All-Star Superman is one of the most popular Superman stories there is. For some Grant Morrison fans it borders on being a sacred text. And as is the way with sacred texts, any deviation from the 'word' borders on blasphemy; however, in this case those fans have a point. Morrison (and artist Frank Quitely) crafted a deeply layered work. Morrison loves the more 'goofy' Silver Age of comics and it shows, but beneath all the 'wacky stuff' (dinosaur men??) is a narrative that's interwoven with the book's structure. Originally running twelve issues published over two volumes, each issue or chapter reflects a specific time of year and/or hour of the day (interviews with Morrison regarding this make interesting reading). Unfortunately, because of the necessity to edit the whole thing down to a 70 minute running-time much of that structure - along with many scenes and therefore continuity - is lost. The result is we're left with a series of what sometimes appear to be random incidents that head-scratchingly don't quite tie together. That said, the voice actors do an first-rate job, as do the illustrators/animators in recreating the feel of Quitely's artwork. And the story is still definitely a touching one. Overall, 7/10

My favorite DC animated movie to date, based off of one of the better Superman comic book stories from the last decade. Dwayne McDuffie does a great job of translating Morrison's work to the screen. A few things are changed and some parts omitted for time. One of the complaints I've seen from other reviewers is that it feels too rushed. I can understand that criticism. Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns was four issues yet was given a two-part animated adaptation, clocking in at about two and a half hours combined. All-Star Superman was twelve issues yet this adaptation only clocks in at seventy-six minutes. It would have been nice had they given it more time, but I think they did good with the time they had. It moves at a brisk pace and, while there are a few small parts from the series I would have liked to see included, they did capture all of the big moments well. I watched it recently with a friend who has never read the comics. She enjoyed the movie a lot and had no complaints, so perhaps this is simply a problem among fans. Anyway, I would recommend you check out the comic series also, if you haven't already. Even if you're not a comic book reader you should enjoy it.

I love animation and superhero movies, and thought that All-Star Superman would be a good combination. Sadly for me All-Star was a real disappointment. It is not completely irredeemable, the animation is great, full of detail and atmosphere and the music is a contender for being the best asset of the film being powerfully orchestrated and emotionally resonant. 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. But the story is a huge let down. 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. The Kryptonians just pop out of nowhere and their story is far too brief. Lois is also written in a very stereotypical high-school-girl sort of manner. The pacing on top of that feels lethargic due to lack of any real excitement, the action sequences just don't have any sort of momentum. The script completely lacks the sharp and incisive quality that make the best DC movies, instead coming across as bland. Likewise with the characters. Of the voice work only LaPaglia and Asner stand out, James Denton is too monotone and also too sly and stern for Superman, and Christina Hendricks can't or doesn't do anything with Lois. Overall, a huge disappointment, could and should have been much more. 4/10 Bethany Cox