Review--Superman Returns
 

FILM: SUPERMAN RETURNS
DISTRIBUTOR: WARNER BROS.
DIRECTOR: BRYAN SINGER
PRINCIPAL CAST: BRANDON ROUTH, KEVIN SPACEY, FRANK LANGELLA, KATE BOSWORTH, JAMES MARSDEN
MPAA RATING: PG-13 for Some Intense Action Violence
RUNTIME: 2 hours, 34 minutes.

Story: 5/5
Acting: 5/5
Sound: 5/5
Visuals: 5/5
Endorphin Factor: 4/5
Big Screen Experience: 5/5
Scoring system:
Average: 4.8/5

MOVIES IT COULD BE COMPARED TO: SUPERMAN, SUPERMAN II, BATMAN BEGINS

DETAILS: I was fortunate enough to catch a late night showing of this film at the local theatre....and my two and a half hours were as well spent as my money.

Bryan Singer is on his way to becoming a legend. There is no doubt about it. This film is superb. There is Superman, then there is Superman II, and then there is Superman Returns. That is the way it should be. Superman III, and Superman IV can pretty much be regarded as horrific memories, best left out of the canon.

As soon as I heard John Williams' theme heralding the movie, I got a lump in my throat. In fact, I got a lump in my throat every time I heard his themes used throughout the movie. And John Ottman's original score compliments Williams' work exquisitely.

When I saw the opening credits, they were done in the same style as the original Superman movie credits....blue letters with the blaze effect behind them. But they also made the opening sequence very visually appealing.

The story was very well written. Very emotional. And with some nice nods back to Superman the Movie. The writers of this film really did their work well. And there are a couple of nice surprises in this film that may just leave your jaw on the floor.

Visual effects. SPLENDID! This is the first big screen film I have been impressed by in a long time. A few things made me raise a brow. Sadly, I wasn't blown away...but I did get my money's worth.

This IS a big screen film....and I can only imagine that if Singer works up a sequel, it is gonna be a motherfracker, because this film was BIG!

Kevin Spacey and Brandon Routh do great homage to the actors who previously played the roles of Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman), and Superman (Christopher Reeve), while giving the roles a bit of their own flavor. All the actors in this film played their roles beautifully however.
And Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) looked damn good.

When the film ended, I only heard a few people (including myself) actually applaud, but there were a LOT of people who stuck around through the end credits. Sadly, there was no real reason to stick around for them, save to hear John Ottman's wonderful redux of John Williams' original themes, and his own original closing score.

BOTTOM LINE: Folks...GO! See this film on the big screen where it belongs. If you are a fan of Superman and Superman II, this is THE sequel you've waited 20 years for. It's worth it, even as an evening show.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: If Bryan Singer and Tom DeSanto can get their ducks in a row...and get the VFX team that Singer had for this film, then a Battlestar Galactica film would be HUGE!!!

Well, I just got home from watching it, and I agree about those opening credits- Simply awesome. They totally prepped you for what was to come.

I was *really* suprised by Kate as Lois. To me, she indeed was Margot Kidder advanced personality wise.

Still had certain characteristics that Margot's Lois had.

The kid was excellent as well. VERY suprising how they handled that.

Richard White was a hero himself. Loved the "How'd you get here?" "I flew" lines :D

Steve, there was indeed a big reason to stay for the credits. Something I at least was looking for, and was suprised it wasn't at the beginning rather than the end. From hearing other folks, they too were suprised these were at the end- The dedication to Chris and Dana.

As I stated in a much earlier thread, it wasn't Lois that I thought would bug me, but the costume. And it did a bit. I didn't like how the cape was tucked to the suit, I didn't like the boots and I noticed something new about it I hadn't noticed before- There was no "S" on the cape!!!

I did notice Perry commented about the costume change in his rambling to the reporters though. At least the change was acknowledge :)

Got another date to see it on the second. By then, should be able to talk major spoilers :twisted:

Oh, and as for Superman III and IV? I view those as simple stories that fit anywhere into the timeline, ie like the comics- A story filler between story arcs ;)

Just wait for the SE editions of those, especially IV. Gonna change the entire outlook on that one. I guarentee it :)

Yes, one thing I loved about this film was that there was more than just one hero...and not necessarilly of the super-hero nature either. :)

I saw "Superman: Returns" early at 6:30pm at an 'employees only' screening on opening night (with a huge theater full of only 20 people). When I came out it was nice to see all the fans lined up throughout the theatre lobby waiting to see what they think will be the first showing. Anyways, with that said...THE MOVIE......THEY GOT IT RIGHT!!! I am very pleased with what I saw. ACTION! ROMANCE! DECENT STORY! DECENT ACTING! Brandon Routh really pulled it off. Thank you Brian Singer for continuing to keep the torch burning strongly for the SUPERMAN saga!!! Also, go to the restroom before you see the film......it's 2 1/2 hours long!


Here's my only question...

SPOILER...

Spoiler When Lois dropped her purse in the Daily Planet office and Clark bent down to help her pick things up, his eye glasses came off for a few seconds. The last item picked up to be put back in her purse was Lois' cell phone. I was lead to believe that when the phone hit the ground it snapped a picture of Clark without his glasses. Perry White made such a big deal in the scene prior stating that a little kid snapped a photo of Superman with his camera phone. I really thought, or still think, that Clark's photo revealing himself as Superman is still sitting on Lois' cell phone. Anyone else get that impression?

.

Spoiler I wasn't quite left with that impression. I think it was just more of an homage to previous Superman films where Clark wanted to tell Lois the truth, but either restrained himself, or something else happened which prevented him from speaking. That is an interesting notion though, Galactifan, and would've made a great story point. :)

Respectfully,
Martok2112

I agree with Steve on that one :)

I look forward to it and hope it is successfull
S :)

There are some minor spoilers in here..............



I have been thinking hard about this movie since I saw it last night. I didn't love it and I really wanted to. I think it had some good moments but for the most part it didn't deliver for me. I didn't like Kate Bosworth's Lois Lane at all. I thought her acting was very poor but agree she "looked" great(she should be a brunette in RL) Brandon while pyschically looking like superman did not deliver the same level of acting as Chris Reeves and it was hard for me not to compare.........isn't it for most all of us who saw Chris? And Chris's Clark Kent was so sweet and akward. I saw Brandon attenpt this but it feel short for me. The story, I thought was a bit slow in some parts but when there was action I love it. For example saving the plane. But answer me this..........there was an element of realism missing in that plane sequence, Lois lane is getting thrown all around the plane and has no blood or bruises or is even mussed up??? Then later in the movie she is hit on the head by a heavy door that realistically would have killed her but moments later is swiming to save 'someone"?? Also I would love an explanation on the kyptonite issue........if that is superman's weakness and it leaves him powerless how is he lifting a mass full of kyptonite in space?? I couldn't figure that out......I mean was it cause a piece of kyponite was still in him?


After more people see the movie I want to talk about the major plot twist in this movie which was also a bit out of synch. I was told this movie was suppose to take place between superman I and II is that correct?

From what i have see it sounds like it should be good
:)

By the sounds of things on here sounding all positive, don't i know it! :salute:

Hope to say the same when i see it in early to mid July next month (SR not playing over here until the World Cup is over?)

KJ

Wow, I don’t think I saw the same movie as you guys as I thought it was terrible.

There were so many problems with this film that I can't believe that Brian Singer was even involved.

The acting was non existent, I mean come on, what range of emotion did anyone see Brandon Routh go through?

And all the invincible Lois Lane cloud do is walk around with her mouth open looking shocked the whole film.

You can my review here Its Spoiler Free.

Or you can read a whats wrong with this film here but there are major spoilers in this thread.

This is Julix's husband by the way and not just some lame spammer. But after reading the reviews here, I thought I would interject some opposing views for discussion.

This is one seriously flawed film.

http://z4.invisionfree.com/Battlesta...141&st=0&#last


I can't wait for the dvd to come out. I am also awaiting the Donner version of Superman 2. One fact for all: Gene Hackman refused to shave his head for the role of Lex Luthor. Looks like Kevin Spacey really got into the role.

Hello Kingfish, long time no see. :)

Far as trivia goes for the Superman films. Gene Hackman also didn't want to shave off his moutache either, however Richard Donner tricked him by wearing a fake one saying he'd shave off his, if Hackman went first? Afterwards all Donner had to do was 'peel' his off?

:LOL: :rotf:

Gene Hackman wasn't a happy camper at the time but got the joke none the less. He now happily tells of this story on the Superman The Movie 2001 DVD!

He didn't shave his head as you said, but did wear the "bald cap" for the end of Superman The Movie and some of scenes for Superman 2 (prison breakout and Fortress scenes).

KJ

Right before he lifted the entire island, he went and got totally powered up in pure sunlight.

He used a heck of a lot of willpower to do it.

As you know, if a human gets say... a cold yet something *must* be done, they'll find the will to do it.

I view it the same way here.

If, however, I was to be techincal about it, the piece still in him should not have allowed him to even fly to the sunlight to power up ;)

The major plot thing you mention- Think of Lois and the depowered Superman at the Fortress in bed together in Superman II :D (if that's the plot you're referring to).

To answer your last question, it takes place after Superman I *and* II, not between them.

Thanks Warrior...............
that helps and I will say something else about the plot twist later after more people have seen it.

SPOILERS


Just saw this tonight. I'd have to say this movie was pretty bad. Stallion pretty much pointed out that this borrows plot points from the first movie, and he's right. I would say this is to Superman I, what Nemesis was to Kahn.

But other than that, Superman himself seemed to hardly even be in the movie. What little of him there was, seemed like a comedian trying to do a Christopher Reeves impression. Brandon Routh is a nice enough guy I suppose, but I think it would have been better had he brought his own identity to the film, and left those fake blue contacts at the SPFX shop.

The bulk of the movie seemed to revolve around Lois Lane and her fretting over which guy she wants. The bulk of the dialogue was between Lois and her new boyfriend. Honestly, the introduction of the new boyfriend and the kid made this a sloppy mess that I don't think it was possible to recover from. I wanted to see a Superman movie, not some Lifetime drama about Lois' relationship woes. Honestly when it looked like Lois was going to die in that sunken ship, I truly didn't care.

And Lex Luthor, also virtually non existent in this movie. So much so that I don't know that there's much to say about him, good or bad.

I was also disappointed that there wasn't a sequence in the beginning showing Superman flying through a Kryptonian debris field or something. I wanted to see the destroyed Krypton. Instead, they spent that time on Lois' fretting. If you're a Lois Lane fan, you'll probably love this movie.

I read that Dana Reeve gave Brandon Routh her blessing when he got the part. I plan on seeing it this weekend.

Bryan, Babysitter came over so we did get to go, kidfree. ;)

Warrior, I hope you get the car running and get to go again soon.

I haven't had so much fun and loved the story unfolding so much in a movie since LotR trilogy. The following is chock full of spoilers:

Every little nostalgic touch was just wonderful, begining with the John Williams score elements and the title sequence. I loved the direction of the words zooming being the opposite of the Donner, "Superman: The Movie" credit zoom. It was a subtle nod to the fact that in this one Superman returns from Krypton at the very beginning of the movie while in the original we were moving toward Krypton to hear his origin story firsthand.

The score was attuned to the story and keyed into some nostalgic connections in the story. Bryan Singer hit it out of the park for me when Supes took Lois flying. Even the score reached back to Lois's "can you read my mind" voiceover in STM.
The scene had all that wonder of the old with the poiniency of the character's change and growth of more than 5 years later. The emotional flux of Lois loving Superman but needing Richard White and Superman loving Lois enough to let her make her own choice was a wonderful thread woven into this movie. Jason's part of that was brought into the mix in ways that seemed natural: the photo on Lois' desk, the drawing Jason did of his Mom, Dad, himself and Superman. I'm not going to get into the moral quandry Jason's existence can cause, I'm not terribly fond of the idea but: Lois loves Superman and Superman loves Lois. Only his need for secrecy and need to shelter his true love from the villians keep them from marriage. You could see that much in the pain they both had over his return and the passage of time. Maybe another weakness of Superman is a need for someone like himself and the companionship and intimacy of a mate. And maybe he never thought he could father a human child. It would be wild if that was the one thing the Kryptonians were wrong about. ;)

Brandon Routh didn't make me forget Christopher Reeves, but he walked alongside Reeves without ever stepping on his toes. Not easy to do and something that Singer's attention to detail was well-used in carrying off. It was a more serious Superman, but one that still had his weaknesses--Lois and kryptonite and that secret that only his mom knows. There was a lot of respect and nods shown throughout to the earlier movies devoid of the mockery towards earlier versions that has plagued and ruined most of the last few years "remake/reimaginings" in film and TV.

Lex Luthor in a land scheme? I will say he has daring fussing with alien tech and trying to keep it Superman-proof. 5 years in prison left him as meglomanical as ever. :D I think Spacey was fine as Luthor. It was an easy actor-change to accept.

I thought all the acting was excellent, if anything, there wasn't much time for Clark or Jimmy Olsen, but I was suprised that I liked Richard White. I think James Marsden just earned a spot in my short list of actors I like watching. His Richard White was very well realized, and the second best "hero" in the story. He was willing to go back for his fiancee's 1st flame when Superman was in trouble, because he loved Lois and he knew Superman had just saved them a bit before. Only an idealic hero does that sort of thing, and it was nice to see that someone other than Superman was allowed to have some ideals. I also loved the moment when Richard and Jimmie muse about Clark being the same size as Superman, and Clark almost gives himself away in interupting their stares. Eek, but that was good!

I liked that the placement of the scene from the trailer where Jimmie, Lois and Perry are looking at the photo of Supes and Clark enters was later in the movie than I expected it.

I loved the ending mirroring the Donner STM's ending: Superman patroling the space around earth. :D

From start to finish, this movie satisfied this moviegoers need to see Superman flying again.

Look! Up in the sky! :D

I have been thinking about this movie and I feel it was the script that was not right for me. I would have liked to see it truer to the comic books and had a movie with Superman fighting a villian other then Lex. To me the movie focused more on Lois and the child which is a different way to go and people seemed to like it. That is entertainment for you. Just my thoughts on what I would have liked to have seen.

It sounds like we need Chris Reeve back to play the role again. Guess what that isn't happening. Makes me wonder about a BG continuation. Fans will still bitch and moan that this and that aren't right. Lorne should be brought back as Adama. Brandon Routh appeared on larry King Live and talked abot the movie and dana's backing of it. The truth is you can't please everybody. Money talks BS walks. Bryan Singer is a money maker and would have done a hell of a job with the Galactica franchise IMHO.

I don't take anything away from Brandon or Bryan Singer. I just would have liked a different story. I would have loved to see any BG continuation and still would :)

So julix, gonna elaborate on the plot twist now? ;)

like it
 

I don't know I kinda like the movie myself, but the melodrama between superman and lois lane is too overdramatic for me.

Just this Warrior.............if Richard believes that the kid is his it would have to mean that Lois was with Richard within a very short time span of being with Sups and his leaving. Now while my friend jokes to me that that is not unheard of for women to do that......it is just not something you think of Lois doing. especially when she is so in love with Superman and at the time has no idea he will be gone for 5 years.

Wow. So I was pretty doggone close in my "plot line" explanation, but just from the other guys (Supes) perspective rather than Richard's :LOL:

which one is that?

thanks for reviewing this film and all of your opinions.

I think I still would prefer the Christopher Reeve version more, so I'm gonna skip this one and see Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest instead.

julix, about the kid.

bsg1fan1975, I still prefer the Reeve ones myself, *but* THIS movie is damn good too.

It just comes down to what you were expecting in it ;)

Well....

I went and saw it again (the third time)! I was at the theater to buy advance tickets for Pirates of the Caribbean 2 tomorrow night and I saw that there just happened to be a showing stating in 15 minutes. It was a matinee price ticket, so I grabbed some nibbbles and a drink at the snack bar and had a nice afternoon.

I haven't done this with a film in so long - three times in two weeks! I also just got my copy of the soundtrack in the mail yesterday afternoon and purchased a 13-inch figure of Superman in his new suit. The figure should be along in a few days.

I'm having a ball with this film - who knows? I might just go see it again!

Best,
Bryan