In the new DVD release from Warner Brothers, Superman: Brainiac Attacks, embittered by Superman’s heroic successes and soaring popularity, Lex Luthor forms a dangerous alliance with the powerful computer/villain Brainiac. Using advanced weaponry and a special strain of kryptonite harvested from the far reaches of outer space, Luthor specifically redesigns Brainiac to defeat the man of steel. When Brainiac betrays Luthor and reveals its sinister plans for world domination, Superman must brave the mysterious Phantom Zone to find the strength to survive this deadly showdown.
Is it too late to send this to Bryan Singer?
It can be difficult to get excited about watching a straight-to-video cartoon, but Superman: Brainiac Attacks is a pleasant surprise. Pleasant in that the movie is done well, and not overly directed towards children. The story is well crafted, and the soundtrack is motion picture quality.
Tim Daly's performance as Superman and Clark Kent would make Bud Collyer proud, though it could be distracting to Wings fans. The rest of the cast is stellar as it is stacked with star power including Dana Delany as Lois Lane, Powers Booth as Lex Luthor, and Lance Henriksen as Brainiac.
With all the various incarnations of Superman between live action and animated television, as well as motion pictures and comic books, it can be challenging to keep track of the development of the characters and stories. In this outing, Superman is still struggling with telling Lois his true identity, the Fortress of Solitude is quite different than in other stories, and Lex Luthor is portrayed quite clownish. The direction of the Luthor character does not work at all, but that is one of the few parts of this endeavor that does not work.
On the other side of the character interpretation coin is the Jimmy Olsen character voiced by David Kaufman, and that of Brainiac (Henriksen). Jimmy is enjoyably involved in the story far more than other television and motion picture efforts. Brainiac comes across as confident and intensely dangerous, and the battles between he and our hero actually leave Superman looking vulnerable.
Article comments
1 - Iloz Zoc
Definitely need to send this to Singer. Braniac is the perfect and logical choice to bring Superman back to the action. If I have to suffer through another Luthor and land scheme story again, I will kill myself.
2 - Johnny canuck
Are you kidding? Did you see any of the superman animated series from where this came or from the Justice league animated series. Booth as Luthor is hideous - watch any of the series where it is voiced by Clancy Brown and you will see why this movie should be taken out behind the shed and shot. Luthor, after being a smart and steely supervillain all of a sudden turns wacky? What a disservice to the Bruce Tim years. Yes daly and delany are good, but this movie is a hack job at best and in poor taste.