Superman: Man Of Tomorrow Blu-Ray Review – ★★★✩✩

Certificate – 12
Directed By – Chris Palmer
Starring – Darren Criss, Zachary Quinto, Alexandra Daddario, Ryan Hurst, Ike Amadi, Brett Dalton, Neil Flynn, Bellamy Young.
Running Time – 86 Minutes (1 Hour 17 Minutes)

This reviewing is coming in late as the film come out on Monday (7th September) and was planning to post this on the day or last Friday. However, my mental health has been honestly shit for the last couple of months with the screaming in my head only getting louder to the point I was having suicidal dreams again.

On the other hand, I’ve always felt that despite what’s going on in my world it shouldn’t affect your work and I sadly dropped the ball on this one.

So the poetic beauty that while in the world of my personal darkness, I had to watch the rebirth of DC/comics greatest hero and the symbol of hope and light, Superman.

I say rebirth as the last time we saw the Man of Steel was in Justice League: Apokolips War where it ended with the destruction of its DCAU. It was only right to see the granddaddy of all superheroes be the first of what looks like a new universe.

What is Superman: Man of Tomorrow About?

It’s the dawn of a new age of heroes, and Metropolis has just met its first. But as Daily Planet intern Clark Kent (Criss) – working alongside reporter Lois Lane (Daddario) – secretly wields his alien powers of flight, super-strength and x-ray vision in the battle for good, there’s even greater trouble on the horizon.

Follow the budding hero as he engages in bloody battles with intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo (Hurst) and fights for his life to halt the attack of power-hungry alien Parasite (Dalton). The world will learn about Superman… but first, Superman must save the world!

Is It Any Good?

As a kick-starter of a brand new universe, Man of Tomorrow does a great job of introducing us to a younger, inexperience superhero and this film takes a lot of inspiration from Man of Steel tackling the subject of being an alien from the beginning.

It actually moved me seeing a young boy watch how his friend reacted to an alien in a B-movie. It was a great way to introduce us to Scrubs’ Neil Flynn’s Pa Kent, who does embody a lot of Kevin Costner’s Jonathan, and is a fatherly guiding hand throughout the film.

As for the main cast, Criss does a brilliant job as Clark and really lay the groundwork to the hero he becomes and is clear he took queues from Christopher Reeves but made the character his own.

I loved how they introduced the iconic suit and his whole origins being from Krypton in the space of a couple of seconds. Additionally, the use of Martian Manhunter (Amadi) being a mentor and friend to Clark is well done and makes sense given being the last of his people they have a built-in bond.

Another actor I can’t wait to see progress is Quinto’s Lex Luthor and already impresses as the film showcases the mogul as the villain we all know. We see in the third act of the film his progression into his obsession onto the man in blue.

My favourite character in the film was Lobo (Hurst), he stole the film whenever he appeared with all the comedic moments and will build on the fanbase to the point I hope we get a full R-rated animated movie.

Finally, I enjoyed Tim Sheridan’s script and Palmer’s direction, with Butch Lukic, that brought a 40s animation style and felt it was in the film while also being very modern. Lukic’s new visual style is a breath of fresh air following years of the New 52 style during the DCAU and the style Bruce Timm created with Batman: The Animated Series.

Anything Bad About The Film?

I don’t mean this negatively because it was a brilliantly written character, but I was not too fond of Daddario’s Lane. It’s solely because, in this stage of her character, she’s a lacer focused tabloid journalist and is on a mission to spread fear when it comes to Superman.

Does It Have Any Bonus Features?

As always DC and Warner Bros done a great job of packing it with features including:

• Lobo: Natural Force of Chaos (Featurette)
• Martian Manhunter: Lost and Found (Featurette)
• A Sneak Peek At The Newest DC Universe Movie
• Look Back Featurettes At Justice League vs The Fatal Five and Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
• From the DC Vault: Superman: The Animated Series – The Main Man Part 1 & 2

Verdict

A well written, draw and voiced movie, Superman: Man of Tomorrow is the fresh start DC Animation needed with seeds of a more expansive universe planted.