Sunday, July 09, 2006

SUPERMAN, WHERE ART THOU?

I went to see Superman Returns this past week, and while I liked the film in general, I was a little divided over certain aspects of the picture. I defy anyone who sees this movie to not think of the first two original Superman films and not miss them terribly, for I sure did!

Without spoiling it for anyone who hasn't seen it:

Pros: Brandon Routh is a good choice; adorable, handsome, and eerily reminiscent of the late amazing Chris Reeves. Kevin Spacey is also decent as Lex Luthor. Some of the action scenes are pretty clever and well done too.

Cons: Kate Bosworth makes a terrible Lois Lane. Pretty to look at, but she ain't got much of an attitude or heart in the role. The little boy in the film seemed like an emotional added-on feature which was okay I guess, but left me kinda...eh. The CGI effects were way too glossy and noticeable at times, but this is a common complaint I have about many movies nowadays. And the plot holes and story itself left me unconvinced many times over.

Which brings me to
Superman: The Movie and Superman II. The 1978 and 1980 film are now true classics, and when watching the new version, one cannot help but be nostalgic and really miss what the cast and crew of those two original flicks did. Christopher Reeve is forever and undeniably immortalized as Clark Kent and his alter ego. I say, what a legacy this brave and courageous soul left: to actually command a role so thoroughly that subsequent generations cannot actually let go of the character he so brilliantly played! Margot Kidder as Lois Lane? Phenomenal! True heart, soul, and attitude baby! Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor was just plain hilarious and the three super villains led by Terrence Stamp are knockouts. That this new 2006 version tries to connect itself to those first two is to be commended, but at the same time one cannot help but resent it for perhaps trying too hard and falling short. Maybe I'm being too critical, for how can one recapture greatness that is long gone and past right?

Newer generations will probably like this version lots. It's got good looking new actors, expensive special effects, and can keep them entertained just fine for about two and a half hours. They've probably run across the first two films casually on cable or something and could care less about some of the outdated special effects and see them as old relics which desperately needed an update.

But for those of us old enough to remember (like the original Star Wars Trilogy), we cannot forget the magic, the chemistry of those fine actors, the forever embedded images, glorious John Williams score, and overall fun of the first two Superman films.

It makes ya wanna run out and get them on DVD for sure.

6 comments:

Jack said...

Hi!

Saw you at Past, Present, and Future.

I'm living the same thing right now. Haven't gone to work since March.

I'm on Effexor, 2 doses before the max.

Come and see me, send me an e-mail. We can talk.

Remember to have fun!?

J

Anonymous said...

You're right. The two Superman movies with Christopher Reeves are classics. I just can't get excited about this new one and my friends that have seen it have just not been too thrilled. I'll wait for video.

Unknown said...

I have yet to see the movie. I agree Im in love with Brandon...god hes sooo hot, hes from my home state, Iowa....who knew?
The original movies are hard to beat, they had so much chemistry and as far as Im concerned the only Lois Lane for me was Margot Kidder, she owned that role for sure!

Anonymous said...

I saw Brandon at Larry King addressing the gay related comments about the movie and did not like the way he responded; like both superman and I are machos, all that gay thing is bs. I know that is probably true but he could have been a bit friendlier. But I still want to see the movie, I like the director.

Anonymous said...

I loved Superman returns, it was very entertaining and I got my 10 dollars worth. If I went in to analyze it against other films, I wouldn't have a good time, I wouldn't have a good time if I did that to any film.

Gavin Elster said...

Don't read this if you think you'll want to see what I will hope is the FINAL BRYAN SINGER FILM: SUPERMAN RETURNS

Superman Returns did a disservice to the first two superman movies. Lois lane is now an irrisponsible mother and as far as i can tell. A WHORE! She musta been fooling around with Dick behind Supermans back in superman two for her to justfy this Richard guy as pappy. Now mind you thde biggest problem for me is that Superman is equally a loser in this film because of his actions in the last real superman film , Superman II. In that film he erases Lois's memory and he takes away the one moment of they truly had together. She has no idea they slept together! DATE RAPE BASTARD. Also didnt superman lose his powers in order to hump Lois? Wasnt that the point of the whole "But I love her" deal? So the parents are liars too. I feel lied to.

Singer is an idiot and I guess its up to me to make films. (the following is yelled from my office window) Fuck you Bryan Singer for ruining a great idea! YOU FAILED AGAIN! Now stop biting off more than you can chew.