Superman Returns

[Elster88]

I liked it.

[Elster88]

Nothing super special. But a fun (if long) evening at the movies.

Saw a trailer for Spidey 3.

I'll leave the reviewing to someone else.

He did look a little (actually a lot) plasticy from time to time.

[dgwphotography]

I liked it - a lot.

Set approximately 5 years after Superman II, Superman Returns, directed by Brian Singer, finds Superman absent from Earth for 5 years in an attempt to find any remains from his destroyed home planet, Krypton. Earth, especially Lois Lane, has moved on, with Lane even winning a Pulitzer Prize for an editorial titled, "Why We Don't Need Superman", and having a five-year old son and a new fiance.

Singer pays homage in so many little moments to the original films, from the opening sequence (using John Williams original theme), throughout the movie, including Superman telling the passenger of a rescued jet that, "Flying is still the safest way to travel". Also look for Noel Neill and Jack Larson in cameos.

Brendan Routh is very good as Superman/Clark Kent. He's no Christopher Reeve, but he does bear a striking resemblence to him in many scenes. Kevin Spacey plays Lex Luther much more twistedly than Gene Hackman, and excels, as usual. Frank Langella does his usual enjoyable scene-chewing as Perry White.

My only nit is with the casting of Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane. While she and Routh have obvious chemistry, she just seems to be too young for this role. At this point in time, Lois Lane is supposed to be a fierce, pulitzer prize-winning reporter with a five year-old son, but at times I couldn't get past the fact that Bosworth was only 23 here...

Overall - this movie really deserves the big-screen treatment - don't wait for DVD to see it. 4 out of 5 stars.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Caple's vision of the next sequel.

BTW, Impulse2 enjoyed Superman Returns, and is dying to see it on the IMAX in New York at some point. In the meantime, D-Dad plans to see the film out here with Impulse2 and her brother.

[Elster88]

What does the phrase "scene-chewing" mean?

[dgwphotography]

It basically means over-the-top acting or to ham it up.

[stevejrogers]

Iubitul wrote: It basically means over-the-top acting or to ham it up.

Shatner, William is a fine example.

Essentially, and usually when doing ultimate bad guy roles (Bond villans, most of your good sci-fi/fantasy/horror villians) or the uber-leader hero (Star Trek's captains, ect), the actor will over-compensate his (or her) lack of acting talent, or just plain having fun with the role, will go over the top and turn the character in the scene into a complete one-dimensional character. It works when giving long dramatic speechs

[Edgy MD]

My only nit is with the casting of Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane. While she and Routh have obvious chemistry, she just seems to be too young for this role. At this point in time, Lois Lane is supposed to be a fierce, pulitzer prize-winning reporter with a five year-old son, but at times I couldn't get past the fact that Bosworth was only 23 here...

My local free paper said she gave the effect of a prom queen with a fake ID.

[Elster88]

Edgy DC wrote: My only nit is with the casting of Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane. While she and Routh have obvious chemistry, she just seems to be too young for this role. At this point in time, Lois Lane is supposed to be a fierce, pulitzer prize-winning reporter with a five year-old son, but at times I couldn't get past the fact that Bosworth was only 23 here... My local free paper said she gave the effect of a prom queen with a fake ID.

She was actually quite good, IMHO.

[Edgy MD]

By the way, as disappointing as Superman III and Superman IV were, so much so that this film is a sequel that pretends that they didn't happen, the opening scene of Superman III is wonderful, and it may be the last excellent thing that Richard Lester ever did.

Richard Lester (second "by the way" here): Still Alive.

[Edgy MD]

Without giving it away, did they satisfactorily handle explaining the odd coincidence that the five-year absence of Superman and the five-year absence of Clark Kent coincided?

[dgwphotography]

Edgy DC wrote: Without giving it away, did they satisfactorily handle explaining the odd coincidence that the five-year absence of Superman and the five-year absence of Clark Kent coincided?

No - it was a suspension of belief thing...

[stevejrogers]

Iubitul wrote: Edgy DC wrote: Without giving it away, did they satisfactorily handle explaining the odd coincidence that the five-year absence of Superman and the five-year absence of Clark Kent coincided? No - it was a suspension of belief thing...

Actually they did, seemed like both Supes and Kent were off doing the same thing "Trying to find themselves" At least you got the impression that Kent did tell Lois, White, ect that he'd be gone. Superman just dissapeared without a trace

[Vic Sage]

This is the best live-action "superman" ever.

The original SUPERMAN movie was in 3 acts... Act I on Krypton and Act II on the Kent farm were both successful at capturing the spirit and essence of the SM mythology. But then, after Superman leaves the Fortress of Solitude, his arrival in Metropolis marks an Act III notable mostly for its buffoonish silliness. Chris Reeve almost single-handedly lifts it above the cartoony milieu, with his dignified and humane portrayal, and the film ended strongly enough to overcome (for me) an overall sense of disappointment in the film.

Still, i always felt SM 1 to be 2/3 of a great movie, betrayed by the inability of the filmmakers to take the story seriously once the hero became a guy who flew around in blue and red tights.

SM 2 was more funny than silly, but still suffered the same problem... the failure to respect the source material or treat it with the dignity and seriousness that Reeve himself was able to inject into his performance.

SM 3 and 4 are better forgotten.

But SUPERMAN RETURNS achieves a majestic tone from the opening moments, and maintains it throughout. It trusts the audience to look at a man in red, yellow and blue tights and see not a childish clown but a spiritual figure of great profundity that has survived as an icon of our popular culture for over 65 years. Director Bryan Singer (as he did with X-MEN 1 & 2) understood that he was dealing with mythology, not just a "funny book" (as my father used to call them), and therefore gave it the weight it deserved.

Some have criticized the movie for its length and pacing, but it is less a summer action/popcorn flick and more a stately epic. There is time taken to develop character, not just to push the narrative. There is space to let the characters breath, and for emotion to well up.

Singer also delights in recreating certain visual tableaus, like Superman holding the car over his head in the pose evocative of the Cover of Action Comics #1, or his holding the Daily Planet globe on his back, depicting the myth of Atlas, which also forshadows the movie's climactic moment where he almost literally carries the world on his back. And of course, a tableau of crucifiction is recreated as well, reinforcing the interpretation of they myth as religious allegory. The film's visuals are a feast, and the action sequences are appropriately impressive.

But its in its focus on character where this movie surpasses all prior live-action adaptations of the story.

Brendan Routh communicates the sense of loss and emptiness that lives inside a being who is the last of his kind, whose father is a disembodied voice dead for thousands of years. He floats above the world, listening to the prayers for help from people he is isolated from but, unlike other gods before him, he chooses to answer our prayers.

When trying to reconnect with Lois Lane, he takes her on a flight similar to the "can you read my mind" pas de duex from SM 1 (even incorporating the musical motif from that song into the underscoring), but instead of syrupy lyrics underlining Lois's schoolgirl-ish crush on the big blue hero, the scene is about a more mature love... about love AND responsibility.

There is a real romantic chemistry between Routh and Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane who, despite her youth, convincingly conveys her conflict between professional ambition and maternal instinct, as well as her pain in loving the wrong man... loving the man who leaves more than the man who stays.

And never, other than in the animated series, has Lex Luthor been so convincingly menacing. Despite his engaging twinkle, Spacey makes Lex a serious killer... an ex-con with a shiv, not a ludicrous super-villian. Even Parker Posey, as Luthor's "moll" has more than the usual depth for this type of supporting character.

The movie is not perfect, by any means. Some of the plot points seem odd, at best, and nonsensical at worst. But the film's ability to capture the tone and spirit of Superman makes such problems seem like quibbles.

Superman has, indeed, returned. Welcome back, big fella.

[MFS62]

whose father is a disembodied voice dead for thousands of years.

Vic, that's an interesting comment. If that is the proper timespan, how do we reconcile that with the "fact" that the baby did not age/grow while in the capsule on the way to Earth, but grew once there? Is this ever addressed in the movie, the comics or in any of the writings about SM? Or must we just chalk it up to Einstein's theory that time moves slower as one approaches the speed of light (the speed of the capsule while on its voyage)?

BTW - nice review.

Later

[Centerfield]

By the way, as disappointing as Superman III and Superman IV were, so much so that this film is a sequel that pretends that they didn't happen, the opening scene of Superman III is wonderful, and it may be the last excellent thing that Richard Lester ever did. Richard Lester (second "by the way" here): Still Alive.

This is, perhaps, the most encouraging thing I have heard about this movie. On top of making this a better movie, by ignoring Supermen III and IV, has Superman Returns just opened the door to ignoring any botched sequels?

Can we pick up the Batman Series pretending only Batman Begins and the Tim Burton movies exist? Can someone re-make the Prequel Trilogy keeping none of the elements of the last three movies (except maybe the double-ended lightsaber)? Can someone make "Karate Kid 2 (the last one didn't count)"?

[Edgy MD]

Somebody agreed with me about Supe III.

[Elster88]

How come his cape didn't have a yellow S? Not that I'm complaining.

[Edgy MD]

When did that appear?

It sort of makes it like a sports uniform, like he has to be indentifiable from all angles. "Son, that guy over there freezing the Bulletteers with arctic breath. Check the program and see who he is. He's got an S inside a diamond shape on his back."

[Elster88]

When did what appear? The S on his cape? In the first four movies at least, I couldn't say for sure about the comics.

[Guest Rotblatt]

What Vic said.

Wasn't crazy about Bosworth, but she got the job done. I'm really quite excited for the next one.

There WILL BE a next one, right? In the same vein?

[Frayed Knot]

Partially off-topic but I always liked this Don McLean tribute to TV's Superman; a song which doubles as his oft-visited metaphor for drifting American values and waning strengths.


I don't want to be like old George Reeves
Stuck in a Superman role.
I've got a long way to go in my career
And some day my fame will make it clear
That I had to be a Superman

He came from another place deep in his mind
As far as the planets in space.
As galaxy's mysteries start to unwind
Some changes are bound to take place.

Though gravity constantly weighs on my travels
My mission is close to adrift
Though I can be strong when my power unravels
I still come to you for a lift.



I know I can fly when my plane hits the sky
I believe I've got nothing to lose.
But when I'm alone with the bed and the phone
I get the terminal metropolis blues

I flew to the coast where Superman's Ghost
Lay shot on the bedroom floor
He said "Watch out for TV it crucified me,
but it can't crucify me no more."



"I'm red white and blue, I've got justice to do
I'm the man of your fantasy dreams
But I'm an alien man from an alien land
Who's alive on your orthicon screens.
I once ruled the world and when flags were unfurled
I performed for you live not on tape.
But the public is cruel when played for a fool
As you see by the blood on my cape."



"Well I never was real or stronger than steel.
I'm a figment of Freudian need.
And the video screen is a psychotic scene
And it's all done with mirrors and green

My agent just called, the talks have been stalled
I soon will be pulled from the air.
But the image persists in the video mists
That a Superman still will be there!"

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

One time I recall finding a lost of songs on the Internet that mention Superman and the sheer volume was just mindboggling.

[Edgy MD]

Part of the magic I guess is that, as a character, he's (seemingly) so shallow, but something in his condition touches people so deeply to turn him into a metaphor for anything.

McLean's tribute is all the more touching in light of his career trying to --- like Reeves --- show people he's more than the larger-than-life role he played early on, with an epic 8-1/2-minute. number-one song.

[Willets Point]

Superman is a dick.

[Vic Sage]

Speaking of Superman's dick, here is Larry Niven's classic essay on Kryptonian reproduction, "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex"

http://www.rawbw.com/~svw/superman.html

[Elster88]

(*One should not think of Superman as a Peeping Tom. A biological ability must be used. As a child Superman may never have known that things had surfaces, until he learned to suppress his X-ray vision. If millions of people tend shamelessly to wear clothing with no lead in the weave, that is hardly Superman's fault.*)

[Vic Sage]

There is a movie coming out in September about George Reeves' suicide...

HOLLYWOODLAND
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427969/

"A uniquely compelling exploration of fame and identity. The drama, inspired by one of Hollywood's most infamous real-life mysteries, follows a 1950s private detective (Academy Award winner Adrien Brody) who, investigating the mysterious death of "Superman" star George Reeves (Academy Award winner Ben Affleck), uncovers unexpected connections to his own life as the case turns more personal. The torrid affair Reeves had with the wife (Academy Award nominee Diane Lane) of a studio executive (Academy Award nominee Bob Hoskins) might hold the key to the truth."

[Centerfield]

What is it about Diane Lane that gets her cast all the time as a cheating wife?

[Vic Sage]

cuz she's every studio exec's MILF.