Subject to some controversy surrounding its comic-book accuracy, 'Superman/Doomsday (2007)' does focus less on its eponymous characters than you might expect and actually only features around ten-minutes of the 'Doomsday' character, instead focusing on the aftermath of his battle with our hero and loosely amalgamating several story-strands from the Son Of Krypton's source-material. Ultimately, I think the title was meant to be more metaphorical than literal, with the 'Doomsday' referring to the severity of the flick's events rather than the character that causes much of the destruction, unnamed in the actual picture. What doesn't help this possible intention, and I'm about to get pedantic here, is the confusing punctuation used. I've seen it written with a colon, a dash and, as appears here on IMDb, a forward-slash; on the actual title-card, no punctuation appears. I think the intention was for a more traditional colon, which allows for my 'metaphorical double use' theory to stand, but the lack of actual punctuation on film caused some confusion and is the reason we end up with the current title, as it is the best way to represent two words that are shown together yet meant to be taken separately. Yet, the forward-slash implies the piece is a two-hander between the two characters and doesn't really leave much room for a double meaning. It's clumsy from many standpoints and sets the movie up as something it ultimately isn't, and wasn't ever intended to be. This could all be to further subvert expectation, however, by pointing the audience in one direction and then taking them in another. This ends up creating a genuinely surprising piece that may, at times, be somewhat outlandish but does tell a mostly mature tale that doesn't focus entirely on smash-'em-up action, though it does have its fair share of it. The sillier stuff becomes intrinsic with the narrative, consistent with the world and treated with the respect needed to make it mostly believable. The film is consistently entertaining and unexpected, placing more of its emphasis on a supporting cast that barely gets the time-of-day in other Superman stories to a refreshing result. It's in its unconventional approach that it finds its footing as a story with stakes far higher than the usual 'save the city from a big monster', stakes that are built upon meaty character dynamics and genuine morals twisted by believable motivations. Ultimately, it's pretty compelling stuff. 7/10
Review of Superman/Doomsday
Superman/Doomsday
(2007 Video)
Sometimes slightly outlandish but ultimately quite compelling.
16 June 2018