You'll believe a man can fly... Again. Superman Returns!

Our local reviewer gave it two and a half stars, but he hates sci fi type movies. He never gave any SW prequel more than two stars. He gave X Men 3 zero stars, while at the same time giving crap like "The Break Up" three stars.

 

That was a bit of a heart stopper.

I just called the IMAX theater I'm going to tonight and the recording said they would not be showing movies Monday or Tuesday

Thankfully they clarified that there would be the 10 PM showing still

 

Two days without world cup football. Superman Returns' release was perfectly timed. I'll be watching it tomorrow most likely.

 

Wow, that was... wow. This will take a while to process.

Random thoughts:

- Best. Opening. Credits. Ever. Hearing the music and seeing the classic font... It was so surreal. It brought me back to my childhood.
- The big twist was predictable, but it led to some very touching moments, especially at the end. "The father becomes the son"... Beautiful.
- Loved the Gotham reference. And that birthday clown massacre... Joker, perhaps?
- The final shot... Such a great tribute to the original film. Also glad they threw in an Action Comics #1 homage.
- Lots of stuff cut out... As long as the movie was, I felt it could go a little longer. They left a lot of things hanging at the end. I hope it won't take 20 more years for Superman IV to come out.

Overall, I think I'd rank it fourth or fifth among the superhero movies (Superman: The Movie first, Spider-Man 2 in second and Batman Begins in third). But it's early and things could change with time.

 

I'm back for SR, it's 1AM and it's time to post some opinions.

Well...[drumroll please]

The Good
Magnificent casting definitely with Routh, Bosworth and Spacey
Great visuals
Incredible third act
Good religious connotations
Innovative story
The Opening Credits INCREDIBLE
Score JUST AS GOOD

The Bad
1st half seemed sub-par meshed
Needed a little more focus on Clark
Kid is Clark's
Ending was quite ROTKish. You think it's going to end and it doesn't.
Lack of secondary character development - Kitty, Richard, etc.
Definitely needs a stronger first 20 minutes, especially for audiences not familiar with the franchise. Journey to Krypton needs to be in.
Please let there be a Director's Cut and fix the small editing and story issues.

9/10 right behind Batman Begins. May need second viewing.

 

Singer doesn't believe in director's cuts. To him, the finished produced is the director's cut.

 

He needs to learn from Ridley Scott that you can take a mediocre release like Kingdom of Heaven and make it into a Director's Cut masterpiece. Not saying that SR is a mediocre release by any means. Add about 20-25 min in the first 2 acts and you got yourself a perfect film.

 

I definitely think it should've been longer in certain areas. Return to Krypton, more Smallville stuff, etc. And perhaps more resolution at the end.

It didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. The ending scene with Superman and the boy was incredibly moving. I do think it will present some serious story problems and limitations for the next film(s). But viewed as a standalone "Elseworlds" plotline, it works.

 

Howdy y'all,

I know you don't know me, but I just got back, and I'm all abuzz . Gotta say...that was awesome!

Once again Bryan Singer keeps my faith alive. Not a perfect film, to be sure, but still very, very good.

Off the top of my head, some thoughts:

~I have to second (or possibly third) the comment about the credits...I think I squeaked a little when they started going, but mostly I just sat with a silly grin.

~I'm on the fence on the kid being his. On the one hand, I wasn't really surprised, and the little speech was touching at the end. On the other, he was more adorable as the sickly kid with the inhaler (memories of my own childhood watching the originals a million times perhaps?). At the very least, at least there was no soap opera-esque "He's your son!" type statement.

~One of my companions to the movie wasn't a big fan of Spacey's performance. Said it was too over the top, which I can kinda see, but I really didn't mind. His Prometheus talk early on was a standout point for him, I think.

~Sorry to say, still not a fan of the darker colour scheme for the costume...at least with the reds. He's the boyscout, it should be bright. Also don't really like the shiny cape, but really that's just me being nitpicky.

~The music was awesome. A perfect blend between the new stuff by John Ottman, and the John Williams classics.

~Brandon Routh did a very good job. I had to remind myself only once that he wasn't Christopher Reeve, and was never going to be, and then I could let myself sit back and watch his interpretation. I do agree that him as Clark could have used a little more screen time. His contacts bugged me a bit, though...just looked too painted on.

~Kate Bosworth impressed me. Normally I don't really like her very much, she always kinda rubbed me the wrong way, and I was dreading her Lois, but she was much better than I feared.

~"I hope this incident hasn't put you off flying. Statistically speaking, it's still the safest way to travel." Sorry, gave me a grin.

Hmm...thanks guys, had to get that out...

 

Wow! I got back, too GREAT MOVIE! Action packed! The 3D was excellent! I think the Kent Farm 3D sequence was my favorite. All in all, fantastic movie. The visuals that aren't 3D seem like they are. Best Superhero film I've seen since Spider-Man 2.

Everyone had fun with the 3D gimmick, it seemed. We all laughed when the 3D glasses logo came on the screen, and then we were pretty much blown away.

 

This is about the third time I've tried to post this. I hope it works this time.


My review of Superman Returns.


First I must say that the conditions in which I saw this film were not the best since I had been up for 18 hours, the seats were not comfortable, the air conditioning in the theater was not on and thus it was very warm in a small yet packed theater, and the woman next to me was a bitch though she didn't personally confront me. But in confronting someone else, her boobs rested upon my arm for 30 seconds.

Anyways, Superman Returns from what the opening text explains that he left. I guess this film took place after part two and before part three or something. The timeline seemed strange. The movie started out with a great opening credit sequence. We heard Marlon Brando and we saw the destruction of Krypton in a nice fashion. Then the main theme by John Williams kicked in and we were sent on a fast paced journey through the galaxy heading towards earth as the opening credits rolled. Greatness. But after that the moving slowed down considerably. I mean it crawled at points. Especially the first hour of this 2 hour and 40 minute hero flick. I don't mind the length per say, but things just need to move faster in this film and they didn't. Everything was delayed. Every shot extended a few seconds longer than it should have been. I kept expecting the Monty Python group to pop up and say "GET ON WITH IT!"

The story was good. I mean Superman returns to Earth after leaving five years ago to search for his home planet of Krypton. In that time, alot has changed. Lois has a kid. She has a new man in her life. Lex Luthor has been let out of prison because the star witness (superman) didn't appear in court to testify against Luthor. Whoops! Spacey plays Luthor very well. He's clever and funny and really nails the character. His sidekicks are funny too including Miss Tessmocker? I forget if that's what they called her. But that's basically who his main sidekick was. Anyways, though Luthor yet again has decided to ravage the contintenants to form prime real estate using crystals he steals from the fortress of solitude, it still worked for the movie.

Brandon Routh (sp?) was great as Superman. He was the best in the film in my opinion. At points I thought about Christopher Reeve, but not much for a 2 and a half hour film. He and Singer made me accept this new guy as Superman very easily. Though he does say some classic Superman lines now and again throughout the film. The suit was better looking too. It's hard to look past goofy outfits in these films and Superman's is the cheesiest of them all, but it looked alright in this flick.

So earlier I mentioned that the main theme of Superman's returned in the opening credits, well it keeps returning again...and again...and again. Sometimes I kinda felt like Ottman (the composer) had nothing new to give this film. But there were some choirs brought in to accompany certain heroic moments. Oh and the love theme basically returned too.

There were some rather humorous moments in the film involving Luthor, Superman, and even Jimmy Olsen. Speaking of Olsen, after the first hour, his character got really old. I got tired of seeing him.

Richard White aka Cyclops aka James Marsden got alot of screen time. More than I thought he would. But once again Marsden (like in X-Men and the Notebook) is playing the odd man out in the relationship. Poor guys getting type cast as the charming, but understanding loser. In this film, that's exactly what happens. Though Lois doesn't make a clear choice between the two.

But back to Lois, Bosworth was good. But then there's the kid. Shockingly, the kid wasn't a bad actor. Usually kids in these types of flicks suck majorly in their roles, but this kid was okay. But right away we all knew this kid was not Richard Whites son. And then the piano scene...

My favorite scene might have been at the very end when Superman is talking to his sleeping son. Kinda emotional and the dialogue was great. Seoond would b

 

By the way, I now think they should definitely not have shown the "bullet to the eye" shot in the trailers. There was a good reaction from a few people who were actually surprised, but then this one jackass said "It was in the commercials, relax". It was a big money shot that shouldn't have been spoiled.

 

Just got home. Enjoyed it greatly. Simply have to blather somewhere or I'll never get to sleep tonight I have to agree that the pacing seemed a bit off in parts. And I'd like to know what the deal was near the end there with the no heartbeat and then suddenly he's just in a coma and has one. If it was just the kryptonite piece they pulled out then shouldn't the heart beat have started showing up?

I was also impressed by how much other story was there besides the main Luthor causing trouble story. I think James Marsden earned his screentime with his portrayal of a man who knew that his whole family life was at risk but did the right thing anyway every time. I'm quite intrigued by the possibilities for the future. I thought Kevin Spacey was a bit over the top but in the right way so it was ok. I loved the elements of humor they added. Except the two dogs down to one dog. Not such a big fan of that. Mainly because in the theater I was in so many people had to comment on that or at least gasp about it that I missed dialog. And I hate it when I miss dialog. I'd also have actually perferred a bit less bounce to Jimmy.

I wish they hadn't done the bullet bit in the trailer because I'd have liked to be surprised by it in the movie. The effects were great. The passenger plane bit in the beginning was well done. The aerospace engineer in me only piped up once. And I liked how he actually had to struggle sometimes both then and later on.

I'm going to have to go again as soon as I can.

 

I think that Kal-el's loss of the crystals shows that he has truly become the "father" as Jor-el said he would. No longer would Kal-el require the crystals to understand his very nature; instead, he had arrived at the point where he did finally understand himself and it was time for him to be the father to Jason.

Incidentally, in my viewing of the film, when Jason tossed the piano, someone yelled out, "Who's your daddy?" Very funny.

Though the first thirty minutes were slow, I had no problem with them. They played a definite role developing the storyling and getting people caught up...especially the people who aren't nerds and have seen Superman I and II a million times. It was a necessary evil that won't have to be repeated in the next film. It's just like X-MEN. The first half hour was extremely slow because Singer had to orient the viewers to the world they had entered. In X-Men 2, there was no need for that rigamarole.

Can I just say that I imagine that had Singer left the Journey to Krypton in the film, it would have appeared eerily similar to the island Lex had created.

Overall, I loved the film. Thoroughly entertaining and I can't wait to see it again.

 

let me put this as simply as I can...

I LOVED IT!!!

 

Silly question, but I was watching Superman I last night, and I noticed the World Trade Center in the background during the "Can You Read My Mind" sequence; therefore, I was wondering if the World Trade Center incident is mentioned at all in reference to Superman being gone because 5 years prior to this month was still prior to the WTC catastrophe on 9/11/01.

You know. Did someone blame him for not being there to prevent such a tragedy, etc?




Also, I firmly agree that trailers are starting to show too much of a movie's best stuff. They are great for build up before seeing the movie, but they give away too much so that you leave disappointed even if the movie was really great.

 

Psst ... this is a spoiler thread. No need to highlight your spoilers. Feel free to post at will.

 

Can someone tell us what comic book references were in the film and where? I know the entire story and characters are comic book references, but I am curious like the nods to specific comic books...and the movies. I loved that the rock Luthor stole was from Addis Ababa.

 

Argh! If I do talk my wife into going to see this movie, it still won't be until next Monday. I really can't wait.

 

It'll be worth the wait, RoG. It's a brilliant film.

 

Another thing I liked was the characterization of Richard White. So often "the other man" in a love triangle is portrayed in movies as an unlikable guy who we're supposed to root against. But played by Marsden, he's a very likeable and charismatic guy who clearly loves Lois and is a good father to Jason. He even gets the chance to play hero in a movie that features the greatest of all heroes (and as an aside, Marsden gets to do more here than in all of X2 and X3).

Well, Lex wore a wig in the older films. He does not wear wigs on Smallville, so it's not a reference to the series.

 

ok......i didnt mean to do that.