Superman/Batman: Public Enemies [Blu-Ray]
Directed by Sam Liu
By Robert Bell

With Superman acting as the plucky idealist, certain of the inherent benefits in systemic accord, and Batman more the brooding pragmatist, unsurprised by humankind's darker side, this union could have been an interesting look at different brands of justice and psychological make ups, but it isn't. Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is little more than an hour of battles and action with a barely serviceable story and the occasional snide remark. Lex Luthor (voiced by Clancy Brown), in his bid for presidency, has cleaned up Metropolis, making it an assimilative, law-abiding state, or "boring," as Power Girl (Allison Mack) puts it. With the Justice League in tow, only Batman (Kevin Conroy) and Superman (Tim Daly) have held out on the megalomaniac, becoming public enemies in the process, as a meteor comes crashing towards Earth. Under Lex's command, Metallo, Bane, Solomon Grundy, Nightshade, Captain Marvel, Hawkman and a variety of other "superheroes" hunt down the resistant pair, filling the hour-long running time with endless, occasionally brutal battles. While seeing characters like Silver Banshee and Brimstone battle two of DC's icons is indeed entertaining on its own, a little exploration of government foible and legal loopholes, as juxtaposed with Batman and Superman's different ideologues, could have made the film that much more. Included with the Blu-Ray are a good three hours of bonus features, such as a featurette titled "A Test of Minds: Superman and Batman," which examines their psychology and evolving relationship. This bonus feature is more interesting than the film itself. Multiple plugs for upcoming DC Universe Animated fare show up in the form of Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Blackest Night and Justice League Crisis on Two Earths, along with some animated DC shorts. Lastly, there is an hour-long supplement with Kevin Conroy and some folks involved in the DCU, which is essentially them eating dinner and discussing voice casting. Boring! (Warner)
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