Plot in a nutshell - set in what is not apparently in sync with the rest of the DCAU continuity established by Bruce Timm, we find that Superman (voiced again by Tim Daly, who was missing in action for Justice League, where Superman was voiced by George Newbern) has decided he should tell Lois Lane (Dana Delany) his secret, but Brainiac (exit Corey Burton, enter Lance Henriksen) is back and has allied himself with Lex Luthor (exit Clancy Brown, enter Powers Boothe who did the voice of Gorilla Grodd on Justice League) to destroy Superman and take over the world. Lois is infected by a strange virus, and Superman must venture into the Phantom Zone to find the cure. Will he make it back in time to thwart Brainiac? Not as horrible as everyone says, but this direct to DVD feature, undeniably a marketing tool to help promote "Superman Returns", did make some serious mistakes. The most noticeable mistake was the decision to replace Clancy Brown with Powers Boothe as the voice of Lex Luthor and, even worse, the decision to play Luthor as an over the top ham like Gene Hackman instead of playing him as a real villain. Boothe was a good Grodd on "Justice League", but he's a poor substitute for Brown when it comes to Lex Luthor. Lance Henriksen's not as bad as Brainiac, but his performance is harmed by making wisecracks that Brainiac had not made when he was voiced by Corey Burton and by the usual suspects of Bruce Timm and his cronies. That leads to the other mistake - not using Bruce Timm, who all these long, undoubtedly lonely years has devoted himself to carving out the DCAU. While this feature isn't full blown terrible, it's weak in certain places that it probably would not have been if Bruce and his henchmen had been in the driver's seat, such as Superman's analysis at the end of why it's okay for him to be around Lois no matter what kind of insanity surrounds them (reportedly the feature was written by one of the writers for "The Batman").
Still, it was good to hear Tim Daly doing Superman's voice again, even if he did get saddled with unflattering dialogue. Nothing against George Newbern, as George got a lot better as "League" went along, but like I said, it's always good to hear Daly's Superman. It's also always good to hear Dana Delany as the voice of Lois Lane, and she probably got some far worse lines than Daly did here. Animation was well done for the most part with the Phantom Zone, and the Superman VS. Brainiac fights, especially half-way through and at the end when Superman is fighting the giant mecha-Brainiac, were well staged.
Probably will appeal more to little kids than the older fans who grew up with Bruce Timm's stuff.
Still, it was good to hear Tim Daly doing Superman's voice again, even if he did get saddled with unflattering dialogue. Nothing against George Newbern, as George got a lot better as "League" went along, but like I said, it's always good to hear Daly's Superman. It's also always good to hear Dana Delany as the voice of Lois Lane, and she probably got some far worse lines than Daly did here. Animation was well done for the most part with the Phantom Zone, and the Superman VS. Brainiac fights, especially half-way through and at the end when Superman is fighting the giant mecha-Brainiac, were well staged.
Probably will appeal more to little kids than the older fans who grew up with Bruce Timm's stuff.