Calgary SUPERMAN RETURNS - TUESDAY, JUNE 27TH 10PM SUNRIDGE SPECTRUM.

NON-SPOILER REVIEW: I saw it and I thought it was incredible.

Mind you, I do share a lot of the quibbles that others have brought up, but after nearly twenty years of anticipating a Superman film what could have possibly lived up to our exacting expectations? For what this was; a continutation of the Donner films and as a story it was nothing less than phenomenal.

From the moment the lights went down and the DC Comics logo faded and that Williams score flared up I smiled and felt like a kid again. The credits whooshing at us, the passage through space, that Superman March. . .it was bliss.

MAIN REVIEW: SOME SPOILERS FOLLOW. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!

What was enjoyed:

-Brandon Routh. The kid has serious chops, I'll give him that. I didn't once think of him as Reeves's successor, merely a continuation of the role that had previously existed in the first two movies. The moment I saw him on screen, I accepted him instantly as Clark/Superman/Kal-El. Simple as that.

-Kevin Spacey. Ah, Lex. It was great to see him again, a little older, a lot colder, and even bolder than before. The way he put all the peices of his plan together was quite impressive and worthy of 'The Greatest Criminal Mind of Our Time'. Even Superman's return to Earth doesn't throw him off his stride. He simply takes the appropriate steps to counteract the Last Son of Krypton.

-Jimmy Olsen. I didn't think it was possible, but between this film and All-Star Superman #4 I am converted to the belief that Jimmy Olsen is cool. All he needs is the signal watch and that devil-may-care adventurer mentality Morrison brought to the table and the kid would be Luke to Supes' Han Solo like that

-The effects. My God, I not only believed a man could fly, I believed he could rend steel, lift an airplane, fly on his back and incinerate glass and put out raging infernos with a breath of air. Say what you will but the majesty of Superman's powers was in full effect with the film.

-'The Son becomes the Father. . .and the Father the Son. ' Touching moment. Superman searches the stars fearing he's the last, but he comes home to discover he's not alone.

-Ma Kent's line about how there may be other survivors of Krypton. Why do I sense that throwaway line might indicate Singer has some other plans. . .? Could just be wishful thinking for a Supergirl spinoff, but still.

What didn't thrill:

-Okay, so Kryptonians didn't believe in locks? A massive storehouse of technological and philosophical riches and you just leave the front door wide open for any bald-headed mastermind to swan in? Hellooo McFly. . .

Mind you the arctic cold should be more than a deterent, to say nothing of the harrowing conditions of the ocean, but apparently you can just roll up to Kal-El's northern estate like some people can cruise to 7-11. Might as well have called it the Bungalo of Solitude, because that was no Fortress. How much cooler would it have been to have Lex storm the place and disable MacDuff or the other Superman robots(maybe have Routh in the classic Christopher Reeve togs duplicated through CGI.), evil grin on his face as he gets to destroy Superman again. . .and again. . .and again. A wasted oppurtunity in my opinion.

-Superman's abrupt departure. Okay, so he doesn't leave Lois so much as a Dear Jane letter? That's just cold, even for a guy from an glacial planet. Yeesh kid.

-Lex's plan. Land again? That's it? You're Lex frickin' Luthor and you're recycling yourself? I'd be out to make the world pay for snubbing my brilliance by using Kryptonian technology to bring the world to its knees, but hey, what do I know.


Now all that said, this movie is incredibly cool. Easily a 9 out of 10 and required viewing for any fan of the Man of Steel. It was just so toe-tappingly good to see Superman back, all was forgiven. Now if we could get them to adapt Red Son or Last Son of Krypton. . .glee.

~Dooks the Elder.

 

was my hero at 4 and he'll be my hero when I'm 100. The character no matter who plays him simply rocks!

 

DrHaggis and I took in Superman Returns yesterday (part of a back-to-back funky pack with X3). I must say, I really enjoyed this movie! I do not consider myself much of a Superman fan, or of super hero movies in general... (although I did go through a solid stint as a fan of Dean Cain in "Lois & Clarke" - *swoon*). But this movie was really, really fun. I laughed aloud at several parts - especially Clarke being awkward & geeky. And Spacey... SPACEY! Is there no part that man can't play? Brilliant.

With regards to what Ryan said about Superman God vs. Superman man, I do agree, but I think it was very subtly done - enough that it didn't take away from the movies that came before it. I didn't know what to expect from this actor, but I was SUPER impressed! His transition between Clarke - awkward, shy, emotionally tortured, unsure, misunderstood, kind-hearted, eternally destined to secrecy - and Superman - strong, powerful, beloved, responsible, alien, self-asured - was flawless. I liked the dynamic between Superman and his father and everything that came out of that. He didn't make me feel uncomfortable when he was wearing the tights (something I was a bit worried about). The whole thing was really well-done.

Hooray for good movies!

 

Superman Returns. 3 stars out of five, or Superman Returns Sucks! Left for the theatre Sat. morning, got to Chinook @ 10 something, and there was already a line waiting inside the mall doors. They let in people next 2 Imax, and then outside the escalators, then the gates. Slipped thru up the stairs, used the Interac, which was in french. And got into the already mieleu. The trailers in 3-D were all animated, with no Spider3 trailer. Then the movie began...With the voice-over, by Margo Kidder over Noeil Noel's performance. Both played Lois. The credit tribute to Donner looked promising, and Routh was a superb choice for Clark/Superman, resemblance not-with standing, and Spacey was so-so, not oscar worthy, Bosworth well,..a face to look at. But the story... It was sub-standard, subpar, and well not up to the standards of the original film. That was mythic and magical. Now,Returns posed some interesting points, without any real revelations. The boy was a no-brainer, but I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the movies points, and attempt to tie into Superman 1 and 2. This "bastard film" did not flow well as the Donner version, and was ill-plotted. The cameo by the two writers (teenagers in the museum) gave me a chuckle, both fanboys themselves but in no way writers on the level of The Godfather's Mario Puzo, David & Lesile Newman (Late Hus. and Wife.) and finally Tom Mackienwiez. Having felt most of the movie was cannibalised from the first original movie, I understood the love story but didn't believe that Bosworth's Lane ever trully fell out of love for old Supey, Superman himself was also voyeuristic, I mean, that's what I'd do, if I came back after 5 years from visting my destroyed home planet, to the only woman i ever loved. Spacey's turn as Luthor, wasn't as good as Hackman's comedic portrayal, but indeed maniacal, and villianious. And the near gang rape of Superman was indeed sadistic. But I couldn't help but feel that the movie could have had more feeling or more of something "super". And so Superman has returned, but I will wait until Superman Returns with a sequel with Supergirl, since the first ones are always feelers.

As for 3-D, it's like watching ViewMaster reels.

 

Fresh from the "you can't please everyone" files!

Come on 3-D goat? that was AWESOME.

 

Did you just say "3-D goat?"

I have got to see this now!

Best regards,

The flying cow from "Twister"

 

You weren't SUPPOSED to believe she fell out of love with him. SHE is trying to convince HERSELF that she has, but obviously she hasn't. You're supposed to believe she's conflicted - she's trying to move on with this Richard guy because she figures Superman is gone for good... but right from the start, they tell us there are problems: the engagement is dragging on forever, Lois doesn't like to talk about it, she lies to Richard and says she was never IN LOVE with Superman.

Therefore, the fact that you didn't believe she never truly fell out of love for him, is a GOOD thing. That's what you're SUPPOSED to believe.

Traditionally, 3 stars out of 5 is a solid movie. So, to give it that rating and then say, "Superman Returns sucks!" doesn't make any sense. If it *truly* sucks, you should give it 1 or 2 stars.

Also, it sounded like a lot of your review had to do with things that have nothing to do with the movie. (ATMs, line ups, previews...) I'm just trying to understand you, whisperjedi. I'm not saying you have to love the movie, but that perhaps you could better explain to me why you didn't like it. Or not. Just trying to understand.

... and yes. 3-D goat. Awesome.

I found the having to put glasses on and off was a bit distracting. I think I could have really enjoyed the movie just as well if I had gone to a regular screening. The 3-D thing was novel, but not mind-blowing.

 

IMAX is essentially just bells and whistles. For me the film held together remarkably well, despite the flaws that make the gem I listed above.

The movie is a love story, but its about the kind of love you have for someone when you've both moved on in the world. Superman made a bonehead move when he left the Earth, and he has to grow up fast when he realizes that the world (and Lois) have dealt with him walking out on them. But you sense that maybe Kal-El did this because he knew that he couldn't have a life with Lois, not after restoring his powers. He can't be Mr. Lois Lane anymore than she could be Mrs. Superman. It's a doomed romance, and while the comics have Lois and Clark married, that Superman isn't the Superman of the films.

In the movies, Superman is a god, and a lonely god at that. He's got power enough to lift a continent, and with that power a fearsome responsibility. Since he came of age he's lived with the knoweledge of his differences from human beings--his whole physiology screams YOU DON'T BELONG HERE--and the knowledge gained from Jor-El that he is the last of his people. He's got the collective ghost of his entire civilization staring into him, and that kind of guilt can mark a man. Mark him enough to want to make sure that nobody else dies. Ever. That's the fuel that drives Superman in the same way that vengeance is the engine of the Batman. Batman captures a criminal, he's avenging the injustices visited upon him in his childhood. He's taking back some of the power that was stripped from him when he knelt over his parents dying bodies in Crime Alley. Batman avenges his loss on the crimimal element. Superman justifies his survival by saving as many lives as he can. But in so doing, he's crossing a lot of people. Making a lot of enemies. What kind of life can he give to Lois, to Jason? He'd never be able to put them first. Superman, as Lana Lang once said, belongs to the world. He'd love them dearly, but it wouldn't be enough to make him quit, to make him commit to them as fully as a father and a husband should. So Superman makes the ultimate sacrifice: he lets Lois go. He lets Jason go, but swears that he'll be there to help him with his gifts. In this way Superman sacrifices everything for the good of mankind, and it puts his heroism on a whole new level for me.

Interestingly, a key element of the film that I didn't think about until later is that in Superman Returns (as in Superman: The Movie) Superman is the first superhero we've seen in recent memory that doesn't hit anyone. Isn't that interesting? In this age of Kung-Fu Jesus played by Keanu Reeves and Ben Affleck smacking crooks around and Christian Bale going Almighty psycho ('SWEAR TO ME!!' ) in films, Superman is a pacifist hero. He doesn't hit anybody, or slam them through walls, or fry them with his heat vision. Let's face it, we've all had the fantasies about what we'd do with Superman's powers, especially to those who irk us (even Clark wasn't immune, see his confrontation with the rednecks at the end of Superman II). But in this film, Kal-El doesn't raise his hand to anyone, even when he's having the holy crap knocked out of him by Luthor's goons. Even after all that he endured at Luthor's hands I still suspect that when (not if) Superman finds Luthor and Kitty he'd cart them off to jail without a single blow struck. Not because Superman is weak, or because he's holding to some pie in the sky ideal, but because he's legitimately a better person.

Dunno if that arguement makes a lot of sense, but when I walked out of the theater I felt. . .refreshed somehow. Like I'd seen something I hadn't in a long time in film, or even in the comicbooks; a hero who was--y'know--heroic. Made for a nice change of pace.

~Dooks the Elder.

 

Beautifull said, Elder Dooks. Beautifully said.

 

Saw the IMAX show tonight - WOW. Even better the second time around! LOVED LOVED LOVED the 3-D stuff! What was interesting was the scenes they chose to show in 3-D. Not all action stuff.

**SPOILER ALERT!! IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE DON'T READ ANY MORE!!!***

I have a question though. What do you think Lois whispered in Superman's ear at the hospital?? Jason's true parentage? How would she know? Superman 'wiped' her memory clean of their relationship in Superman II. True the kid's sudden show of super human strength would be a giveaway, but how does she account for it? Was the mind-wipe only temporary? Does Superman 'see' or sense the kids powers himself?

Thoughts...opinions..??

 

Wow. Never considered that. I absolutely agree.

I found the whole hand-to-hand combat in movies like Spiderman to be wonderful echos of comic books, but yes, in this case, Superman's lack of brute force against humans was subtle but refreshing. Yay.

 

Some thoughts on Superman:

"Superman, I've always thought, is an angel. Probably the angel stories found in all of the world's religions are traces of the work in our world of Superman and his relatives. Who is to say I'm wrong?"

-- Andrew Greeley, Roman Catholic priest and best-selling novelist


' If one of the unarguable criteria for literary greatness is recognition, consider this: In all of the history of literature, there are only five fictional creations known to every man, woman, and child on the planet. The urchin in Irkutsk may never have heard of Hamlet, the peon in Pernambuco may not know who Raskolnikov is; the widow in Jakarta may stare blankly at the mention of Don Quixote or Micawber or Jay Gatsby. But every man, woman, and child on the planet knows Mickey Mouse, Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, Robin Hood... and Superman.

He is more than the fanciful daydream of two Cleveland schoolboys. He is the 20th-century archetype of mankind at its finest. He is courage and humanity, steadfastness and decency, responsibility and ethic. He is our universal longing for perfection, for wisdom and power used in the service of the human race.

Of all the literary creations of American fiction, Superman, after all these years, born of a "dispensable, disreputable" genre, is the only one that seems certain to get Posterity's nod. And that is because, simply put, he is our highest aspirations in human form. '

- Harlan Ellison


"I've seen first hand how Superman actually transforms people's lives. I have seen children dying of brain tumors who wanted as their last request to be able to talk to me, and have gone to their graves with a peace brought on by knowing that their belief in this kind of character is intact. I've seen that Superman really matters. They're connecting with something very basic: the ability to overcome obstacles, the ability to persevere, the ability to understand difficulty and to turn your back on it."

- Christopher Reeve, Time Magazine, March 14, 1988

 

I found it a little eerie when I first heard Superman speak after the plane rescue. It reminded me so much of Reeve. As for Spacey, he was a much better Lex than Hackman. Much more darker and maniacal and less comedic.