My wife will disagree with this, but I'm a stickler for details, especially minor details. Paying attention to the most minute portion of something can make a huge difference, even if it seems trivial at the time. I especially feel that this is important when it comes to storytelling. Think of that friend of yours, the one that half-way through the joke says, "Did I mention that it was a duck?" Those are the kind of people who drive me crazy. I know that some applaud, inscrutable art-house films, but I find this lazy and I want the story to give me the information which I need to care. All-Star Superman, the latest direct-to-video DC animated movie from Warner Home Video would have been a much better viewing experience if one small detail had been pointed out at the beginning.

As All-Star Superman opens, Dr. Leo Quintum (voiced by Alexis Denisof) is overseeing a man spaceflight to the sun. As the ship approaches the star, sabotage is revealed. Fortunately, Superman (voiced by James Denton) arrives to save the crew. Unfortunately, Superman gets too close to the sun, and the radiation has an effect on him. At first, it seems positive, as he's stronger than ever. Then, it's revealed that the radiation is killing him -- Superman is going to die. Because of this, he decides to reveal his secret identity of Lois Lane (voiced by Christina Hendricks), as he wants to spend his remaining time with his true love. He shows her his Fortress of Solitude and introduces her to the world of superpowers. But, even while this is going on, Superman must still do his job, defending Metropolis from monsters and aliens. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor (Anthony LaPaglia), who was behind the spaceship disaster, has been sentenced to death. However, the super-villain isn't going down without a fight. As Superman's time comes to an end, Luthor sees his opportunity to seize power.

I've written before about how I'm not a DC fan, and how I've been out of comics for nearly 20 years now. But, I'm a sucker for superhero action and I love to check out these movies. So, going in, I knew nothing about All-Star Superman. It starts like any other DC animated movie, and then Superman gets sick. That was certainly surprising. Then, he decides to let Lois Lane know that Clark Kent is really Superman. Wait a minute...didn't that happen years ago. After watching the first act, I stopped the movie and went and did some research. I learned that All-Star Superman is based on a comic series of the same name which was written by Grant Morrison. The 12-issue series told a Superman story which was meant to stand-alone and take place outside of the DC continuity. OK, that explanation helped a lot. I was then able to re-start the movie and from that point, most of it made sense. So, the question is, why didn't Warner Home Video take the time to place that little tidbit of knowledge on the front of the movie? Either a title-card or an introduction by someone like Morrison, explaining that the movie wasn't meant to be seen as part of any other Superman story would have helped immensely. Perhaps they assumed that anyone who watched the movie would either be familiar with the source material, or simply wouldn't care. (Ironically, in the featurette about the comic book, it's explained that All-Star Superman was meant to appeal to casual readers, not just die-hard Superman fans.)

Again, once I was armed with the proper information, All-Star Superman became a different film and a surprisingly good one. I've never been a fan of Superman because there's so little drama there due to the fact that he's indestructible and morally superior. (Morrison points this out as well in the featurette.) Those issues get shuffled around here, as Superman is now terminally ill. This certainly puts a different slant on things. While this Superman is still a goody-goody, he's also more "human" and approachable. The ending is very well-done and wasn't ready for the emotion found there. (And it's not just Superman who's different here. The outcome of Lex Luthor's story is also interesting.)

I've often complained that filmmakers work to hard to change comic book stories which could have easily been transferred directly from the page to the screen. I've not read the All-Star Superman comics, but I have a feeling that the makers of the movie adaptation worked too hard to transform the comic. The movie is very episodic and some of the scenes feel very forced and don't flow. Superman must fight Atlas (voiced by Steve Blum) and Samson (voiced by John Dimaggio), both of whom seem like bullies from the gym, and then some sort of Supersphinx...or was it Ultrasphinx. Then, Superman finds that other Kryptonians (voiced by Finolna Hughes and Arnold Vosloo) are causing trouble in Metropolis. These scenes may mean something to those familiar with the comics, but here, they feel like filler, and for those like me, who don't know these characters, these scenes are head-scratchers.

The DC animated movies are definitely hit-or-miss and All-Star Superman is one of the better ones. Despite the speed-bumps in the story, the emotional content really helps the movie, as does the fact that it's essentially free to do what it wants. The fact that it's a one-shot is confusing at first, but the pros outweigh the cons with this one.

All-Star Superman has a title that his a clever play on words on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Warner Home Video. The movie has been letterboxed at 1.78:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 15 Mbps. The image is very sharp and clear, showing no grain or defects from the source material. The colors look fantastic, most notably reds and blues, and the image is never overly dark or bright. The HD transfer shows nice detail, but it doesn't reveal any distracting defects in the animation. The Disc carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 2.5 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The stereo effects are fairly good, as they illustrate off-screen sounds. The surround sound effects are well-done during the action scenes, as they correctly coordinate with the on-screen action. The subwoofer effects aren't wall-shaking, but they are present.

The All-Star Superman Blu-ray Disc contains an assortment of extras. We begin with an AUDIO COMMENTARY from Producer Bruce Timm and Grant Morrison. "Superman Now" (34 minutes) explores the creation of the All-Star Superman comic. Grant Morrison and Dan Didio talk about how the ideas came together and how it was all pieced together. In a very nice touch, this isn't about the movie -- it focuses solely on the comic and allows us to hear the deep ideas that Morrison brought to the comic. "The Creative Flow: Incubating the Idea with Grant Morrison" (10 minutes) plays like a deleted scene from "Superman Now", as it features more of Morrison talking about how inspiration struck him while writing All-Star Superman. In another nice touch, "Virtual Comic - All-Star Superman" allows us to examine panels from the comic book. The extras are rounded out by two episodes of Superman: The Animated Series which are thematically related to the movie.