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From the opening sequences featuring the John Williams
score, there is a nod toward the original film's
style. It's immediately clear that Bryan Singer
understand the character and has hit the nail on the
head with his vision of the comic book character on
film. I had read that the directot had immense
adoration for the first two films and had set his
feature to follow them, but to see a modern movie,
released a good twenty years since the last time
Christopher Reeves donned the tights to fight a
supervillain borne from the Cold War and voiced by an
uninspired Gene Hackman still embrace its celluloid
legacy is nothing short of ingenius and touching.
And the honoring of material is not restricted to the
previous films. Acute viewers will notice a very
direct reference to the character's first appearance
in Action Comics as he tips a car over his head (this
time to save the driver rather than bully a crook).
The performances are top notch and without giving
anything away, Kevin Spacey gives one of his most
understated and restrained performances (good thing)
and James Marsden his most lively (very good thing).
Parker Posy delivers some welcome humor and even
pathos to the film with her character, a direct
reference to the first film's Miss Tessembacher.
Brandon Routh arrives as a successor to Reeves'
performance and does it great honor. From his diction
and poise to the awkward physical language and
humanity of Clark Kent, Routhe doesn't so much imitate
Reeves' performance, but does it homage. He saves a
crashing aircraft only to deliver a speech that 'I
hope this haven't put you off on flying' and you can't
help but see the character for what he is, a simple
country boy in overly designed tights.
And that brings us to the costume, here redesigned to
apparently make the average American feel even more
self conscious about his or her body. The sleek lines
and ribbed material hammer home that this is a perfect
human devoid of fatty tissue, lithe as a swimmer but
with the power of a God. Apparently he does a lot of
walking as well because the costume features the
biggest boot soles I've ever seen outside of a Hot
Topic, complete with little S's on the back heel in
case you were worried that you had misstaken the Man
of Steel for someone else.
The tone of the film is one of hope, something that in
the current climate of global war we have lost sight
of. Superman watches world wide insanity reign over
the globe first over TV airwaves then in a very moving
scene as he listens from space, drinking in the
implications of a world without heroes where a blue
and red savior will not be coming to defuse a bomb,
rescue hostages or even put out a house fire.
The danger is not just that this world is in danger,
it's bitter and cold without a hero. Indignant, the
people Superman used to protect have moved on. Like a
spurned lover, the world is trying to act like they're
better off without him. The story goes that Superman
left five years ago without a word to anyone. He was
thought gone forever and his biggest fan, Lois Lane,
turned her back on him, winning acclaim for writing an
article against him, building a case for why he was
never needed in the first place.
Superman's return is not just for the world that the
film is set in, but for the audience as well who, if
lucky, have put behind the fourth (there were four?)
film so many years ago. With the return of the
Metropolis Marvel, there is hope, there is a safety
net in the fact that there is a savior to answer our
cries for help, something to keep the monsters at bay.
Well, at least in the movies... at least for the
summer. |
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