Superman Batman: Public Enemies (PG-13)

Capitalizing on economic and social upheaval, supervillain Lex Luthor rides a wave of populist anger into the White House. President Luthor’s first job: frame Superman for murder and order his arrest. But the caped crusader won’t be taken easily, and his pal Batman has his back. Every hero in town tries to enforce the arrest warrant, and when Luthor announces a $1 billion reward for Superman’s capture, the supervillains are eager to jump into the fray. Can Superman and Batman fend off all these attacks and prove the charges are false? And in the meantime, who’s going to stop the massive kryptonite asteroid that’s on a collision course with Earth?

SUPERMAN/BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMIES starts off with a bit more depth than the average superhero yarn. When Superman protests his innocence, other heroes are forced to takes sides. Should they obey their orders, from the president no less, or should they defy the commander-in-chief and help the caped crusader? And this isn’t the only thorny dilemma: twice, superheroes must take on extremely dangerous tasks, possibly sacrificing themselves, to save others. These are tough moral questions, but the film doesn’t delve too deeply into them.

Instead, it focuses on the action when Superman and Batman are attacked by dozens of superheroes and supervillains. The second half of the movie is near-nonstop combat, and some of it is pretty intense. The fight scenes aren’t bad, but they aren’t anything that hasn’t been seen before either. Still, it’s interesting that an animated film aimed at younger viewers would even try to introduce such weighty issues.