Superman was a childhood hero of mine, so in many ways this film was fighting a losing battle from the start because I consider the 1978 original a classic and don't think a new film was necessarily needed. Watching the original the following day confirmed that fact, although Reeve's costume now appears slightly more camp as a result of the new darker one.
But I was never opposed to an update. In fact, I couldn't wait for the new film to come out from the moment I heard about it. Updates can be done well; a new Batman film wasn't really needed either, but Batman Begins did something completely different and it worked well. Sadly, Superman is for all intents and purposes a remake of the original because it shamelessly refers to the 1978 film at every possible opportunity. And there's definitely a stronger Jesus allegory this time around.
But imitation doesn't itself make this a bad film. In fact, it's a very good film, just not a classic. Brandon Routh plays both Superman and Clark Kent very well, managing to separate the characters enough to make them both believable, but never with as much flair as Christopher Reeve did. Kevin Spacey, on the other hand, is a pale shadow of Gene Hackman's Lex Luthor. All the bumbling comedic flair that Hackman added to the character is lost on Spacey who, although good, is too sinister in the role.
I'm certain that I'll like Superman Returns more the next time I see it, I might even come to love it, but for the moment I just can't get that enthused. Some of the scenes are amazing, the actors are well chosen, the directing and effects are great, and there's a controversial sub-plot that I'm surprised I didn't find out about beforehand. For me, though, it's missing that something special to drag it into the realms of the Spider-man films, which in my opinion are both outstanding comic book movie benchmarks.
That said, I'd certainly recommend it. Just buy large snacks, and don't leave your wallet on the counter when you do, as I did. It took me two days to realise too, yet I didn't get robbed. Incredible.
1 comment:
Agreed, mostly.
It seemed to me like it couldn't decide whether it was a straight remake, sequel or total revisioning of the original.
Good: I was definitely psyched by the original music and retro 80s title sequence at the start, though.
They handled the "controversial" plotline very well, I thought. It could've turned into sentimental mush, but didn't (just). And, equally, it could've descended to the realms of the farcically ridiculous, but didn't.
Bad: Clark was criminally underused in comparison to Superman (excellent performance by Routh, though).
The pacing of the Luthor sections was weird. Despite the length, it seemed like the Luthor stuff was just squeezed in, and the endgame was over almost as soon as it had begun.
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