Superman Returns - SPOILERS!!!! SPOILERS!!!!

[Batty]

Re: Superman Returns

Very good post! Some others weren't so thrilled.

 

[TheObsoleteMan]

Re: Superman Returns

My other main criticism was regarding Lex's plot. What was the deal with that? It was SOOO STRANGE and left field. He was going to create land??? Huh? I found this to be such a wacky idea that was completely undeveloped (which furthered its wackey status). But luckily, Lex's plot is not the crux of the film.

I don't know if you've seen Superman 1 and 2, but if you haven't, watch them and you'll understand Lex's obsession with real estate.

 

[Deak Starkiller]

I just came home from the theatre and here are my thoughts on the film. It was a good movie and I liked it, it's just some stuff I couldn't let go. First the good.

Good: Brandon Routh as Superman/Clark Kent. He really brought a lot to the character, he felt like Superman which is the most important element in the film. Jimmy Olsen was great, Skeletor was great as Perry White (I loled when he mention Great Caesar's Ghost), Parker Posey was hilarious almost to the point of being annoying. Cyclops was a very well written character, and I wanted him to be the father. And Kevin Spacey was a better Lex than Gene "Hack"man ever could hope to be. It was a fun film and I did like all of the cerebral stuff going on with Superman, they really fleshed out his character. When Luthor and his thugs start kicking Supes on the ground, I was really feeling for him. I was pissed. This goes to show how awesome he played Superman. I think a Hot Toys figure is in my future.

Bad: Well I didn't buy Kate Bosworth as a mommy. She was an all right Lois, but just like Julia Stiles in the OMEN I didn't buy into the mother aspect of her character. It just didn't work for me. The other thing that I really didn't like was the kid. he wasn't a bad actor, he just brings nothing to the character of Superman. He doesn't fit. Where are they supposed to go with Supes being a dad? What about Cyclops and Lois? I know the kid is a plot point in the movie to drive home the fact that Superman is never alone and he didn't need to look all over the universe for someone when he always had somebody back home in the first place. Also I didn't like how the movie went on for another 10-15 minutes more than it needed to be. All that stuff with him in the hospital was very Soap Opera, it didn't fit with the pace of the film.

My final thoughts on the film are very positive in hindsight, there is a lot of good there, so here's hoping for a sequel. Still not better than Batman Begins but it is a better film than any other Superman movie.

 

[LordAzrael]

Haven't seen it but having just finished Season 1-3 of Smallville I suspect I won't think its particularly great in comparison.

 

[Batty]

Well put, Deke. I agree about the hospital scene. It felt like it was only put in so Lois could have a way to tell Supes about the kid. But I did like when the doctors and nurses were trying to revive him. I also thought without his suit, Lois would recognize him as Clark. I guess those glasses do a really good job!

 

[Deak Starkiller]

Well put, Deke. I agree about the hospital scene. It felt like it was only put in so Lois could have a way to tell Supes about the kid. But I did like when the doctors and nurses were trying to revive him. I also thought without his suit, Lois would recognize him as Clark. I guess those glasses do a really good job!

Yeah I forgot about the doctors and stuff. Those were great elements in the film reminding you he is an alien.

 

[gdb]

LOVED this movie!! LOVED it!!

It's so brave and so gutsy. I mean how big are Bryan Singer's cahones that he doesn't open the film with the airplane sequence?? That's a no-brainer but he takes his time and builds something more powerfull and more breath-taking by structuring it how he did.

Okay, I figure that there are four aspects that people could be annoyed by and they all stem from the fact that audiences like things how they like them regardless of why they like them. That is, audiences tend to be closed minded about things.

1) they might find act one a tad slow.
2) they might find act three's resolution a tad unfulfilling.
3) they might find the characters too involved with each other before the movie starts and be put off with the world already-in-progress.
4) they might find the characters not involved enough and be put off with the world not already-in-progress enough.

But Singer is building a franchise with someplace to go, and straddling the line of incorporating existing worlds (Smallville, Superman I, etc.) and creating something entirely new.

LOVED it!!

 

[gdb]

Well put, Deke. I agree about the hospital scene. It felt like it was only put in so Lois could have a way to tell Supes about the kid. But I did like when the doctors and nurses were trying to revive him. I also thought without his suit, Lois would recognize him as Clark. I guess those glasses do a really good job!

Don't forget how Lois & Clark explained it: she is "the most galacticly stupid woman who ever lived."

 

[JGouse0498]

~off topic:
You live in PA too?? Didn't know there was another PA board member. The rain has been crazy over the past days. It took 3.5hrs to go to work. Usually it only takes me 1.5hr. I live in a small town call Hanover!

~back on topic:

I loved this movie so much that I am going to see it again and again and again~

I'm just across the river from Wilkes-Barre in Swoyersville. If things had gone very bad, I'd be on the outer rim of Ground Zero. Thankfully, things are starting to calm down (river crested at 34 feet with the levees going up to 41...definitely some wiggle room there).

Now, back on topic...nice to see the flame war still raged on for a few more pages.

 

[BDboystoys]

Well I just got back and I have to say I LOVED it.
I was just thrilled with the intro and I guess Im one of the few that really liked Bosworth and the Superman/Lois relationship/plot.

Spacey was awesome IMO was I really loved the plot. It was so much one plot line and disaster per say, but the ongoing story of Superman and the consequences and trials of his life. Really loved it.
It could be slow, but with it would be a more emotional aspect.
The action was top notch and incredibley done. And the child aspect although I did question it earlier on(yes I mistakedly found out before) I really like how it was shown.
Thumbs way up from me.

:chew

Go see it, its the best blockbuster this year. X3 was ok but this has just SO much more...more...everything. Emotion, music, acting, story...

 

[Super Serg]

I agree with most of you... this movie ROCKED!
(Definitely 1 of my all time favorite comic book movies now!)

It's too bad a couple of you didn't like it... but then again, what movie
ever comes out that 100% of the watchers enjoy? C'est la vie...

My favorite non-popular scene?
Right after Lois comes back from the rooftop... that surprise pan down
to see Clark eating just hit me right in my geek heart! It was the PERFECT
combination of how Clark / Supes exists & why those around him would
never suspect! PURE GENIUS MOMENT!

Can't wait to see it a couple more times before it leaves theaters!

!ss!

 

[pjam]

I agree with most of you... this movie ROCKED!
(Definitely 1 of my all time favorite comic book movies now!)

It's too bad a couple of you didn't like it... but then again, what movie
ever comes out that 100% of the watchers enjoy? C'est la vie...

My favorite non-popular scene?
Right after Lois comes back from the rooftop... that surprise pan down
to see Clark eating just hit me right in my geek heart! It was the PERFECT
combination of how Clark / Supes exists & why those around him would
never suspect! PURE GENIUS MOMENT!

Can't wait to see it a couple more times before it leaves theaters!

!ss!

That Clark geek moment chomping on take-out blew me away too, it was a brilliant piece of filmmaking.

 

[Dusty]

I'm not in the "it rocked" contingent. Probably because I never really liked Superman to begin with. I just don't like the mythos. I don't like that he can apparently hear all the bad stuff going on around the world, yet takes a break to be Clark Kent once in a while. If he's an invincible super hero who doesn't really need sleep and was sent to Earth to help save it, he should be a super hero all the time - instead of just picking and choosing who to save and when, he should be saving everyone that he possibly can at any given moment. I guess it never really made sense to me, whereas superheroes like Spider-Man, X-Men and Batman do all they can, with the powers that they have, in the cities/areas where they live - because they don't HAVE the ability to get around the world and save someone in France in under 2 seconds. They don't have supersonic hearing in order to hear all the cries of help. They have to rely on their wits and what's going on around them. I guess to me, it just seems that Superman doesn't do ENOUGH saving. I mean, if I had that kind of power, I'd be all over the place all the time, not sitting around in my geek suit and glasses, watching myself on the news, while taking a break from the saving.

/Superman rant

As for this movie, there were parts that I really loved. The opening credits especially. But for the most part, I felt about it how I feel about the new King Kong - I LOVED Superman himself (the character, if not the mythos), but I could really care less for the rest of it (in Kong, I loved - loved - Kong himself, but didn't really like most of the rest of it). It's definitely worth seeing on the big screen, if only for Brandon Routh's performance. Some of the scenes were laugh-out-loud bad. And what's with all the fear of wigs? That first scene with Lex - HORRIBLE. I'm in the camp that didn't, for the most part, like Spacey's Lex. I mean - "Bring it on!" - "I don't THINK so." - "WRONG!!" - I LOL'd (and not in a good way).

I wanted to shoot Jimmy in the head. I mean, I know the character is supposed to be cheesy and upbeat and all, but for some reason it just grated on my nerves in this one, whereas it's kinda cute in the originals. Toward the later part of the movie it was a little better, but at the beginning it was WAY to big of a distraction for me.

Oh and I LOL'd (not in a good way) at the airplane scene too. I mean, GREAT effects and a great scene in general, but Lois should have died in that scene, with the beating she took. Or at the very least walked away limping and bruised with her hair and clothes messed up.

How many more times could they have Superman say "Oh, I'm always around"? And how many more times could they cut to Kitty with tears in her eyes at the thought of America being swallowed by a landmass and billions of people dying? And how much longer could they have made the Superman-with-Lois-flying scene - we GET IT, he can fly and it's super cool!!! And Lois is SOOOOO dumb - Clark Kent: gone for 5 years, leaves and returns on the same days as Superman, same height, same build, same color hair and eyes - DUDE, seriously - you call yourself a star reporter?

Oh, and I hate Superman's new boots. HATE THEM.
(leave it to a women to notice the shoes more than anything else!)

Enough negativity - I did like the son story line. The kid himself was slightly annoying, but I liked what they did with the story. And of course the 'son being the father' line brought tears to my eyes - mostly because of Routh, he did a darn fine job. The Superman getting beat up scene was very emotional - again, Routh gets credit here. I liked Lex's boat and the scene when the land is growing and Lois, the kid and Richard get trapped. The part where one of the dogs ate the other made me laugh - and there were a few other fun jokes (the "Look, it's a bird, it's a plane" scene fell WAY flat in my audience though). The sound was AWESOME. The sound designer was sitting in the row in front of me, and he got the loudest cheer during the credits The 3D stuff was okay (they flash a green glasses symbols when you're supposed to put them on, and a red ones when you have to take them off) - it was a little distracting because we were not in dead center, so the far side of the screen was a little blurry during the 3D parts. The IMAX screen rocks though! Especially during the bullet-to-the-eye part!

Overall - I give it 2.5/5 stars. I still like X3 a *tad* bit better though, just because it was way more fun (Pyro lighting car-fire bombs? I'm the Juggernaut, *beep*? - you know you clapped with glee). Superman took itself slightly too serious for my taste in summer flicks, what with the the beating over the head with the obvious savior motif, etc.

Bring on POTC2 next week - can't wait to see if it's as pure fun as the first! :chew
And if it's not, oh well, I still have first one that I can watch over and over again :

 

[tomandshell]

Dusty, will your review be in the next podcast? I know that you guys don't have the superman license so there's nothing to advertise, but we all liked your X3 review.

 

[Shai]

I'm not in the "it rocked" contingent. Probably because I never really liked Superman to begin with. I just don't like the mythos. I don't like that he can apparently hear all the bad stuff going on around the world, yet takes a break to be Clark Kent once in a while. If he's an invincible super hero who doesn't really need sleep and was sent to Earth to help save it, he should be a super hero all the time - instead of just picking and choosing who to save and when, he should be saving everyone that he possibly can at any given moment. I guess it never really made sense to me, whereas superheroes like Spider-Man, X-Men and Batman do all they can, with the powers that they have, in the cities/areas where they live - because they don't HAVE the ability to get around the world and save someone in France in under 2 seconds. They don't have supersonic hearing in order to hear all the cries of help. They have to rely on their wits and what's going on around them. I guess to me, it just seems that Superman doesn't do ENOUGH saving. I mean, if I had that kind of power, I'd be all over the place all the time, not sitting around in my geek suit and glasses, watching myself on the news, while taking a break from the saving.

/Superman rant

As for this movie, there were parts that I really loved. The opening credits especially. But for the most part, I felt about it how I feel about the new King Kong - I LOVED Superman himself (the character, if not the mythos), but I could really care less for the rest of it (in Kong, I loved - loved - Kong himself, but didn't really like most of the rest of it). It's definitely worth seeing on the big screen, if only for Brandon Routh's performance. Some of the scenes were laugh-out-loud bad. And what's with all the fear of wigs? That first scene with Lex - HORRIBLE. I'm in the camp that didn't, for the most part, like Spacey's Lex. I mean - "Bring it on!" - "I don't THINK so." - "WRONG!!" - I LOL'd (and not in a good way).

I wanted to shoot Jimmy in the head. I mean, I know the character is supposed to be cheesy and upbeat and all, but for some reason it just grated on my nerves in this one, whereas it's kinda cute in the originals. Toward the later part of the movie it was a little better, but at the beginning it was WAY to big of a distraction for me.

Oh and I LOL'd (not in a good way) at the airplane scene too. I mean, GREAT effects and a great scene in general, but Lois should have died in that scene, with the beating she took. Or at the very least walked away limping and bruised with her hair and clothes messed up.

How many more times could they have Superman say "Oh, I'm always around"? And how many more times could they cut to Kitty with tears in her eyes at the thought of America being swallowed by a landmass and billions of people dying? And how much longer could they have made the Superman-with-Lois-flying scene - we GET IT, he can fly and it's super cool!!! And Lois is SOOOOO dumb - Clark Kent: gone for 5 years, leaves and returns on the same days as Superman, same height, same build, same color hair and eyes - DUDE, seriously - you call yourself a star reporter?

Oh, and I hate Superman's new boots. HATE THEM.
(leave it to a women to notice the shoes more than anything else!)

Enough negativity - I did like the son story line. The kid himself was slightly annoying, but I liked what they did with the story. And of course the 'son being the father' line brought tears to my eyes - mostly because of Routh, he did a darn fine job. The Superman getting beat up scene was very emotional - again, Routh gets credit here. I liked Lex's boat and the scene when the land is growing and Lois, the kid and Richard get trapped. The part where one of the dogs ate the other made me laugh - and there were a few other fun jokes (the "Look, it's a bird, it's a plane" scene fell WAY flat in my audience though). The sound was AWESOME. The sound designer was sitting in the row in front of me, and he got the loudest cheer during the credits The 3D stuff was okay (they flash a green glasses symbols when you're supposed to put them on, and a red ones when you have to take them off) - it was a little distracting because we were not in dead center, so the far side of the screen was a little blurry during the 3D parts. The IMAX screen rocks though! Especially during the bullet-to-the-eye part!

Overall - I give it 2.5/5 stars. I still like X3 a *tad* bit better though, just because it was way more fun (Pyro lighting car-fire bombs? I'm the Juggernaut, *beep*? - you know you clapped with glee). Superman took itself slightly too serious for my taste in summer flicks, what with the the beating over the head with the obvious savior motif, etc.

Bring on POTC2 next week - can't wait to see if it's as pure fun as the first! :chew
And if it's not, oh well, I still have first one that I can watch over and over again :

DUSTY YOU JUST PROOVE YOUR SUPERIOR INTELLECT HERE AND YOUR CRITICAL EYE....GREAT REVIEW....

 

[KLAUDER]

What's up Freaks,

I just had to drop my .02 on this subject.

The Good
• It did have the feel of the first movie, and at times, I did find myslef smiling with the feeling that I was a kid again.
• Routh picked up on alot of Christopher Reeves mannerisms, to the point where it was creepy.
• Dug the effects.
• The sets, camera work, music, all beautiful

The Bad
• I wanted more Superman being Superman. The scene with the machine gun was great, but then that was it. No dropping the bad guys off at prison, no crushing the guys gun, nothing.
• Lois was not the tenacious reporter that I remember from the comics or the original movies.
• There was too much "Superman is God". I always felt that the DC universe was more of a fantasy Mount Olympus kinda thing. Superman is Zeus, Batman is Hades, Wonder Woman is Hera. I never looked at it as Superman is God.
• Luthor is the dumbest genious on the planet. If I were Luthor, and had access to alien technology and information about Superman, my first question would have been "What is the chemical composition of Kryptonite, and how do I manufacture it". My second would have been "Give me all of your information on Kryptonian weaponry and how to manufacture it utilizing Kryptonite ammunition."
• He had a rocket with a kryptonite payload in the war head. I totally thought that he was going to put that rocket right into Superman's chest. Instead, he just shoots it into the water.

The Kid
• This ruined the entire film for me.
• His first show of power and he kills a guy. I don't think Dad would approve
• What's with Lois letting Supes fly away? Why didn't she put her hand out and say "Five years, child support, what's up?". Or, "Hey, you going to help raise this kid?"
• Seriously, my fear is that the introduction of a son into Superman's life means that we will never be able to see Superman in a knock down drag out fight in any of the future sequals, as the writers and director will most likely be immersed in how to "realize" the relationship between Supes and his kid. Which will no doubt includ the son having a hard time controlling his powers, yadda, yadda, yadda.

I really was loving this movie until the revalation that the kid was Superman's kid. That really caused me to go back and pick the movie apart. I'm sure this was a concious decision made by Warner Bros. fat cats that wanted to have their influence on the Superman mythos. I'm sure it's only a matter of time that we are drowned in the flood of Superboy cartoons and series and god knows what else. That being said, I'm not looking forward to seeing the next Superman.

 

[Super Serg]

Damn it!

I wish sideshow would've gotten the DC license as well as the marvel 1.
That way, we'd have seen the Medicom / Hot Toys DC figures at cheaper
prices. (& who knows, maybe even a more positive review!)

J/K!

Oh well... Now excuse me while I make plans to se SR again, & again, & again...


!ss!

 

[Viking28]

I'm not in the "it rocked" contingent. Probably because I never really liked Superman to begin with. I just don't like the mythos. I don't like that he can apparently hear all the bad stuff going on around the world, yet takes a break to be Clark Kent once in a while. If he's an invincible super hero who doesn't really need sleep and was sent to Earth to help save it, he should be a super hero all the time - instead of just picking and choosing who to save and when, he should be saving everyone that he possibly can at any given moment.

I haven't seen the movie yet going to here in a couple hours but if I'm not mistaken he was warned not to become the savior of the planet, too not become a "God" if you will. Where the people of the world only look to him to solve their problems, to take no responiblity for their actions.

 

[Shai]

What's up Freaks,

I just had to drop my .02 on this subject.

The Good
• It did have the feel of the first movie, and at times, I did find myslef smiling with the feeling that I was a kid again.
• Routh picked up on alot of Christopher Reeves mannerisms, to the point where it was creepy.
• Dug the effects.
• The sets, camera work, music, all beautiful

The Bad
• I wanted more Superman being Superman. The scene with the machine gun was great, but then that was it. No dropping the bad guys off at prison, no crushing the guys gun, nothing.
• Lois was not the tenacious reporter that I remember from the comics or the original movies.
• There was too much "Superman is God". I always felt that the DC universe was more of a fantasy Mount Olympus kinda thing. Superman is Zeus, Batman is Hades, Wonder Woman is Hera. I never looked at it as Superman is God.
• Luthor is the dumbest genious on the planet. If I were Luthor, and had access to alien technology and information about Superman, my first question would have been "What is the chemical composition of Kryptonite, and how do I manufacture it". My second would have been "Give me all of your information on Kryptonian weaponry and how to manufacture it utilizing Kryptonite ammunition."
• He had a rocket with a kryptonite payload in the war head. I totally thought that he was going to put that rocket right into Superman's chest. Instead, he just shoots it into the water.

The Kid
• This ruined the entire film for me.
• His first show of power and he kills a guy. I don't think Dad would approve
• What's with Lois letting Supes fly away? Why didn't she put her hand out and say "Five years, child support, what's up?". Or, "Hey, you going to help raise this kid?"
• Seriously, my fear is that the introduction of a son into Superman's life means that we will never be able to see Superman in a knock down drag out fight in any of the future sequals, as the writers and director will most likely be immersed in how to "realize" the relationship between Supes and his kid. Which will no doubt includ the son having a hard time controlling his powers, yadda, yadda, yadda.

I really was loving this movie until the revalation that the kid was Superman's kid. That really caused me to go back and pick the movie apart. I'm sure this was a concious decision made by Warner Bros. fat cats that wanted to have their influence on the Superman mythos. I'm sure it's only a matter of time that we are drowned in the flood of Superboy cartoons and series and god knows what else. That being said, I'm not looking forward to seeing the next Superman.

Another great review..I felt the same about the kid,the kryptonite in the rocket,Lois & Luthor...

 

[Dusty]

I haven't seen the movie yet going to here in a couple hours but if I'm not mistaken he was warned not to become the savior of the planet, too not become a "God" if you will. Where the people of the world only look to him to solve their problems, to take no responiblity for their actions.

Well, see, that makes perfect sense. But this movie makes Superman God, and really drives the 'Savior Of Earth' theme home. So I guess that's why it's confusing to me.

Oh, and I forgot to mention this little question - if Superman is not human, and it's pointed out again and again that he will never really fit in with the human race, HOW ON EARTH CAN HE FATHER A CHILD WITH HUMAN WOMAN???

The End.