Genre
Action | Sci-Fi
Director
Bryan Singer
Country
USA
Cast
Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, James Marsden, Parker Posey, Marlon Brando, Tristan Lake Leabu, Frank Langella, Sam Huntington, Eva Marie Saint, Kal Penn
Storyline
After a long period in the space Superman (Brandon Routh) returns to Earth and once again must save the Earth from Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) who wants to create a new land and submerge the United States.
Opinion
In another review, about one month ago, I said that "Superman Returns" wasn't that bad. It has to be said that I saw the movie ten years ago, and in ten years my taste in films has changed a lot. And by a lot I mean that this film is not good.
Maybe making a sequel to "Superman II" after 26 years wasn't really a good idea. What Nolan did with "Batman Begins" a year earlier was purely brilliant, and Singer should have done something like that.
Instead, we got a story that takes place supposedly 5 years after the events of "Superman II" that thankfully ignores the events of "Superman III" and "Superman IV" but is weak, loaded with plot holes and relies so much on the Superman/Lois Lane love story that makes all the other characters unnecessary.
Singer didn't feel the need to develop any of the character other than Superman and Lois Lane probably because he assumed that everyone saw the first two films. To suffer the most from that is Lex Luthor that instead of appearing as a menacing man, he actually scares nobody. Also his plan is a rehash of 1978's Lex Luthor pathetic plan.
On the other hand, the musical score works well, the special effects are definitely improved - I'd be worried if they weren't, it has been 19 years since the last film - and the action sequences are pretty good and entertaining. But do they make up for the film's length? I'm not sure.
Worst of all, the acting. It is not bad, that's my point. It is completely wasted considering the poor outcome of the film. Probably cast because of his resemblance with Christopher Reeve - seriously, let's move on -, Brandon Routh does a fairly good job as Clark Kent/Superman. And so does Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor: despite the poor writing, he does have a few chances to show how evil Luthor can be.
Maybe making a sequel to "Superman II" after 26 years wasn't really a good idea. What Nolan did with "Batman Begins" a year earlier was purely brilliant, and Singer should have done something like that.
Instead, we got a story that takes place supposedly 5 years after the events of "Superman II" that thankfully ignores the events of "Superman III" and "Superman IV" but is weak, loaded with plot holes and relies so much on the Superman/Lois Lane love story that makes all the other characters unnecessary.Singer didn't feel the need to develop any of the character other than Superman and Lois Lane probably because he assumed that everyone saw the first two films. To suffer the most from that is Lex Luthor that instead of appearing as a menacing man, he actually scares nobody. Also his plan is a rehash of 1978's Lex Luthor pathetic plan.
On the other hand, the musical score works well, the special effects are definitely improved - I'd be worried if they weren't, it has been 19 years since the last film - and the action sequences are pretty good and entertaining. But do they make up for the film's length? I'm not sure.
Worst of all, the acting. It is not bad, that's my point. It is completely wasted considering the poor outcome of the film. Probably cast because of his resemblance with Christopher Reeve - seriously, let's move on -, Brandon Routh does a fairly good job as Clark Kent/Superman. And so does Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor: despite the poor writing, he does have a few chances to show how evil Luthor can be.
A blog about film reviews...AWESOME!! So glad I stumbled upon this blog. I am a huge movie buff, but I confess to not having seen this movie yet...looks like I did not miss much :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! Nope, you didn't miss much
DeleteNonostante non sia stato un grande ritorno, alla fine l'ho anche apprezzato. Pensavo peggio!
ReplyDeleteIo sinceramente me lo ricordavo migliore, però paragonato a Superman III e IV è sicuramente un ottimo film.
DeleteI'm still in the camp of Superman Returns not being "that bad." It's got plenty of problems, some of which you detail, but it's watchable. I like Routh in the role, also, and I really like Spacey as Lex, but yeah his plan is a total rehash. My bigger problems were with making Supes a stalkerish, illegitimate dad with a serious God-complex. It was kinda creepy. That said, this film did give us two of the greatest moments in Superman film history. The plane rescue is amazing and the shot of the bullet getting crushed as it hits Superman's eye is flat-out iconic. In any event, even if you don't think this is any good, you have to admit it's better than Superman III or IV.
ReplyDelete