.’ Superman along with his cousin Supergirl face off against his long time foe who it turns out he’s never really known at all. Brainiac travels the galaxy searching for intelligent civilizations in order to absorb their information and keep a miniaturized portion of their world as a trophy on his ship in his quest to have all knowledge.
Spoilers Ahead:
Kara also known as Supergirl is having trouble fitting in to life on Earth. She’s a teenager full of emotions that even her cousin Superman doesn’t seem to understand. Right before Krypton was destroyed a still infant Superman is sent to earth in hopes that he will live on. The same was done for his teenage cousin Kara. The only difference is her ship was knocked off course and it took her decades to arrive on earth while in suspended animation. For her Krypton was around just a few months ago compared to Superman who was raised on earth since he was a baby. But now her greatest nightmare has come to Earth. Brainiac who we learn is the reason Krypton was destroyed has learned of Earth’s existence . Superman will see first hand Brainiac’s handiwork and discover that his cousin Kara and himself are not exactly the last Kryptonians. In his ship Brainiac preserves the best of all civilizations he destroys. Krypton was no exception since it’s greatest city known as Kandor along with it’s citizens still live!
An interesting storyline to choose as it shows an all new version of Brainiac that is supposed to be the real version over the previous ones we’ve seen in Superman’s past. Physically he’s even a match for the man of steel and his cousin Supergirl. Superman also has to deal with his teenage cousin. Despite having new found amazing powers she’s still feeling helpless, vulnerable and angry. Then there is Lois who in this feature has a relation ship with Clark Kent (Superman), but he has done his best with keeping it a secret which makes her feel like he’s not committing to the relationship. There is a lot happening in terms of growth, not just for Supergirl but Superman needing to come to terms where he stands with the woman who will eventually become the love of his life.
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I enjoyed the voice acting by the cast which includes Matt Bomer (Superman/Clark Kent), Stana Katic (Lois Lane), John Noble (Brainiac) and Molly C. Quinn (Supergirl). They were an improvement over the last feature Dark Knight Returns 2 where I found the voice acting to be a bit too flat. In particular the Joker’s voice. The character designs for this movie specifically Superman just seemed off. His head just didn’t fit the body. The action itself was good and plentiful. This movie also seemed a bit more mature. I would suggest not allowing younger children to view it until the appropriate age since there are some scenes that may be deemed a bit too violent.
I picked up this movie with some hesitation since lately it feels like all animated features are either Superman or Batman. Two characters that I really like, but I miss seeing other characters. Perhaps DC Animation could consider doing double features instead of a single movie. I understand that the movies sell more when you have either Superman, Batman or even both together. At least we got Supergirl for this one. Even though all the movies DC releases are based on different stories it’s beginning to feel a bit stale. The DC animation department has gotten some competition from Marvel lately so you’d think they’d want to expand and create something that can compete. While I liked the latest feature I wasn’t blown away by it. I’d recommend Superman: Unbound for a rental since it deserves at least a viewing.