Superman: Man Of Tomorrow [Blu-Ray]

Director: Chris Palmer

Cast: Darren Criss, Zachary Quinto, Alexandra Daddario (VOICES)

Release Date: September 8, 2020

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 7.5/10
Disc Rating: 7.5/10

Synopsis:

It’s the dawn of a new age of heroes, and Metropolis has just met its first. But as Daily Planet intern Clark Kent – working alongside reporter Lois Lane – 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 and fights for his life to halt the attack of power-hungry alien Parasite. The world will learn about Superman … but first, Superman must save the world!

Please Note: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Post. The opinions I share are my own.

‘Superman: Man of Tomorrow’ presents a new hero for a new age. The film follows a young Clark Kent who is just starting his career at the Daily Planet, currently serving as a lowly assistant. But when an intergalactic bounty hunter arrives in pursuit of him, he soon begins to learn how to control his powers and begins his secret career as Superman. Donning his costume for the first time, Superman joins forces with fellow local alien the Martian Manhunter in an attempt to confront the growing evil rising in Metropolis. Now Clark will have to quickly learn how to best utilize his powers in time to stop the parasitic force attacking left and right, something he just might stand a chance at pulling off with a little help.

The latest entry in the long-running lineup of DC Universe Original Animated Movies, ‘Superman: Man of Tomorrow’ offers fans a new take on the origins of the legendary Man of Steel, joining Clark in a modern day Metropolis where he works as an unappreciated assistant at the Daily Planet and occasionally helps fight some unexpected forces when necessary. The story tells a new interpretation of how a young, modern day Clark Kent finds his way to becoming the hero the world needs. It works as a perfect kicking off point that should provide plenty of great nods and touches for longtime fans to appreciate, while also serving as a nice introduction of sorts to those less familiar with the character or folks who don’t want to watch an entire saga of films just to not be lost with the current one. Loaded with excitement, action and quite a bit of heart, ‘Superman: Man of Tomorrow’ is another fun and enjoyable DC animated feature that shouldn’t disappoint. The film also features a new voice cast of talented folks including Darren Criss as Superman/Clark Kent, Zachary Quinto as Lex Luthor, Alexandra Daddario as Louis Lane and more who each do a solid job overall taking on these various famous characters. I would definitely encourage fellow DC fans to give this one a shot, along with any casual fans who might appreciate a nice standalone offering that doesn’t require any prior knowledge of the world and its players in order to thoroughly appreciate and enjoy.

Overall, ‘Superman: Man of Tomorrow’ is an entertaining and well-constructed modern retelling of the hero’s origin that keeps things engaging with a heartfelt approach and plenty of action packed fun, not to mention some familiar faces that fans should appreciate including Lex Luthor, Matian Manunter and Lobo. ‘Superman: Man of Tomorrow’ is definitely recommended for the DC fans out there who usually enjoy the animated movie offerings. More casual fans of the DC Universe and/or Superman in particular should also really appreciate this one and its standalone nature as well as its modern retelling of the superhero’s origin which helps to keep things from ever getting complicated if you’re not an avid follower. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s Blu-ray release for ‘Superman: Man of Tomorrow’ in particular should also please the fans who are typically satisfied with the DC animated movie offerings on Blu-ray, with the release providing solid high definition video and audio presentations for the film itself, along with a few nice extras.

VIDEO:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Superman: Man of Tomorrow’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation with the film’s original 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks quite nice as a whole and provides a smooth, sharp and detailed presentation with rich, vibrant colors and no significant faults or issues to be found along the way. It holds up admirably even during the various fast moving, darkly lit and heavily populated moments, never resulting in anything occurring onscreen becoming negatively affected or rendered indiscernible (aside from some minor banding on occasion and similar elements that have become a standard on these releases). Overall, this is a pretty great high definition video presentation that shouldn’t have any trouble pleasing the fans.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a lossless 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This multichannel soundtrack sounds wonderful and serves up a clean, crisp and notably aggressive audio presentation throughout. It constantly takes full advantage of all five available channels in order to send characters, music and action effects, along with crowd chatter, nature content and plenty more whipping throughout the various speakers with regularity and never conflicting with any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously. Overall, this is a fantastic 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack that sounds great from start to finish and contributes plenty of additional fun to the viewing experience.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Superman: Man of Tomorrow’ features some fun extras that DC fans should enjoy. Included on the release is ‘A Sneak Peek at DC Universe’s Next Animated Movie: “Batman: Soul of the Dragon”’ (running approximately 12 minutes in length), along with a couple of Behind the Scenes Featurettes that include members of the cast and crew discussing key characters and elements within the movie, they include: ‘Lobo – Natural Force of Chaos’ (running approximately 10 minutes) and ‘Martian Manhunter – Lost and Found’ (approximately 9 minutes). Also included are ‘2 Bonus Cartoons’, both parts of the 2-parter “ The Main Man” (approximately 20-21 minutes each) from ‘Superman The Animated Series’, along with a few previously released ‘Sneak Peek’ previews for currently available DC Universe animated movies ‘Justice League vs. The Fatal Five’ (approximately 9 minutes) and ‘Superman/Batman: Public Enemies’ (8 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Film Rating: 7.5/10
Disc Rating: 7.5/10

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‘Superman: Man Of Tomorrow’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & Digital from DC Entertainment & Warner Bros. Entertainment

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