Superman Returns discussion

Branger · Post by **Branger** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 04:59

Copied verbatim from my blog:

I just came back from watching Superman Returns and I am mildly satisfied by the movie. The special effects were nice. The acting was very good too. Brandon Routh is Superman/Clark Kent as much as Christopher Reeve was; he has the same dorky demeanor as Clark and the same heroic attitude as Superman. Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor was also a nice touch: not only did he inherit the comic relief that Gene Hackman had in the original movies, but he also had that stroke of evil that was evident in the comic.

However, I say I'm mildly impressed because for some reason, I wasn't as excited through this movie as I have been through other movies. Sure the imagery of Superman was there, and I was into all of the action sequences (the airplane rescue is my favorite). Yet I can't explain why I don't have this 100% satisfied feeling when I left the theatre. Maybe it's because I'm not that big of a Superman fan? Or maybe, since it's a sequel to the original Christopher Reeve movies, I was expecting a little more epic than the storyline given to us (note I'm not giving away the plot to save those who haven't seen it from spoilers). However, speaking of how Returns ties into the earlier Reeve movies, I like how Brian Singer made the movie feel like one of the original films, from the opening credits all the way to end where Superman leaves the screen in the closing shot.

Anyway, I liked the movie. It's a good superhero movie, but IMHO, it's not the best superhero movie ever (which, admittedly, I think is a tie between the original Superman and Spiderman). It also doesn't top the original movie, which was written by Godfather author Marip Puzo (who also wrote one of my favorite books, The Fourth K). Another screening would probably change my opinion of the film. But for that, I can wait for the DVD.

denieru · Post by **denieru** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 16:21

as much a tribute as it could be,from watching the film, Singer looks compromised... and indeed the film doesnt have that ommmph because it looks like a 20 year old film with awesome CGI thrown in.

And the lex luthor character gets wasted, also trapped in time... and the Kitty character is the worst offender, who dresses like that? it deals wiht a current time world, yet the characters werent updated with the rest of the world... maybe the main characters supes.clack, lois didnt need updating and its ok, but its very evident for the rest of the cast.

all of this is without mentioning the HUGE DC SUBPLOT throw into the movie... awful just awful... it takes the movie down so much... and its just a few scenes that are no more than 5 minutes together.

Im glad I went on premiere, because it will cause a lot of discussion... and I wouldn't want to hear any of it before I watched it.

dont get me wrong, I enjoyed the movie... but if you put the movie under the microscope... its another story.

gets a 7 from me.

Gojira · Post by **Gojira** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 09:50

Great direction, but the writing was rocky at best. Probably the creepiest version of Superman ever conceived. I'd say more but if there's no point in spoiling it to explain.

Hearing the original Superman theme again was great, though it did completely overshadow whoever did the music for the movie this time. I guess you need to be Lucas or Spielsburg to get John Williams out of retirement.

Overall I give it a donut out of pie.

Perfect Stranger · Post by **Perfect Stranger** » Sun Jul 02, 2006 06:15

Steaming pile of, eh, mediocrity.

That whole thing about that "OMG DID THAT REALLY HAPPEN IN THE COMICS ALREADY" subplot was just woefully undeveloped, and I honestly think it would have been a better film if it were left out altogether.

Kevin Spacey was about the only thing I found entertaining about the movie, and even then, it was just so obvious he was playing a caracacture. I just can't shake the feeling that he could have done so much more with the role had the writers given him more to work with.

Again, pretty average.

Eczema · Post by **Eczema** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 09:40

"Snore" is all I have to say about this movie. Although I'm not saying it's bad. Like Branger said, I just didn't feel satisfied after the movie, and I pretty much forgot most of the movie straight after I finished watching it.

SPOILERS

did supes and lois ever fuck in the previous movies?

Post by **SonicTempest** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 21:14

Watched the movie today (I am SO going to be late for work tomorrow,

).

Disclaimer: I never watched the original Superman movies. My knowledge of the Superman mythos is based on my viewing of the Bruce Timm/Paul Dini animated series Superman TAS/Justice League/JLU etc.

That said, I think I prefer the Timm/Dini approach better

I definitely agree with Deni that Luthor/Kitty dragged the movie down somewhat. Kitty was just...out of place, and the movie's version of Luthor reminded me of the version that I keep seeing on those comic scans at Superdickery.com where he steals forty pies. That's as many as four tens!

And that's terrible.

I vastly prefer the DCAU version of Luthor, I must say. The plot that he hatched seemed rather weak compared to some of the animated Luthor's exploits.

Or maybe it's just that I happened to see the two-parter Superman TAS episode "Apokolips Now!" (which I thought was great) just yesterday night, and it had an inordinate influence on my enjoyment of the movie. Who knows

Kind of pissed me off that they only used the original Supes theme for the credits and the opening, but eh, what can you do.

Overall: Did I enjoy it? Yes, somewhat. Did I think it could have been better? Definitely yes.

Definitely need to get hold of the old Christopher Reeve Superman movies so I can make a more accurate judgement...

That aside, seeing how I don't read the comics, will someone explain to me what that

BIG DC SPOILER was?

Post by **Gunsmith** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 04:23

yeah explain to me too pls or was it related to something that happened in the hospital?

the movie sucked hard

bad lines

predictable plot and scenario

I remember the old movies being good, but I was a child then.

I think the problem is that superman is just too much. Too good, too powerful. That's why we like xmen, spiderman and batman, they're not perfect, they have more human problems. Yes Clark is a dork but ... he just doesn't have to care. He's pretty much invincible and can catch airplanes yada yada yada

Either that or it was just a shit film with a director practically forced into it just to make money for the investors.