Movie Review: Superman Returns


Amazing effects!

Production personnel went to a lot of trouble to insure that Brandon Routh moved and posed like Christopher Reeves. Camera angles and music were phenomenally similar to those used in that first Christopher Reeves movie, and I couldn't help but wonder if he would have come to one of the showings here on the island if he were still alive. He had a home here in Edgartown.

Something else I noticed, completely off topic, is that, had the theatre not renovated their interior several years ago, I would have been sitting in the same seat (third row, center) I was in when I first saw Star Wars in the summer of 1977. Same theatre, same seating location.

So, back to Superman Returns. The story opens with Superman having left Earth to find the crumbled, ruined remains of his home planet, Krypton. And he is gone for five years. A lot has changed since he left. Terrorism, violence, natural disasters, all on the rise, and no savior for the Earth. There is a brief retelling of the origin of our Man of Steel, and it is done very well. I commend the writers and director on their use of the origin story to get Superman, the grown Superman, back to Earth.

Something else that has happened over the past five years... Lex Luthor, serving a double life sentence, has somehow gotten out on parole due to his grieving and dying and very rich widow. Yes, widow. An old crone named Gertrude, for whom Luthor's large private yacht is named. And she leaves everything to Luthor at the last minute. A fun quote... Luthor walks out of her bedroom where she has just died. He looks to all the relatives (all wanting a slice of the money pie). There is a young girl there. He pulls off his wig, tosses it to the girl, and says, "You can keep that. The rest is mine."

Off to the Arctic Circle and the Fortress of Solitude, which still looks nothing like it does in the comic books. It is still all Kryptonian crystal. And Luthor steals all of the crystals for his own purposes. He wants to be Prometheus, giving the world the fire of Kryptonian technology. His girlfriend says, "Yeah, Lex, but you're not a god." Lex replies, "Gods are selfish beings who fly around in little red capes and don't share their power with mankind. "

Lois Lane. She's not married, not yet, but has a child, and has been engaged to the Editor's nephew for five years, since before the child's birth. She has won a Pulitzer Prize for her feature article entitled, Why the World Doesn't Need Superman.

Then Clark Kent shows back up at the Daily PLanet after a five-year leave of absence, during which he saw a lot of llamas.

And, I think that is enough of the plot to give you an idea of what is going to happen.

Technically, the film is beautiful. the effects are definitely top shelf. No more blue screening. The digital version of a man flying through the air, of hovering suspended in space, are breathtaking. The miniatures are amazing! The composite shots are the cleanest I've ever seen, and I have seen some really good composite shots. On a side note, Industrial Light and Magic had nothing to do with the special effects, but seven other companies did. Spanning at least two continents (much of the content of the film was shot in Australia), many small production companies got in on the Big Blue action. The movie is worth the price just for the effects!

But the story is well written and the acting is better than average for a super hero action film. Superman versus X Men 3? Hands down, Superman Returns is by far the better! Better writing, better story, better effects, better acting, better cast. Frank Langella as Perry White, the editor in chief of the Daily Planet! That made my day!

The final word? Five sightings of Great Caesar's Ghost and a few chunks of Kryptonite thrown in for good measure! See it on the screen if you can. See it I-Max if you can. I would love to see it I-Max.

Posted: Sat - July 1, 2006 at 03:00 PM      

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