The story of Superman Doomsday is based on the original "Death of Superman" comic books, and subsequent "Rebirth of Superman" story line that came after. I've heard some people refer to these series as "graphic novels", they are not. This was an ongoing comic book story line that crossed over multiple titles with various writers and artists contributing, not a finite series with a single creative team like Watchmen. Anyway, the DTV version of this material (Superman Doomsday) does not seek to adapt directly from its source material, instead it cherry picks certain elements and creates a more streamlined - and coherent - narrative. Gone are the multiple Superman replacements (Steel, Cyborg Superman, Superboy and Eradicator) along with the crossovers into other character stories (Green Lantern). Instead, Bruce Timm and company take the "essence" of this bloated story and create something much more bite-sized and far less gimmicky. Does that make this DTV story good? Well, I wouldn't go that far, but I do believe this film is better than what most people give it credit for, even if it doesn't live up to the work that came before, and in some cases after it.
One of the first things you'll notice about Superman Doomsday is that it is decidedly PG-13. This is mostly a result of the implied violence used throughout the film. Though most of the onscreen action was intense, I wouldn't consider it graphic. The implied violence, however, was surprisingly nasty and was clearly meant to distance the film from its television predecessor. Personally, I don't have an issue with this, but I will say that a number of scenes in this movie felt gratuitous and unnecessary (Luthor killing Mercy, Doomsday snapping a deer’s neck). Though the transition to PG-13 was a successful one with Superman Doomsday, I think that the tone could have been handled a bit better. An occasionally lighter touch - for example - could have been very beneficial to this story.
Another example of Superman Doomsday trying a little too hard can be found in the melodramatic sequences involving Lois Lane. From her arguments with Superman regarding his level of commitment to their relationship (they are actually dating in this story), to her tearful breakdown with Martha in Smallville, you could really feel how badly the writers wanted this story to be mature. Unfortunately, these scenes all too often drag down the film's plot and give the movie an unwanted "chick flick" vibe (coincidently, this same problem would occur in the live action Superman Returns film as well). Don't get me wrong, I appreciate what the writers of Doomsday were trying to do. Hell, I'll even applaud the effort. I'm just saying that the end result - while not completely wrong - wasn't quite right, and the story feels a little labored because of it.
Then, of course, there are the obvious similarities between the DCAU Superman series and Superman Doomsday, similarities that make the later feel ... uninspired. Though some may deem it unfair to take a DTV set outside of the DCAU TV universe and shackle it with comparisons to said precursor, the truth is this movie has far too many familiarities to do otherwise. From the character designs - which are decidedly DCAU - to the choice of subject matter - which was already covered in the original Justice League series - Superman Doomsday just doesn't feel like a "new" story, more like a retread. I'm not sure why Bruce Timm chose to adapt material that had already been covered in one of his previous shows, or why he kept the character designs so familiar (though they were tweaked). Perhaps it was to ease the fans transition from TV to DTV, or maybe the lack of a strong visual style in the source material dictated it. Regardless, this was probably not the best decision. Sure, going with a popular character like Superman was a must, but I think a better, fresher, story and visual style could have been found to work with.
Overall, I think the story of Superman Doomsday manages to hold together pretty good though. As I've pointed out, the film's writing does show some growing pains with the move to PG-13, and the need to distance itself - both gently and forcibly - from the aforementioned DC cartoons preceding it. That said the story works within the context of its DTV format. The pacing is solid, the scope is correct and the plot points are properly introduced, developed and concluded without fail. Considering the very average source material being worked with here, I'm comfortable with the story developed for Superman Doomsday.
Visually speaking, I've already mentioned that this film's character designs are very similar - if ever so slightly different - in appearance to the ones found in the DC animated universe. Truth be told, this is probably the weakest visual element of the movie. Superman looks just like he did in the Justice League cartoons, only with more defined cheekbones. Lois is a little more "hip" and sexy, but outside of the tighter outfits and hair style, she still retains a lot of her DCAU appearance. Doomsday looks ... well he looks like Doomsday always looks, so nothing new there. And while the secondary characters designs of Lex Luthor, Jimmy Olsen and Mercy are strikingly different than their television counterparts, I'm afraid only Jimmy's is an improvement (both Luthor and Mercy's new designs are downgrades). This same sense of familiarity carries over to the rest of the world in Superman Doomsday as well. From the city of Metropolis, to the armed forces trying to stop Doomsday, to the on looking crowds, I just couldn't shake the feeling that I was watching a high end episode of Justice League Unlimited, not a film set in a completely different reality.
Fortunately, the actual animation in Superman Doomsday is superb. Movement is fluid, the staging is excellent and the action choreography epic. I was especially impressed with the fast paced battles between Superman and his various enemies. It's always nice to see the big blue Boy Scout go toe-to-toe with opponents who are his physical equal. The ensuing slugfests are just so grandiose and intense I can't help but love them. Thankfully, Bruce Timm's people always seem to deliver on the potential stemming from these choice matchups, and Superman Doomsday is no exception.
Though it suffers from some derivative design, Superman Doomsday is a good looking DTV. It may not be a visual masterpiece - and there are certainly better looking DTVs out there - but this film still has some solid execution. I was not disappointed with the movies visuals.
I was disappointed, however, with the voice acting of Superman Doomsday. In another attempt to distance itself from the DC television cartoons, the creators of Superman Doomsday chose to cast different actors for all of the main characters in the film. Sadly, every one of these performances was a step down from what fans were used to. By far the worst is Adam Baldwin as Superman. Though his work improves as the film goes on, I found Baldwin's powerless voice incredibly frustrating to listen to. The first 20 minutes or so of the movie are especially bad and quickly hi-light what a mistake the casting of Baldwin was. Other actors such as Anne Heche (Lois Lane) and James Masters (Lex Luthor) turn in better performances, but neither has the unique voice - or experience - of their predecessor (Clancey Brown and Dana Delany). Now it may seem like my displeasure with the acting choices of Superman Doomsday stems from my affection for the original TV actors, but I don't believe this to be the case. Admittedly, I was very taken aback the first time I watched this movie in 2007, but since then I've seen plenty of DTVs with different actors portraying these same characters. Yet, when I went and re-watched this film just last week, I still found Heche to be mediocre, Masters outmatched and Baldwin unbearable. Then again, maybe the visual similarity to the TV series has something to do with it, I don't know, either way I did not like the voice acting in this movie one iota.
Taken as a whole, I thought Superman Doomsday was a decent movie. Not good, not bad, just decent. Looking back over all the DC direct-to-video films from the last couple years, I think Doomsday falls somewhere in the middle. Better than the Jeph Loeb disasters Batman/Superman Public Enemies and Batman/Superman Apocalypse, but nowhere near as good as Batman Under the Red Hood or Wonder Woman. If you're a fan of the original Death of Superman story line, you might get turned off by all the liberties taken by this film. Since I wasn't a fan, however, I had no problems with the changes made by the Doomsday's writers. Sure, the story has problems - and honestly it's not all that interesting of a concept to begin with - but the plot and pacing work, the action is good and the production value is there. As long as you can get past the poor voice acting from the main character (and again, it does get better as the movie progresses) I would recommend Superman Doomsday as - at the very least - a rental.
