Superman Returns
After a long visit to the lost remains of the planet Krypton, the Man of Steel returns to earth to become the peoples savior once again and reclaim the love of Lois Lane.
Directed by
Bryan Singer
Genres
Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Cast
Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, James Marsden, Parker Posey, Frank Langella, Sam Huntington, Eva Marie Saint, Marlon Brando, Kal Penn, David Fabrizio, Tristan Lake Leabu, Ian Roberts, Vincent Stone, Jack Larson
Lay and I picked this movie hurriedly last evening. We went based on the fact that the Yahoo ratings gave it a B+ from viewers and a B from critics. I don’t know where that come from.
Special effects? Good.
Script? Terrible. No plot. No depth. No meaning. This film rendered Superman as a meaningless hero, a hero with no archetype. In the original film, he represented America in the Cold War. Here, he represented nothing but a Hulk.
First, there is the casting?the most important part of any film attempting to match an original that has become so iconic, its actors have replaced the comic book characters in America’s collective conscience. Newcomer Brandon Routh most definitely looks the part (besides being too young), but has half the screen presence of Christopher Reeve. Although Superman isn’t known for his emotional instability, it seems that Singer played it safe by limiting Routh’s range to avoid having the new Superman give a poor performance. Instead, we are left with almost no performance.
Kate Bosworth is equally as bland as Lois Lane (and again, too young for the role). And with her lifeless brown hair that left me aching for her typical screen blond, she isn’t even much to look at. Kevin Spacey’s performance as Lex Luther also left something to be desired?though I’m not sure exactly what. He’s hardly the lovable Lex that Gene Hackman played. The rest of the cast was decent, with the exception of Frank Langella. His dull portrayal of Perry White made me wish they had grabbed J. K. Simmons straight out of Spiderman to talk about his barber.
The film had no depth whatsoever. I cannot see how anyone can come away with anything meaningful from this film, when Superman was, and is, daily created to be a meaningful hero in not only comics but also in people’s minds. This was a real waste of money considering how many directions this film could have taken.
Just a few instances: Lex Luthor could have been a villain of global corporatism, political domination, totalitarianism, and on and on and on. He was just another goofball Hackman incarnation.
And Superman? For what did he stand in this film? Nothing but another hack “savior” figure.
Wait until it comes to the dollar theater if you see it at all.
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