Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with a few reviews of SUPERMAN RETURNS. I'm dyyyyiinnnggg to see this one. I'm desperately trying to find out about a screening here in Wellington. I'm like a crack addict at this point. So, word of warning... I haven't seen the movie, so I didn't eye-ball these reviews too closely for fear of spoilers... and I still managed to read some. The first review has no spoilers... it also has no periods. The second and third and pretty spoilery, so beware. Enjoy!!!
Hey there Harry
this morning the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences held a screening of Superman Returns
It started at 11am and i got there at around 10 thinking it would be a large line .....to my surprise not many made it out but hey if that means i can get my middle aisle middle row seat then fine by me
I was worried at first seeing a headline of a review somewhere that it was good but not great and I am not gonna do a huge review with spoilers and details ..I'll let everyone go in fresh..... but let me just say that i left this movie with a big nostalgic glorious grin on my face ..........Bryan Singer has done a fantastic job!!!
I don't remember seeing the first Superman for the first time but I do remember seeing its 1981 sequel when i was 8 and i remember holding my jaw in my lap.........love that movie
the opening credits (which harkens back to the original movies) and the John Williams music gave me flashbacks to seeing Superman II for the first time .......at first it felt sort of dated ( just the effects of the opening credits) but then i felt the 7 year old child in me sitting in that seat at the Roxie Movie theater in good Ol'Ottawa Illinois .......and I knew i was in for something that was a mix of old and new ..... it truly feels like this movie can come directly after Superman II which is good cuz ya really don't want Lois reminding Supes about when he fought Nuclear man or whatever his cheesy ass name was. My point is watching the opening credits and hearing the JW score made me sit up in my seat, smile, and embrace what i was about to go through
keeping the opening credits the same as the originals was an excellent idea and i never really thought about its impact until now .....it would have been like if George Lucas had changed the opening credits to the new Star Wars movies.......
hearing John Williams's score again in a movie theater gave me frickin goose bumps!!! John Ottman does a good job filling in the rest
The cast was fantastic.........Jimmy Olsen was the suprise hit for me ...of course Kevin Spacey and the rest are all great but there was something about Jimmy that was just fun to watch on screen .....Sam Huntington (Jimmy) has great comedic timing and brings so much more to the roll than that other dude who played him in the 80's
seeing Kevin on screen .....he actually kind of looks like a young Gene Hackman......Kevin does his own thing and does it very well
Parker Posey is fun.......but borders on too over the top for me ....still does a good job though
I didn't think I would really like Kate as Lois ........kind of like Katie Holmes in Batman Begins.......I thought i would just be kinda blah about her..........she pulls it off really well......the chemistry and mixed emotions she has with Supes is fantastic the scenes between them esp. one in particular reminds me ironically of scenes between Eva Marie Saint and Cary Grant in North By Northwest
I love love love that they put in the old footage of Marlon Brando!!!!! .....i remember when Anthony Hopkins was rumored as being up for the role in the new ones and am so glad they didn't go that route .........Marlon just resonates greatness ties the old with the new perfectly......great call
Brandon Routh............not for one minute while watching this movie did i compare his performance with Christopher's ........he holds his own and I can't wait to see him do more with the role......oh and his Clark Kent is superb!!! actually better than C.R. in my opinion..........I always felt Christopher's Clark was a little too bumbling and pushed up his glasses a little too much ...Brandon has some really great moments playing Clark ......i laughed more than i thought i would through out this movie ......
this movie also has alot of heart to it as well.......remember how you wanted to feel in that scene in Spiderman II when the people on the train are passing spidey over there heads .........to me that scene felt a little hollow and forced.........well there are some scenes at the end of this movie where i was actually pinching my leg cuz it's so damn moving......the girl next to me cried the whole time
I am so happy with this movie.........and can't wait to see where they go next. You can call me Han......Luke.....or Leia or just Kiley. peace
Thanks Han Luke Leia Or Just Kiley. Appreciate the review. Here are the two spoilery ones. Beeewwaarreee....
Hey Harry,
Just got back from a screening of the Supes film. Brandon Routh was there with family to promote and do some Q&A. He was very nice and was paitent with alot of the kids that were there. Someone even asked him if he had reservations of stepping into the Superman role, knowing what happened to the rest of the actors. And the some kid asked his fav color.
Trying to stay spoiler free, but there's an issue I really need clearing up. So, I'll do my best, but there's definetly a few spoilers below.
Not sure if you've already seen it yet, but as a fan of the old films, (well, maybe not 3 & 4...) this holds up pretty well.
Ok, here goes:
The opening credits are great and my friend and were joking about how the original 78' flick had like 30 mins of opening titles. The credits are just like the original. But with a nice twist and not as long. Great opening sequence and effects. It's a journey from Krypton to Earth.
All the characters are great. Spacey as Luthor was something I was very excited to see and was praying that from what I saw in the last trailer, he wasn't going to be too Gene Hackman-esque as far as campiness.
He's not. He plays him as an intelligent criminal, but has the mean streak in him without going overboard. He's great to watch.
Parker Posey really has no purpose in the film. Anyone of his henchmen could have done what she did. She pulls an important stunt at the end, but other than that, well, nothing special.
The Supes-Lois relationship is very good and they work well on screen. The continuity between the first two superman films and this new one is extremely well. Lots of references, "Statistically speaking, flying is still the safest way to travel." Parker to Luthor at the fortress, "you act like you've been here before." (which Luthor does not answer.) Lois' smoking habit, etc.
The pace of the first half of the film is great. Second half, not so good. Lots of Jor-El/Brandon voice overs. Not any new footage of him or anything like Singer mentioned at comic-con last year.
Luthor's plan is related to land. I liked that. And his plan is clever. Langella is a good Perry White. "Great Ceasars ghost."
Ok, here's where I had the WTF moment, but shortly after I was like hmmmmm... So, I figure'd I mention it to ya. I'm sure it's going to be a fanboy flame war on the topics.
*SPOILER*
Lois' son is Superman's.
On the Luthor's yacht, Lex notices the kid has a bad reaction to the Kryptonite he's planning on using on Supes. Then, while Lois is trying to get help, Lex's henchman is slapping her around and the kid burys him with a piano.
Now, Superman did sleep with Lois in Supes 2. Also, at that time, he didn't have his powers. Lois swears the kid is from James Marsters/cyclops, (you know who I'm talking about.) Lois lost her memory when Supes kissed her.
Which would mean, that Supes left right after part 2 on his journey. Then, she got with some guy and had a kid. Weird timing. She's supposed to be all heartbroken over Supes and she goes out and gets some.
So, apparently since the kid is a hybrid, (human/kryptonian) the powers are latent or something, which would explain how Lois was able to survive child berth. (Had the Brody "Kryptonite condom" scene in my head from Mallrats.)
Not sure why they threw this in, but I guess since they wanted to, it kinda fits.
The rest of the film after Supes saves the day was ok. Pacing problems and some scenes were a little too long.
But all in all, I thought it was pretty good. I'll go see it again on opening weekend, but it's not a "see it 3 times" film.
I know this isn't a fantastic review, but if you actualy do use it, just call me Kevin.
Thanx!
Otisberg? OTISBERG? Review Three comin' atcha!!!
Hey Harry. Long time lurker, first time reviewer, alla that shit. Call me The Amazing Rando. Just got back from an advanced screening of SUPERMAN RETURNS in St. Louis, Missouri (quick shout-out to Star Clipper in the Loop for hooking me and my brother, who is also inevitably going to send you a review as Lloyd Dobbler Kicks Ass, up with free passes). So now I must review for all the lovely children.
Ok, when I saw BATMAN BEGINS, I left with a big goofy grin on my face. Same with the first two X-MEN, both SPIDER MAN (Spider Men?), HULK to a lesser extent, and even DAREDEVIL (don't judge!). I'm a comic geek through and through, and all those flicks hit me on most or all of my geek cylinders.
And as much as it kills me to say it, SUPERMAN RETURNS didn't. I didn't have that big goofy grin on my face. I had more of a "Fuuuuck..." look about me. I really, really, really, really wanted this to be my favorite movie about Big Blue, and I wanted it to be my favorite superhero movie. But it's not.
But don't let me go all Negative Nelly. A whole lot of stuff in this movie works. I'm not going to go into detail aobut the plot, save for one big thing, really, I'm really just trying to let everyone know what worked and what didn't.
So SPOILERS. I really suggest you not read any further if you don't want anything spoiled. I did my best to avoid all the advanced reviews and spoilers, and I suggest you do the same. My first few sentences really summed up my feelings toward the movie.
Ok, good enough for the space of the spoiling. Like I said, a lot of stuff works, and works really well. REALLY well. The action sequences are fucking amazing. The much-lauded airplane rescue? Fan-goddamned-tastic. Had me cheering with the rest of the audience. The bit we all saw in the trailer where the dumb thug goes after Supes with a mini-gun and tries to put a bullet in his eye? Priceless. Had me giggling like a little fanboy schoolgirl (schoolboy?). When Superman is in action, doing his saving people bit, the movie hits all the right chords (when he's not, he runs into some issues, but more on that later.)
Fellow geeks, lay your fears to rest about Kate Bosworth's performance. As Lois Lane, she does quite a good job. When the former man of her dreams comes quite literally crashing back into her life, she has to reconcile the love for her current family, with James Marsden as her husband Richard White making me shout, "Wait, Cyclops can ACT?! And act GOOD?!," with the old flame and the not-quite-gone feelings for him. She pulls this off beautifully.
Kevin Spacey was also clearly born to play Lex Luthor. Kev, PAY IT FORWARD and that Bobby Darin cock-fest is forgiven. He uses just the right mix of camp and badass to make Luthor one of the flick's major attractions. You may go for the caped one, but you'll stay for Baldy.
The rest of the supporting cast made me very happy in the fanboy region of the brain. Frank Langella does great Perry White (yes, he does say "Great Caeser's Ghost, but only at the most opportune moment), even if I like my Perry White a bit more blustery. James Marsden, as previously mentioned, proves to be a match with Superman in heroism and charisma (have you noticed that I haven't brought up the newly minted Mr. Brandon Routh yet?) Parkery Posey, who I have found incredibly annoying in every movie she's been in since after A MIGHTY WIND, proved very funny, and I really liked her and Lex's relationship. Kal Penn has no dialouge, and I cannot figure out a reason why he was cast as one of Lex's nameless goons, apart from the possibility his role was cut out. I mention this as a positive because, while I liked HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE, I didn't really like him so much.
And now just going down the quick list for "Stuff that Worked!" The effects work is clean, shiny, and dazzling. The new costume was fine, so stop with the bitching. The movie looks great, so Bryan Singer loses none of his good director brownie points in my book. And the opening titles? Made me go all "Tee Hee," with geekgasm.
Like I said before, you've noticed I haven't mentioned Superman's performance yet. Well, that's one of the problems. THE problem, really. Nobody was going to come close to Christopher Reeve as Superman; he just got it absolutely right from the second he stepped on camera, just like, in my opinion, Christian Bale as Batman. Brandon Routh, however, chose to do a Christopher Reeve impression rather than bring ANYTHING new to the role. At least George Clooney and Val Kilmer tried new things when they stepped up to the Bat Plate. As a result, Routh is only really effective about half the time he's on screen. Which, for that matter, isn't that much time at all. The movie is titled SUPERMAN RETURNS, but he really wasn't around to do much returning. Lois and For Christ's sake, James Marsden comes across as more heroic and interesting than Superman. And you all saw X-MEN. The movie's biggest problem could have been fixed if Marsden had been the one to strap on the S. I mean, he's just this regular guy who does some pretty amazing shit to try and save his family. He's an incredibly nice guy, and a great father. But oop, he can't lift the plane above his head. Lois must fall for Superman! I know it's canon, but I really saw no reason why Lois would fall back in love with this Superman. He really falls quite short of the bar set by Christopher Reeve.
Ok, my other problem. This is concerning the BIG twist here, folks. The father of Lois' kid is.....Superman! Oh noes! First off, from a comic geek's perspective, I have this to say:
NO! BAD BRYAN SINGER! THAT'S A BAD BRYAN SINGER!
With that out of the way, it was too incredibly obvious that the kid WAS Superman's son, even before the big reveal moment. Hmm, Lois never talked about Superman in front of the kid? Never mentioned Clark Kent (yes, Lois doesn't know the truth in this one, I'm thinking more figuratively here)? You think the screenwriters are trying to TELL us something? Sheesh. Also, if we follow the law of cinematic averages, the kid's probably going to grow up in future movies to want to be Superboy. And as I mentioned, there's really NOTHING about Brandon Routh's performance that makes that terribly obvious move plausible. I was talking about the flick with my brother, and we thought that, in SUPERMAN RETURNS AFTER A LONG WEEKEND ON THE FARM, it'll be much more interesting if the kid likes James Marsden-Daddy better. Because I sure as hell did. Plus, the idea of the kid with friggin' SUPERMAN as his Dad not wanting to join the family business is a story that I'd like to see.
That's basically all I got to say on the matter of Capes and Spandex. This could have been an amazing movie. AMAZING. But Brandon Routh, first time actor that he is, just couldn't hack it. He spent more time posing than acting, and that really crippled the movie's full potential. But the movie isn't without some really great stuff. It's not a lost cause, it's just not the BATMAN BEGINS quality we were all hoping for, and the blame rests solely on Mr. Routh's sizable shoulders. Just don't walk into the theatre and expect to be blown away like the time you first saw Christopher Reeve strap on the cape.
Now we need a Kevin Spacey starred, Tony Scott-helmed cinematic adaptation of Brian Azzarello's LEX LUTHOR: MAN OF STEEL. I'm looking at YOU DC Comics/Time Waner/whoever the fuck is in charge of that kinda thing...
The Amazing RRRRRRRRRANDO!!! signing off.
