Superman Returns mini-review. No spoilers.

aaharvel

The good: The introductory credits (the scene I was looking most forward to) are fantastic. They totally pay homage to the 1978 Richard Donner film right down to the font and color. Once again the original John Williams score is used to it's fullest. For that first 3 minutes, I was a kid all over again. Extremely well done.

The bad: The over-all pace of the last hour and the somewhat clumsy editing of the last 30 minutes were disappointing. Honest to god, I must have checked my watch at least 5 times.

The ugly: The timeframe is fubared. Supposedly taking place 5 years after 1980's Superman II, I was drowned in a sea of new Audi's, flat screen tv's, cell phones and internet references.

Superman/Kent: Brandon Routh did a good job considering the act he had to follow, but he lacks both Reeve's ability to "fly" and his subtle complexities - the expressions and mannerisms that differentiate the characters. The mantra of verisimilitude that Dick Donner modeled his film after is conspicuously absent here.

Lois Lane: Kate Bosworth did an admirable job, but she lacks the spontaneity and grit of Margo Kidder. This results in little to no on-screen chemistry between Superman/Kent and Lois Lane.

Lex Luther: Kevin Spacey is strong as usual, but almost too vicious in his character portrayal. The shenanigans of Gene Hackman's Luther were often missed.

Bryan Singer's Superman Returns is a classic example of style over substance. It shows good intentions throughtout by fondly paying tribute to the Dick Donner film, but at the same time creates no visceral identity for itself. In the end, the new movie fills the suit nicely, but doesn't quite fill the shoes.

C+

edit B+ 2nd viewing

millerman 3732

did you like as well as the spider-man movies?

crazy

76% on tomatoemeter

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/superman_returns/

Christover Reeves rocks!!!

aaharvel

millerman 3732 wrote:

did you like as well as the spider-man movies?

i wasn't raised on Spiderman. I have no desire to see them.



76% on the tomatometer? That pretty much sounds like my final grade for the film.

millerman 3732

aaharvel wrote:

i wasn't raised on Spiderman. I have no desire to see them.



76% on the tomatometer? That pretty much sounds like my final grade for the film.

:eek: you've never seen either of the spider-man movies............wow I thought ever one liked spider-man

aaharvel

sorry. I tried to watch the 1st Spiderman and changed the channel after 30minutes. It's a comic book come to life. Donner's Superman is more biblical, more visceral. That's all the super-hero soup I need. Different strokes for different folks.

VR3

The Spiderman movies - particularly the 2nd was down right bad.

millerman 3732

millerman 3732 wrote:

:eek: you've never seen either of the spider-man movies............wow I thought ever one liked spider-man

Well then I stand corrected, Everyone did not like Spider-Man.

MrNightly

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote:

The Spiderman movies - particularly the 2nd was down right bad.

I guess that puts you in the minority

With both movies in the top 10 USA All time and top 17 ALL TIME WORLD Wide with a gross of 1,590,277,893 World wide I would debate you comment that it was downright bad.



And i bet that Superman will set some summer records as well I can't wait to see it.

MacLeod

millerman 3732 wrote:

Well then I stand corrected, Everyone did not like Spider-Man.

I sure as hell did! I love the Spiderman movies, both of them. Extremely well done and with tremendous special effects!

As for Superman, Im still very anxious to see it but, as Ive mentioned before, Im worried about them obviously casting GQ cover models instead or proper actors.

cfrizz

I liked & have both Spiderman movies. Since I bought the Adventures of Superman 3 & 4, I got a free movie pass to see Superman Returns. I'll be going next week while I'm on vacation!

jet2001

If you have a chance to see it in an IMAX..go! They're showing it in 3D and the 4 scenes that are in 3D are excellent.

I happened to like Routh's Superman more than Reeves'...but Reeves' Clark Kent was superior.

Bosworth was not a great choice for Lois, there was no consistancy between her and Kidder's Lane.

Hackman as Luthor is one of my favorite bad guys, so I'm extremely biased here...but Spacey is such a great actor it's hard not to like his performance.

Overall it was enjoyable and met my expectations from a comic book movie.

Ron-P

This Superman looks average at best. I'll wait and rent the dvd.

brettw22

The one preview clip of him crashing down to earth and standing just screamed CGI HULK and really makes me hesitant about this one. I know CGI is here to stay, but that particular clip looked too reminiscent of the piss poor job they did with the green one.

MrNightly

aaharvel wrote:

The good: The introductory credits (the scene I was looking most forward to) are fantastic. They totally pay homage to the 1978 Richard Donner film right down to the font and color. Once again the original John Williams score is used to it's fullest. For that first 3 minutes, I was a kid all over again. Extremely well done.

The bad: The over-all pace of the last hour and the somewhat clumsy editing of the last 30 minutes were disappointing. Honest to god, I must have checked my watch at least 5 times.

The ugly: The timeframe is fubared. Supposedly taking place 5 years after 1980's Superman II, I was drowned in a sea of new Audi's, flat screen tv's, cell phones and internet references.

Superman/Kent: Brandon Routh did a good job considering the act he had to follow, but he lacks both Reeve's ability to "fly" and his subtle complexities - the expressions and mannerisms that differentiate the characters. The mantra of verisimilitude that Dick Donner modeled his film after is conspicuously absent here.

Lois Lane: Kate Bosworth did an admirable job, but she lacks the spontaneity and grit of Margo Kidder. This results in little to no on-screen chemistry between Superman/Kent and Lois Lane.

Lex Luther: Kevin Spacey is strong as usual, but almost too vicious in his character portrayal. The shenanigans of Gene Hackman's Luther were often missed.

Bryan Singer's Superman Returns is a classic example of style over substance. It shows good intentions throughtout by fondly paying tribute to the Dick Donner film, but at the same time creates no visceral identity for itself. In the end, the new movie fills the suit nicely, but doesn't quite fill the shoes.

C+

Wow... just saw it. If you gave this movie a C+, What on earth are your A movies?!?!

Hands down in my book the best movie of the year. I'm sure Pirates will challenge the film but this was just a Super movie. I actually haven't been this impressed and moved by a movie since V for Vendetta. And Superman takes the cake on V at that.

A couple of comments on what you said... and some of my own as well. Regarding the no on screen chemistry between Lois and Superman, that is just simply outrageous! I actually teared up in several scenes and was totally pulled into the story. To sit and compare two different actors from an entirely different era, is just not fair. Kate Bosworth was perfect for the part in my mind. Not once was I not believing her or pulled into the story. I have never been a huge fan of the previous movies, but still enjoyed them for sure. But it's like comparing Titanic with The Unsinkable Molly Brown.

Regarding the time frame issue you had, I never even thought of it. I want a movie with the current technology present, not a throw back to the 70's.

Kevin Spacey was terrific. Again, I didn't take this movie as on the same page of the previous ones, and therefore didn't base my opinion on Superman Returns from how a different actor acted in another film. Spacey had the perfect mix of Villain and Power-hungry school boy. I enjoyed his role immensely. Oh ya, whe superman was just Kent, I thought he did an outstanding job. The best of any previous actor by far. Totally hit the geeky tongue-tied kid on the head!

Overall, a solid A. Reminded me of Independence Day feelings. The orchestration just mesmerized me. Loved it.

Excellent SQ and PQ btw as well. A must own for any worthy DVD collection.

My only complaint with the film was it almost seemed that the make-up on the actors was too heavy in several scenes. Nothing too distracting, but it was apparent to me.

Enjoy!

Strong Bad

Just got back from seeing.

First off, if you're going in with the mindset to do comparisons between Reeve/Routh, Kidder/Bosworth, Hackman/Spacey and Donner/Singer....don't waste your money. You're going to be doing A/B comparsions all 2 hours and 45 minutes and not enjoy a damn thing!

Face it, we don't have a time traveling De Lorean and can't get these people to do another movie! Get over it!

Now...If you want to see a Superman movie with lots of coolness, then go. I loved it! Was it perfect, no. Not many movies are. I enjoyed the hell out of this one and can't wait for what will be a serious DVD!

Thats my story and I'm stickin with it!


John

Drumingman

Why isn't Superman for "Truth, Justice and The American Way" anymore?

I heard they would not use that phrase so they would not offend the rest of the world and could make more money. That Sucks. All Superman movies and TV shows use that and Eff The Movie for Changing that.

brettw22

Drumingman wrote:

I heard they would not use that phrase so they would not offend the rest of the world and could make more money. That Sucks. All Superman movies and TV shows use that and Eff The Movie for Changing that.

I saw a report about this the other day. The comic book company essentially said that while Superman landed somewhere here in the US, he was a protector of the world etc.

The other part of that is that movie studios make movies to make money, and there's a lot of money to be made outside the states and not a lot of people ultimately want to see a movie triumphing the American Way these days.

cfrizz

Thank you Mr. Nightly, John & Brett! I am now really looking forward to seeing this movie next week, and for providing common sense answers to some of the comments made about this movie.

Life does not stand still. Learn to adapt & move on, or get left behind!

MrNightly

cfrizz wrote:

Thank you Mr. Nightly...

You can call me Nightly... I don't mind :eek: :cool:

aaharvel

i enjoyed the movie, but my points I feel were spot on. There were positives as well, but being a mini-review, I pointed out the one that stood out the most, which was the awesome introduction.

And giving a movie that comes out today a C+ is pretty damn good if you ask me. That C+ seems to go with the general consensus as well.\

As for people saying I shouldn't compare it to the original? Why not? Bryan Singer himself does, so why shouldn't the viewer?

As for what my A+ movies are: Godfathers I and II, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Silence Of The Lambs to name a few..

cfrizz

WAAAAA!!! Ok Nightly!:D

MrNightly wrote:

You can call me Nightly... I don't mind :eek: :cool:

jet2001

It's supposed to be 5 years after the first two...that's the way the plot was put together, so I look for consistency. If they didn't want the audience to think this way, they would not have written like that...

For the most part it was consistent...but other parts had me scratching my head.

brettw22

cfrizz wrote:

WAAAAA!!! Ok Nightly!:D

To clarify, I think he was alluding to you calling him every night.......lol.

MrNightly

cfrizz wrote:

WAAAAA!!! Ok Nightly!

In my best Young Flower voice possible... "You can call me Nightly if you want to, I.. don't.. mind."

brettw22 wrote:

To clarify, I think he was alluding to you calling him every night.......lol.

Take it however ya want, pervert

Drumingman

brettw22 wrote:

I saw a report about this the other day. The comic book company essentially said that while Superman landed somewhere here in the US, he was a protector of the world etc.

The other part of that is that movie studios make movies to make money, and there's a lot of money to be made outside the states and not a lot of people ultimately want to see a movie triumphing the American Way these days.

When has Superman Not been a Protector of the World? I do not recall Superman refusing help to any nation in need, Hence,"Truth, Justice and the American Way". We help everyone who ask for it and those who don't, It's the American Way.

I think Superman would do fine with Touting the American Way. I think people in this country are to compromising about the Greatness of America. We find it hard to stand up for this land and ourselves.

brettw22

Movie making is a business.....an international business at that. NO business owner that I'm aware of would be wanting to potentially compromise hundreds of millions.

Drumingman

What sad things to read during this week.

aaharvel

i thought that "american way" line was simply too campy - even back in the day.

"Truth, justice, all that stuff" sounds more realistic - and doesn't confine itself to comic-book lingo. I dont' think Singer was thinking of international profits. American way vs. all that stuff isn't going to change the fact that people from all walks of life will see the movie regardless. I think he took it out because of the above reason, it's too hammy, campy, and too Andrew Wyeath. I thought it was a good move.

brettw22

Notice how there were no American Flags, White Houses, or American Presidents in the movie? It was all intentional. Money rules the movie market.

aaharvel

brettw22 wrote:

Notice how there were no American Flags, White Houses, or American Presidents in the movie? It was all intentional. Money rules the movie market.

there WAS a baseball game. Nothing's more American than that

btw, all of the aforementioned by Brett was what was so cool about Superman II. Actually gave it some scale in a surreal sorta way.