|
Superman Returns thoughts w/spoilers in "burning questions" format.
Q:
Before we get to the movie, how did you like the
Spider-Man 3 trailer?
A:
I didn't see it. I saw the movie at an IMAX theater
and the previews were for other 3-D IMAX movies.
During Superman Returns, they did show four scenes in
3-D though. This was the first time I saw a
full-length movie in IMAX, and with a few 3-D scenes,
it was an equitable trade-off to miss the standard
trailers.
It was a good crowd; lots of kids wearing "S" shirts
and capes, even grown adults, men and women, lots had
their Superman shirts on. Awesome!
Q:
Cut to the chase. Did you like it?
A:
I did! But I think since I was expecting it to
suck, I was pleasantly surprised. Director Singer had
a vision which was faithful to the past and a
plausible extension of it; part tribute, part
progression. I read at least a half dozen negative
reviews, and I had some bones to pick with some of
their quibbles, which I may address in another
article.
Q:
Even Brendan Routh as Superman?
A:
*sighs* He's not as good an actor as Christopher
Reeve; nor do I think he looks him. Others see a
resemblence, I don't. That said, I didn't think he was
THAT bad and did a fair job. I thought some scenes
were certainly more credible than others.
Q:
Did you like Kate Bosworth as Lois?
A:
She may not have been my first choice, either (but
I liked her better than Routh). She looked old enough
to have a five year-old (despite her real-life age),
but not old enough (to me) to be a veteran news
reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper. I thought
the was cute and "tough" at times. I didn't see her as
whiny as some have said. I wish she had more screen
time with Routh to find a bit more chemistry; I blame
it more on the story/script. I daresay I like Erica
Durance's Lois from "Smallville" a little better
though.
Q:
How about Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor?
A:
Obviously, he was the most experienced actor among
the principle leads, and it showed. Roger Ebert said
he didn't seem to have fun playing his part, I
disagree. He's much more meaner than Gene Hackman ever
was (which is, really as it should be).
Frank Langella as Perry White and Jimmy Olsen weren't
memorable, to me though. I kind of wished Parker
Posey's Kitty Kowalski was a bit more like Mercy from
the comics/animated series.
Q:
How many swipes/nods were there to the first Reeve
movie?
A:
I lost count. Superman saying "Statistically
speaking, flying is still the safest way to travel"
and Lois fainting shortly after. (Gee, I haven't seen
a cliche where a woman swoons/faints since ... the
first Reeve movie.) Superman telling Lois not to
smoke. Clark Kent saying "swell." The picture of Glen
Ford as Jonathan Kent on the piano at the Kent
farmhome. The museum kryptonite from Addis Addaba was
a nice touch.
Q:
Were the effects and sets good?
A:
They were excellent! Superman didn't seem to "fly,"
but rather "float" a lot. Not that this was bad, but
the way Superman floated seemed very realistic.
The first Reeve movie, Metropolis was ... well, New
York City. This Metropolis seemed do have its own
identity. The Daily Planet Building was much different
too; unique design and architecture. I don't think the
roof had a helicopter landing platform though.
Q:
A:
If you mean Noel Neill and Jack Larson (who played
Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen on the '50s tv series), YES!
They got them out of the way early, but they actually
gave them lines and something to do, unlike Stan Lee's
cameos in Marvel movies.
Sir Richard Branson, of Virgin Airlines/Megastore
fame, played one of the captains on the shuttle and
had a "blink-or-you'll-miss-it" line.
James Marsden's character really wasn't much of a
cameo, and I thought it would be. It would have been
SO easy for the writers to make him an unlikeable
character, but they didn't, and I appreciated that. He
displayed admirable qualities -- smart, good-looking,
handy in a crisis himself.
Q:
What do you make of the comparisons to Superman and
Christ in the movie?
A:
I think I'm hearing too much about it. You can
certainly point to something and say "Aha!," or "Ooh,
symbolism!" but I think there's just too much being
made of this.
Q:
Did you catch any other "cutesy" comic references?
A:
Gotham (City) was mentioned, and little Jason was
wearing PJ's that had Aquaman on them towards the end
of the movie.
Q:
A:
I thought the final parts were a bit unfufilling --
I thought Lex crashing on a tiny island was really no
sense of "justice" served. Yeah, I know he was aming
for his own continent and wound up with a sandbar.
Lois' lack of reaction to her son's sudden strength
and powers was extremely negligent as well.
Granted, it's a long movie; but I thought it moved
along. I just don't know what a young audience (who
haven't seen the Reeve movies) will make of this since
this was sprinkled with references and is somewhat of
a sequel. Are they gonna care? Are they going to be
entertained? If you weren't a Superman fan already, I
wonder if this movie would make you one.
I also know twenty-something comics fans who haven't
seen, or care to see, or have seen little of, the
first two Christopher Reeve movies. Damn pity.
|