âPublic Enemiesâ ... no not that one, the one with the superheroes
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I saw Michael Mannâs âPublic Enemiesâ a few weeks ago and I have to say I walked out of the screening feeling disappointed.
Iâm a big Johnny Depp fan (who isnât?), I love the source material (the brilliant book of the same title by Brian Burroughs) and I consider director Mann to be one of the most gifted filmmakers in Hollywood. But even with all that (or maybe because of all that) I didnât get everything I needed out of this efficient but oddly inert period piece. Iâm also thinking that maybe Christian Bale should make fewer movies. Christian, how can we miss you if you wonât go away?
Thereâs a different âPublic Enemiesâ on the horizon and it doesnât involve Jack Sparrow and John Connor squaring off with tommy guns. In September, DC will release âSuperman/Batman: Public Enemies,â the sixth release in the series of PG-13 animated films that are made for the home video market. Today we have some advance art from the film.
The film is based on the 2003 comics saga by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Ed McGuinness. It was very popular, but I have to say it just wasnât one of my favorites ... maybe I need to lower my standards. Or stop writing about movies with this title. (Looks like there was a 1941 comedy about newspaperman called âPublic Enemiesâ that had William Frawley, Fred from âI Love Lucy,â as a co-star ... hmmmm.)
Hereâs a blurb from DC:
In the film, United States President Lex Luthor uses the oncoming trajectory of a Kryptonite asteroid to frame Superman and declare a $1 billion bounty on the heads of the Man of Steel and his âpartner in crime,â Batman. Heroes and villains alike launch a relentless pursuit of Superman and Batman, who must unite â and recruit help â to stave off the action-packed onslaught, stop the asteroid, and uncover Luthorâs devious plot to take command of far more than North America. The movie reunites the lead voices of Superman, Batman and Lex Luthor from the landmark âSuperman: The Animated Seriesâ and âBatman: The Animated Series.â Tim Daly (âPrivate Practiceâ), Kevin Conroy (âJustice Leagueâ) and Clancy Brown (âThe Shawshank Redemptionâ) reprise their roles as Superman, Batman and Lex Luthor, respectively.
There are a lot of extras on the DVD for âSuperman\Batman: Public Enemies.â Among them are a behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming âBlackest Nightâ comics event; âA Test of Minds,â a featurette with Loeb looking at the relationship between the Man of Steel and the Caped Crusader; and âDinner with DC: With Special Guest Kevin Conroy,â with the voice actor sitting down with voice director Andrea Romano, DCâs Gregory Noveck and the very gifted producer Bruce Timm. Thereâs even more on the Blu-ray, including bonus epsiodes of âJustice Leagueâ and âJustice League: Unlimited.â
-- Geoff Boucher
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Artwork courtesy of DC Comics. Jerry Robinson photo by Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times.