All-Star Superman

Plot synopsis:
Dr. Leo Quintum and his team from P.R.O.J.E.C.T. are exploring the Sun when they are remotely sabotaged by Lex Luthor. Superman rescues them, and acquires the ability to project his bio-electric aura. Luthor orchestrated this event to overwhelm Superman's cells with massive amounts of solar radiation, and Quintum determines that Superman's new level of power is also killing him, and he has one year left to live. Luthor is arrested, thanks to a Daily Planet article by Clark Kent. Superman decides to keep his impending death secret from the public.
However, Superman reveals his secret identity to Lois Lane, because he wants to spend his remaining time with her. Lois initially refuses to believe that Clark and Superman are the same person. For her birthday, Superman takes Lois to the Fortress of Solitude, where they have dinner in a stateroom of the RMS Titanic. During this visit, he also tells Lois that she can explore the Fortress save for one room he is constantly checking. Superman's behavior heightens Lois' suspicions and she becomes paranoid. She attacks Superman with a Kryptonite laser, but his enhanced powers have rendered him immune to it.
Superman calms her down and reveals that he was preparing her birthday present in the off-limits room: a costume for her and a liquefied form of his DNA that will grant her all his superpowers for 24 hours. Using the name "Superwoman", she and Superman stop a monster attack in Metropolis involving Samson, Atlas and an Ultra-Sphinx. Superman drives Samson and Altas away and he and Lois spend an eventful day that ends with them kissing on the moon before her powers fade and she falls asleep. Superman flies her back home.
Luthor is convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death. Clark meets Luthor for an interview at Stryker's Island. Luthor discloses his respect for Clark as a journalist and states that he has no desire to escape as long as he defeats Superman by causing his death. He reveals to Clark that Superman is dying, hoping that it will be published in the Daily Planet.
Nearing death, Superman accomplishes a variety of tasks that significantly help both humans & Kryptonians and completes his last will and testament. Meanwhile, Luthor survives his execution as he took a serum similar to what Superman made for Lois and escapes. Superman then learns of Luthor's ally Solaris, who has tampered with the sun. Superman engages Solaris until a Sun-Eater that Superman had cared for in the Fortress and subsequently released returns to sacrifice itself to weaken it. Superman defeats Solaris, leaving its body intact because he has learned from the Superman Squad that Solaris will become an ally in the future. Clark returns to the Daily Planet to submit his article but falls dead. As the staff tries to save him, Luthor arrives and attacks Metropolis.
Believing he is on his home planet of Krypton, Superman joins his Kryptonian father Jor-El, who reveals that Superman's body is converting itself to a solar radio-consciousness. He offers him a choice: remain or come back to life. Clark wakes up and fights Luthor with a gravity gun. The gravity gun warps time for Luthor, burning out his powers. As his powers fade, Luthor briefly sees the world as Superman sees it, and weeps before Superman knocks him out. Superman and Lois embrace and he proclaims his love for her once and for all. He takes off, flies into the Sun and repairs it, saving the day for one last time. One year later, Lois tells Jimmy that she still believes Superman will return. Inside the sun, Superman, now a solar being, maintains machinery to keep the sun alive. The story concludes with Quintum revealing that if something happens, they will be ready, standing before a door with Superman's characteristic shield, but with its usual "S" replaced with the number "2".
Kal-El himself would one day emerge from his seclusion: he was seen once from countless thousands of years in the future, having evolved into a sort of golden god, meeting with his past self shortly after the death of Jonathan Kent and his masquerade as the Unknown Superman, and shortly before his own 'death'. The future Superman presented his dying past self with an indestructible golden flower from New Krypton, "For him, from all of us. In remembrance of all that we are. And all that we will be." The flower was planted at Jonathan Kent's grave.

Tags: tragedy, whimsical, romantic, action

Review:
He had a death in Superman Returns, a death in "Superman Doomsday" and now another death in the animated adaptation of Grant Morrison's "All Star Superman" comic book.
With time running out for the man of steel, Superman sets about to put all his affairs in order before he goes while continuing to defend the earth against threats from within and without.From the get go, All Star Superman feels like a multi episode TV series compressed into a single movie.
While this worked for a bi-monthly comic book series, it does not have the similar effect as an animated movie.
An episodic miniseries would have been a better medium to convey the full feel of the original story.Thankfully The production team's faithfulness to the source material is not entirely a shortcoming.
Similarly, Clark Kent's oafish demeanor is comedic yet sincere; his interview with Lex Luthor and subsequent escape from the prison riot caused by a supervillian's escape is possibly the most fun part of the entire movie.Here is another strength of All Star Superman.
Even Luthor gets a heart wrenching moment once you find out that the reason behind his hatred of Superman goes much deeper than just "because he foiled my plans".Special mention goes to Christopher Drake's soundtrack which is by far his best work.
One might go so far as to say that his score here is actually better than Shirley Walker's stuff from the 90s Superman Animated series, just slightly behind John Williams.
It seems like a farce that the movie stuck so closely to the comic going to great lengths to even replicate whole scenes perfectly yet cut out and streamline a fair bit of material.
Perhaps Warner Premiere and Bruce Timm might consider a "directors cut" in which they go back and animate the rest of those scenes like the Bizzaro world, or the visit by Superman from the future.
One is that this movie is a "All Star Superman lite": a bite sized version of the great graphic novel for the uninitiated which will hopefully entice them to pick up the miniseries (now available in trade paperback form and an "Absolute" collectors edition).
All-Star Superman is a real standout movie within the animated DC films, with an outstanding voice cast this one really surprised me but not entirely in a good way.It tells the story of our hero becoming poisoned with excessive quantities of radiation from the sun and slowly dying.
He sets about getting his affairs in order before he breathes his last breath.With a host of other DC villians including Lex Luthor (Duh!) we see several mini-stories to keep Kal busy until his final moments.The story is well done, heartfelt and enjoyable but at the same time badly flawed in places and left me scratching my head.It just felt like the creators went into business for themselves, throwing much of the lore out and just writing whatever they wanted like a bad piece of fan fiction.Make no mistake I found the oddly titled All-Star Superman to be watchable but I think it spread itself too thin considering how much it tackles and the magnitude of the story they are trying to tell.The cast do however do a fantastic job including the criminally underrated Anthony LaPaglia as Luthor.The Good:Hell of a voice castNice storyThe Bad:Too big a story for its run timePretencious finaleThings I Learnt From This Movie:Storing things that can kill you makes perfect sense, destroying them would be sillyKryptonian formalwear is the same as casual just with a hoodI want super powers for my birthday as well!.
If you have read the comics you will get this movie, but everyone else - I imagine - will have a hard time following the whole story.
They should have made this a 2 part movie or a 90 minutes feature to get a little more of a developing story.
Still, it is quite good, but i have to judge it like a viewer who has never read the comics, that are basis to this films, So I can only reward 6 stars.
Sorry, could have been a fantastic - probably one of the best - superman animations, but it fell (literally) short.
Missed out on the chance of making the best Superman movie ever..
All Star Superman - finally a worthy movie to watch.
I can honestly say that this take on the superman story is the best iv'e ever seen.
Iv'e been away from superman the comic for quiet some time - but have seen all of the DC movie material that have been available, but non of the other renditions of Supermans story comes close to this one - This knowing that most of the material is from Morrison's: All Star Superman Comic series - the movies overall style is true to the Comic version with bright colors, light humor and great scenes.
At one point i was thinking: " all this goodness must end soon" but no the movie kept going on with some new cool stuff to marvel over.
i guess this movie has all the trademarks of good old solid craftsmanship, teamwork and love towards the superman legacy - witch are very visible when handling old classic elements from other alternative superman comic stories that have been weaved nicely into the story.end note: i felt a closure to the superman epos, witch was nice.This is the superman i want to remember..thank you DC for making this possible.
The animation is well, done, though at times, I felt like the detail was a bit off, and if we were really to hit it home, the animation might've had more of an impact, but that's not taking away anything from the movie for me.
Voices were also really well done, especially Superman's, because it makes him seem a lot more like a hero with the gentle, calm voice, and Luthor a vain intelligent evil man (as well as other characters who the read should find out for himself).
Part of the emotional impact this movie had was the real feeling of heroism you felt from Superman - like I said, how Superman should be.
And of course, the ending, which had so many things to it that were emotional, from pretty much every single character in the movie (like seriously!
even one of the robots!) So yeah, definite 5/5 from me and the best Superman movie I've ever seen so far..
Little ones I make here on my cosmic anvil" For all in all I would give this movie really no more than 1 point but the animation and the music were good, and it kept me laughing but at the other side it's not intended this way.
So if you like a good superhero movie don't watch it.
I love animation and superhero movies, and thought that All-Star Superman would be a good combination.
There are two good voice actors, Anthony LaPaglia who does a superb job as Luthor giving the character a certain menace and intelligence and Ed Asner whose Perry is every bit as effective.
The telling of the story feels rushed and disjointed in trying to cram in lots of situations and characters and sadly not giving any depth to them.
All-Star Superman is the latest animated feature from DC Comics, based off the comic book series of the same name by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely.
The comic, not part of the regular continuity, features Lex Luthor overdosing Superman with solar radiation so that the Man of Steel will die.
Superman then goes on a quest to leave the world in a better place than when he left it.Though I have not actually read the series this video is based off, I love Superman.
I've read the comics, watched the series, bought the movies, and even listened to a few of the old radio programs.The movie is a different version of the Superman character, much like the comics.
I understand that it is based off a specific comic book series, but then again so were Superman: Doomsday, Justice League: The New Frontier, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, and Batman: Under the Red Hood and those all seemed to work fine as a straightforward movie.A resulting problem is that many of these episodes don't help the main story at all.
Sadly this moment is wasted as they set up something later in the movie.Just as a general complaint about these animated movies, I'm getting a little tired of always seeing Superman and Batman.
As I said, it's the eighth movie with Superman while Batman has eleven with a twelfth on the way.
I know they've had trouble getting another live action Superman movie off the ground, but must they flood the animated market with him?
While I enjoy Superman, Batman, and Hulk, the animated film medium is the perfect venue to explore lesser known characters that don't have several live action movies.Overall, the film simply does not flow as a cohesive whole.
Superman fans will probably enjoy the different take on the character that the movie explores.
My favorite DC animated movie to date, based off of one of the better Superman comic book stories from the last decade.
This is an unfamiliar Superman, which in itself is fine and good, but to have so many exploits and with so little quality time engage in this arc, just felt empty.I'm sure if you ara a fan of Superman in any manifestation, you can find something to Love about this production.
Director Sam Liu and writer Dwayne McDuffie take the best elements of Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly's graphic novel from the story, feel, and pace and bring them to the screen expertly with the help of the animators and the vocal talents of the actors.The animation is up to the high standard of the Warner Bros.
Edward Asner is perfect as Perry White.The only reason this didn't make a full 10/10 is because it isn't the best Superman story, it's good, though I did have issues with it, such as the Sampson character and his sidekick which turns up.
I've never been able to understand why Morrison chose this character when there were so many others to choose from.If you've read the graphic novel you don't need to see the movie, though you should enjoy it.
If you haven't read the novel then check out the film if you like superheroes or animations, then read the novel, it's better..
SUPERMAN animation at its BEST.
This is not like any other DC animated movie you will ever see...
But as with any story that involves SUPERMAN, we the viewer must "feel" emotionally attached to The Man of Steel for it to work.
All-Star Superman comics written by Grant Morrison are one of the greatest if not the greatest stories about Man of Steel ever made.
Movie tries so hard to fill script with as many story lines from comic books as possible and because of this whole movie seems a bit cramped and confusing.
And while it's okay with ongoing comics it's definitely not the best quality of the feature film, even if it's animated.Still, they got the best part which is, for me, Lex Luthor monologue, and maybe if I would have read comics before watching, I wouldn't be so confused and the movie would be much more enjoyable for me..
This movie is probably the most faithful adaptation of a comic I've ever seen.
He realizes he only has a limited time to live, so he is going to take care of all business before he goes, including telling Lois Lane how he really feels (again!) Some of the stories don't really seem to fit well, but I guess this was based on a limited series.
It has an interesting take on why Luthor hates Superman with such intensity.We see a whole variety of characters, including Parasite, a couple of Kryptonians, and so on.
From the very beginning of the movie I could tell that this was a very different incarnation of any Superman I had ever seen.
It seems like All-Star Superman was written by a warped individual who wanted audiences to see his distorted version of the man of steel.
One of the best Superman animated movie ever.
The best ever Superman animated movie ever created.
Adapted from the 12 volume comic series of Morrison and packed in a 76 minute video adaptation, it does feel a bit paced at times, but every frame is worth it.
Many of the reviewers seemed to have missed the point that this was an adaptation of the 12-part Morrison story to an animated form.
I can see why some viewers that read the comic book this movie is based could be disappointed.
I never read that actual comic book this movie is based on, but I could tell it's missing quite a bit from the comic book.
By trying to cram a lot of things into a short animated movie form, makes this one appear all over the place at times.
The animation is solid though and the movement to the design, was something I really liked seeing in this movie.
I especially liked how Superman disguises himself as Clark Kent in this and how he does his best to disguise himself as this weak and clumsy reporter that people look down on.
I have so many Superman movies, some better than others, while some failed on one front or another, but this one has to take the proverbial "CAKE" of being the worst one ever.Okay, It is based on a comic which has a different continuity than the main one, and maybe Superman version 1 does die in this comic book, but the movie is pure ****.The story is absolute rubbish, taking 3 or 4 or 5 or ?
And please...The whole world knows that Lois knows that Superman/ Clark Kent are one..be it comics, movies, TV shows etc etc...so why waste time with the whole revelation act crap...If they had done proper editing and had actually added a couple of minutes to the movie to develop a proper coordination between all the stories and characters then it would have made sense...Loved the previous Animation movies by DC such as Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Apocalypse ; Batman : Under the Red Hood, Young Justice etc...these had good stories...a plot line...not some crap thrown together just to make a lousy movie...I hope they do better next time...One of my most anticipated movies turns out to be a disaster....
Now that I know the movie is following a multi-comic book story arc then the format is understandable but still does not make any sense as a stand-alone movie.
Some pieces like the 2 from Krypton make no sense in the time frame of the movie.
So let you youngest kids watch this but if you or your older children want a good storyline - there are better Superman and DC movies out there..
Not the best DC animated movie..
I've only recently begun watching the DC animated movies and have rarely been disappointed, until now.
I have been a long-time Superman/DC fan and thought I was pretty familiar with the characters, but there were so many new ones introduced here that I'd never heard of, I might as well been watching an Image comics movie.
This...ahem...movie, amply deserves it.A few months ago I asked for recommendations for newish Superman comics.
I don't think Superman comics are compatible with my sensibilities, let's put it that way.
Note to the director; close ups of your character acting abashed or some kind of thoughtful or whatever, that may go down well in a comic book(and in my humble opinion it rarely does, actually) but do avoid this in a movie, especially given this Clark Kent's resemblance to a kid with cookies stuffed in his face.
Frankly he doesn't even look like a character from anime.
I had always thought that the best Superman story had to lack one crucial ingredient, Lex Luthor.
There are Better Superman Movies Out There!.
All-Star Superman is the second animated Superman film in the DC animated movie lineup.
Like with Superman Doomsday this movie had much potential.
However, like Superman Doomsday, I do not think the movie really lived up to that potential.
However, viewing it again, I liked more the second time, though I still think it is a bit of a lackluster film.
I liked this film more than Superman Doomsday mainly because unlike Doomsday, this film did not ruin a story that I am a big fan of.
I am not too familiar with the All-Star Superman comic.
I only know what I have heard about it online.This movie has many of the same issues that Superman Doomsday had.
All-Star Superman story, like the Death of Superman, is much too long to fit into an hour and fifteen minute movie.
So, the Man of Steel decides to spend his last days on Earth helping the innocent and spending some time with his beloved Lois Lane.As a life long comic book fan, I am disappointed in myself for not reading the comic material that this animation movie is based on, if any..So I answer this as an audience member.
In essence everything you could possibly want is there...the voice actors are very good in their chosen roles, the dialogue is satisfactory...However, even I a comic book fan found the erratic sequence of heroic deeds quite confusing...when he goes to find a suitable planet for the last Kryptonian survivors and then immediately he returns home to find that another set of Kryptonians have arrived and then he immediately dispatches them.I felt that more time could have been given in telling a story about who Clark Kent really is...rather than focusing on Superman's amazing feats..I understand its called Superman for a reason, but a little bit more intimacy would have been nice..
To be honest I have never really read the All Star Superman comics.
But I think this movie actually helped with understanding the comics.