Superman Returns

Wow….that’s all I can really say about this movie. I have two views, as it were, to layout here: one as a rabid comic book fan and the other as an engaged movie-goer. View 1: I LOVE WHAT DC IS DOING! I suppose it’s all Dan Dido’s fault (he signed on as the new king of DC a couple of years ago), because I don’t know who else to blame for these beautiful renditions of first Batman and now Superman. I know I mentioned it in my Batman Begins review, but I’ll say it again, because it makes me even more of a rabid fan. Now that they’ve restored two of the major three DC heroes, after Wonder Woman comes out (how can a Joss Whedon script be anything but brilliant?), they could very well tackle a Justice League of America film, which would introduce as “bit players” Flash and Green Lantern which would then spin off into their own movies. If nothing else, I desire a Flash movie with CGI. It would be beautiful, especially if DC rides as close herd with it as they have with Batman and Superman.

Marlon Brando’s digital recreation was incredible. I love watching the online vid showing us how they recreated Brando’s face digitally…it’s “mesmerizing” as Harry of AICN puts it, and shows the limitless potential of CGI.

View 2: As a movie goer, I cannot accurately comment on this film as I don’t know what has happened preceding this. I saw Superman a while ago, but never saw 2 or 3.

The John Williams theme is used to open and close the film and the rest of the music is beautifully poignant. I almost want the soundtrack (I’ll probably get it after my second viewing). I love the old school titles for the intro (just like the original) with the digital matte backgrounds as we hurtle through space back towards Earth. Brandon Routh is incredible as Superman/Clark Kent. His performance is just…it’s like Christopher Reeves got reincarnated after he had his accident. Kate Bosworth is enjoyable as Lois Lane…I liked her performance, but can’t say much more without picking the plot to death. Kevin Spacey is hilarious as Lex Luthor. He brings this manic energy and fun to the role that I can vaguely remember in Gene Hackman’s performance. He does a nice job at making Luthor a layered character, rather than pure evil.

Now the plot holes…the timeline they lay out gets very diluted by the end of the film. That’s all. You’ll understand what I mean when you see the film. But you will believe a man can fly.

Leave a Reply