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Parents' Guide to

Superman: Unbound

By Jeffrey M. Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Superman fights, learns life lessons in animated thriller.

Movie PG-13 2013 75 minutes
Superman: Unbound Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 14+

Based on 1 parent review

TinyToya
TinyToya Adult
January 4, 2014
age 14+

Not a Bad DC Flick

This is a fairly decent Superman movie that showcases The Man of Steel as he faces off against Braniac. The film is pretty entertaining because it has some nice fight scenes, Supergirl is in it, and Superman has a really sharp sense of sarcasm too. However, something did seem to be missing. Perhaps the plot was far too simple and predictable. I find that the movie needed more layers and a possible twist to give it a spark. Nevertheless, the film should not disappoint anyone who is a fan of the man from Krypton.
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

As our story begins, Superman (voiced by Matt Bomer) already has his hands full with his secret relationship with Lois Lane (voiced by Stana Katic), and with his rebellious, uncertain cousin Supergirl (voiced by Molly C. Quinn). Things get tougher as Superman learns about the villainous Brainiac (voiced by John Noble), who was responsible for capturing the Kryptonian city of Kandor, shrinking it, and keeping it inside a bottle. Unfortunately, Brainiac decides to make the Earth his next target, with Metropolis the next addition to his collection.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (5 ):

For some reason, the Superman stories that have been coming out of the DC superheroes animated pipeline have been far more thoughtful than the rest, and this one is among the best of them. Superman is often written off as a simplistic hero with no inner demons, but he's certainly the center of some fascinating moral conundrums.

Director James Tucker, who has much experience in animation but makes his feature directorial debut, provides clean appealing lines for the characters and a strong sense of space, clarity, and gravity. Superman's fight scenes really pack a punch here. Tucker deftly balances the story -- which is based on a 2008 series of comic books by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank -- allowing for character development, rich ideas, and slam-bang excitement. It fills out its 75 minutes perfectly.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the cartoon violence in this movie. Does Superman still seem like a hero even though he's always fighting and punching bad guys?

  • Have you ever felt uncertain, like Supergirl does in this story? How does her story compare to yours?

  • Does Supergirl present an unreasonable model for girls' body image? How are superheroes -- both male and female -- usually represented physically?

Movie Details

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