SUPERMAN RETURNS...
WARNING: If you haven't seen the movie and really, really want to watch with a certain level of expectation, TURN AWAY NOW. But if you want an honest opinion about the movie, read on. But you have been warned.
Let's get this out of the way: Superman is probably MY favorite fictional character of all time. I am a comic book afficianado and have loved Superman since I was 3 so that's not just a popular answer for me. At the drop of a hat I can give you Supermans history, both straight and simple and unabridged yet convoluted. Fanboys know exactly what I'm talking about when I say that. So suffice it to say, I have been waiting for this movie for 2 decades. To me, this was to be the pinaccle of all super-hero movies.
Sadly, I'm still waiting.
Not only did this movie not meet my expectations, this was probably one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Very unfortunate for these were the same folks that gave us triumphant screen versions of Marvel's X-Men in 2 very successful movies. From reading interviews with director Bryan Singer, the intention to bring us an iconic Superman was there and means to bring him to the age of Matrix-esque special effects was no problem.
Somewhere along the line, this evolved into a disaster. I have no problems with movies running more than 2 hours. If you gave me Braveheart/Harry Potter/Lord of the Rings type pacing, I welcome it. Superman Returns was slow torture, where the gradeur of a special effects extravaganza was overshadowed awkward characterizations and redudantly drawn out scenes. Brandon Routh, for all the pressure of filling in big shoes, was okay. JUST okay. Which to me is already a failure. I didn't mind the costume so much, but he just failed to bring the polarized range that Christopher Reeve brought to both Superman and Clark Kent. And in the end, we are actually left with a character that to me is kind of a prick, considering the revelation he was presented with involving Lois and the child she reared during his 5 year absence.
The most distracting plot point to the movie is the introduction of Richard White, nephew to Daily Planet Editor-in-Chief Perry White and Lois Lanes fiancee. Handsome, brave, heroic, loyal and proud surrogate father to Lois' child. No, not the douchebag antagonist and rival to Clark. Perfectly played by Jason Marsden (Cyclops to Singer's X-men movies), he steals this movie as its hero from the actual movie's namesake. Shouldn't Superman emerge from the film as the ultimate hero?
But to me the greatest sin is failing to introduce Superman to a generation that would otherwise ignore his values and red and blue tights. This movie lacked the wonderment that befell me when Christopher Reeve first openned his shirt to reveal one of the the worlds most iconic symbols in "Superman the Movie". So many opportunities to wow where the display of digital magic failed. Instead, hundreds of millions of dollars are pumped into a mediocre episode of a TV show that completely ignores modern mythology, an episode I'd sooner forget.
This movie was heralded to be an epic as well as a tribute to it's big screen predecessors. At least the first two. Instead we get a poorly executed glorification of the Man of Steel, unnecessarily injected with aspects from the previous films and new concepts that served as hindrances to the Superman mythology. Not only is this a poor super-hero film, it was a bad film altogether.
To symplify it further: Remember when you thought Star Wars Episode 1 was going to be THE movie? It was THAT disappointing.
You want real Superman? GO pick up "Superman the Movie". The collected edtion DVDs of "Superman the Animated Series". Go to your local comic book store and pick up the first Superman comic you see.
Save your 10 bucks and watch Cars instead.
