Reviews

Superman Returns Forum

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-HECK!

Some theaters are have a 10pm showing on Tuesday next week, not a midnight showing, which will rule. I will have a review first thing Wednesday morning.

-HECK!

Okay, I wouldn't say it was the best superman movie ever... but it's definitely better than just a good comic book movie - it's somewhere in the middle. I'm not a big superhero movie fan but I liked this one. Kate Bosworth and her skinny butt bug the hell out of me but every one else was good. I thought Kevin Spacey would be over the top but he was good. And Brandon Routh is good at playing a dork. I give it thumbs up

Ok, saw it, thought it was great. well up till the end anyway, when the movie broke its own rules (or so it seemed to me anyway). you know, the part where supes suddenly lifts this giant mountain full of kryptonite. yeah. ok. my suspension of disbelief only goes so far and when a comic breaks its own rules, that pushes the limit.

other than that glaring bit, i loved it, 2 thumbs up. i loved all the acting, props to spacey and routh.

and, can someone explain what was up with that kid?

I had very high expectations going in, and I was let down just a little bit. There were some very awesome moments, then moments of just general movie going filler.


I think it was Solid, most of it, wouldn't mind seeing it again. But parts of it were a little "off" for me. Can't put my finger on it. Guess I just need to say what was cool, what wasn't cool.









The AWESOME Parts:




The Krypton Sun going supernova and taking out the planet was pretty darn slick.


The sound of the movie was A class.


When he saved the jetliner, most of that was really neato.


Marlon Brando on the Fortress of Solitude walls.


The machine gun sequence, and the hand pistol shot to Superman's eye.


Superman and the giant Daily Planet ball.


The original score. The music was great.


The actor who plays Superman is 100% made for the part.


When in the Kansas farm, they had a pic of Glen Ford on the mantle, that was cool.



The nurse trying to put a needle in Superman's arm.









The HALFWAY DECENT, didn't really blow me away, but it was aight:





I thought Lois was o.k. She looks like if you took Natilie Portman and spliced her with Jessica Simpson.

Lex Luther was ok, I thought he did an good job of it. I liked his woman better than him.


The story felt forced at times, but in general, the plot was halfway decent, though they spent too much time on some story arcs and not enough time on others. Some movies feel more "real" than others, the first Superman, though hokey at times, had a sense of realness to it, like this could really happen here. This movie here, it felt like x-men one and two, fun to watch, but a surreal quality to it.










The CRAPPY:
and even though I gripe, I'm being nitpicky, the movie was cool.







This whole concept of the crystal island, was for land. Looked like the most inhospitable piece of real estate in the world. Who would live on that craggy worthless rock like that?



The Fortress of Solitude and it's lack of any kind of security system. Why would something so smart, that can interact with Superman and talk to him, an advanced computer embedded in crystals, be so stupid as to give Lex Luther the "Welcome my son" speech and tell him everything. It doesn't recognize Superman by now?



Superman was straining to stop the plane, then later, lifts a mountain of Kryponite, which is billions of times heavier than the plane. Likewise, he is straining to catch up with the plane, but later has no problem outrunning a bullet.



After Superman is in the hospital, the movie deflated into this melodrama soap opera slow music, slow scene thing that almost put me to sleep. They kept showing bystanders in the street, and depressing music. There was no suspense, who is gonna kill off superman?


Now I aint no member of PETA, or some whacked out liberal, but the one dog eating the other dog pissed me off. That was low dollar. Not funny in my book.

That speech was so corny and it didn't make any freaking sense.

HECK's Official Superman Returns Review

Be warned of spoilers.

After a much needed hiatus the good ol' boy in the red & blue suit is back. Thankfully director Brian Singer got this picture on track after a few of the Hollywood elite tried and failed with their butt-for-brains ideas for bringing the last son of Krypton back to the big screen.

The movie was indeed a sequel to the first two Superman movies and while keeps the same formula 'Returns' up's the ante in nearly every aspect.

I don't want to compare the original Superman, but the film is so iconic it's hard not to.

For me the film had to work in three important and obvious ways:

The actors.
In the same vein that had Richard Donner cast then unknown Christopher Reeve for the first Superman movie, Singer went with the virtually unknown Brandon Routh. As Clark or Superman this guy nailed the role in a way not seen since his late great predecessor. The awkward quirkiness of Clark and heroic aura of Superman filled the screen. In short, this kid nailed it.

Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane didn't exactly have me doing flips. It's not that I disliked her performance it just wasn't memorable. The tough reporter with googly eyes for Supe's turned working mother was solid, but I didn't see much of an emotional struggle with her. She came across as a jilted lover with a chip on her shoulder.

Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor was fantastic. Where Gene Hackman was the arrogant, pompous evil genius in the first film, Spacey was all those ingredients in that crazy cocktail with a dash of anger and a twist of sadism. Another role masterfully crafted and flat out fun to watch. He owned it.

The supporting characters where by and large hit and miss with me. Parker Posey as Luthor's sidekick stood out the most. Of course she didn't have the rack of a Ms. Teschmacher, but hey, who does. James Marsden effectively sacrificed his tenure as Cyclops in the X-Men franchise to play Mr. Lane and a truly forgettable character. The kid playing Kal-El jr. didn't seem right to me. Frank Langella as Perry White was solid, as was the guy playing Jimmy Olsen.

The story.
Foremost I enjoyed the fact that the film wasn't bogged down with backstory. Most everyone knows Superman's origin, and if you didn't, you still got enough to get by and know what's going on. I think the 'return' angle was apt and handled well. There were some convenient plot devices that sped up the plot which worked, for the most part. I mean you leave a job for 5 years and just slip back in like nothing has happened. The now last grandson of Krypton angle was interesting, if not a wee bit of a head scratcher. Subtle twist, not too bad. There were some bloated sequences that seemed more like extra pieces of flair more than anything.

The special effects.
As Jimmy Walker would say, "dy-no-mite". We're not in Smallville anymore. Superman has never been seen on the big screen like this before. The effects were even paced and not in your face. The movie didn't rely on effects, it was just amplified by them. They were pretty flawless; don't recall a scene where I cringed at a digital douchearoo on the screen. Top shelf, cheerio and all that rubbish.

What I liked: the nods to the first Superman movie, ie. Lois asking how to spell something, Supe's speech about air travel, where the Kryptonite was from, even the opening credits. Brando's Jor-El, classic. Most importantly, John Williams' score. Dammit, I love that freakin' music and get goosebumps every time I hear it. Acting, story and special effects were all great. Luthor stomping the S out of Superman was damn cool.

What I didn't like: Lois bouncing around that airplane for what seemed like an eternity? Superman stalking Lois? Kal building a spaceship to fly home? Didn't Luthor have a similar plot in the first movie? Lois, why so rigid, where did the love go? Geeky Mr. Lois? Did Clark ever find a place to live?

Bottom line: this movie paid off. It's everything I was hoping for and then some. Nice blend of action and drama. I felt like a kid again once the music started and I saw that costume. It's everything a superhero movie should be. It far exceeded any expectation and has a once great franchise back on track. Superman Returns, and I say welcome back partner, it's good to freakin' see you.

Without a doubt, I give it an 'A'.

-HECK!

Hmm, I dunno, I can't tell if Heck liked the movie or not...

Yes... yes I... did.

It was Super. Eh? Eh?

-HECK!

I realized my problem with Kevin Spacey however. I actually thought he was good, but never really beleived he was Lex Luthor at all.
It was like an SNL skit the whole time with Kevin Spacey doing Kevin Spacey doing Gene Hackman doing Lex Luthor.

I thought it was "eh." It was really a far cry from being remarkable. I thought it was barely even good. For so many reasons, but the main reason was that it bored me to tears.

I'd never noticed before this movie, but Superman is a publicity whore. He loves it, he really really does. He saves a plane of reporters, then steps in to talk to them. Just fly off man, what's wrong with you?

And what's the deal with Superman throwing the ball for the dog, and pitching it like 100 km away? What kind of a wanker are you, Mr. Kent?

Same kind of wanker that stalks his girlfriend and spies on her and her husband in their house, floating outside like some pervert voyeur, checking arguments in the kitchen with his x ray vision.

sounds like something I want to avoid!

Lois Lane should have gotten a restraining order. And stockpiled some Kryptonite. Me fears she had an EASY personality though, she craved the attention, be it good or bad.


Classic case of Battered Woman Syndrome.

Got to admit, she's got a bad cause of the Munchhausen. That kid of hers is Superman's and he is in a pretty bad way. I mean, you gotta be an amazingly neglectful and abusive mother to make Superman's kid sick.

Poor little guy is using an inhaler. You know that aint the man of steel's DNA doing that. I think like you implied, Lois is a poor mother, and her child has social anxiety disorder, which manifests itself in the form of phycosematic allergy's.

Could be some BS the writers decided to add in as a "diversion". Though instantly when I saw the kid sucking the inhaler I said "that's superman's kid". They gots to get themselves some new screenwriters in Hollywood.

His mother is an overworked career woman, obviously being a mother comes second.

His 'father' is more concerned with being the perfect man for his wife, living in a shadow of someone he could never compete with. He just wants the kid so Lois won't leave him.

And the kids real father is a dead beat dad, an alien in a blue and red suit that stalks his mother and beats up some bald dude and his buddies.

This kid is going to be on Jerry Springer for sure.

-HECK!

Oh, man, I can just imagine that kid wresting Steve to the ground and using his laser beams on Springer. That'd be classic.