Superman Returns

[sanalith]

Yay for spandex and capes and big red S's!! And yay for DC throwing in yet another nice movie amongst all the Marvel crap. (Sorry Marvel fans ^^;;)

At any rate, the Man of Steel is back...and I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. Was it a good movie? Definitely. Was it well-cast? For the most part, I'd have to say yes. Were the effects and music good enough? Most definitely yes. Of course there's the initial disappointment that Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher weren't playing the lead roles, but to be honest, I did rather get over it. This was certainly worthy to be called a Superman movie, and I'm not sorry they made it. I think the main problem was that I left the theatre feeling...rather empty.

(Some spoilers behind the cut, but nothing much about the plot that wasn't in previews.

My main problem with this movie was that there was hardly any room for the actors to give their own interpretation of the characters. This movie was touted as being a direct continuation of Superman II, which in a way it was, and the actors really seemed to be doing all they could to act and speak like the men and women who played in the original films. The dialogue was also modeled in that fashion. Now, I loved the first two Superman movies to no end, and it was really nice to be thrown back into that feeling, but in some ways this felt like a copy-cat film. This was especially apparent with Lex Luthor's character. I'm sorry, but as wonderful an actor as Kevin Spacey is, he is *not* Gene Hackman, and I would have liked to see his take on Lex's character. Instead, I saw his take on *Gene's* Lex Luthor. The same was true of almost every other character. Kate Bosworth's Lois was almost an exact copy of Margot Kidder's, and Brandon Routh...well, he wasn't quite as bad, I suppose. His Clark Kent was *extremely* similar to Christopher Reeve's, though I felt like his Superman was a little more individual. The point is, the original starts were fantastic and wonderful, and I think it's great that the writers and actors wanted to keep thier memories alive. But one actor cannot replace another, and it was difficult for me to watch them try so hard to be not only another character, but another *actor* playing that character. I would really have liked to see their interpretations instead.

Despite this rather major flaw, I will admit that the movie was good. I was hardly ever bored, and the effects were definitely up to par. I would have liked to see a bit more emotion from Kate Bosworth's Lois, because she seemed rather flat. I also must give Brandon Routh props for being the one to fill Christopher Reeve's boots. That is an incredibly tough act to follow, but I do think he is worthy to wear the tights, so to speak. Spacey's Lex was good at expressing the "I'm surrounded by MORONS!" mentality, but he wasn't quite the evil genius that I've come to expect and love. I was also *thrilled* with the cameos of the original Lois and Jimmy, from back in George Reeves' time, and Marlan Brando's guest appearance as Jor-El's hologram was a real treat.

 
The plot was...all right. Not exactly stellar and hardly any character development, but, like I said, I wasn't very bored. Kryptonite gets a little old at times, but I suppose, when only one thing can really hurt a guy, you kinda have to keep using it. The kid was...interesting. More deveopment with his character would have been really nice, because I liked the actor and I thought he had great potential. Alas, it was not to be, Richard, the fiance, was...a little weird for me. He seems like a really smart guy, and to be honest, I don't really know why he was clinging to Lois when it was obvious...well...they weren't destined. The ending left me more than a little empty, though if they're thinking of a sequel, perhaps that was done on purpose. I just would have liked to see a bit more closure.

I must admit to also being upset at the lack of "Clark" footage. Routh had the character *down,* really almost better than the Superman persona, and I was really hoping for more scenes with Clark/Lois interation. *pouts*

Landing planes in the middle of baseball fields ROCKS my world. Just an FYI.

All in all, if you like Superman, go see it. It's a nice trip down memory lane, and there's even a few "in" jokes and scenes that those of us who have seen the original movies dozens of times will get and appreciate. Despite it's faults, it was a good show, and I think the actors did an admirable job. I just would have liked to see a lot more development with the characters, and a lot more individual interpretations of characters.