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As I cower under this crate, listening for ther telltale screeching of my monstrous hunter, I rather wish Superman were here to SAAAAAAVE ME (let his warm hands break right through it).
Alas, no such luck, so I must spend what little time I have left collating reviews of this movie, which is now released in the US and ready for discussion.
So. Yotsuba and Benjamin said:
This movie is to movies what Superman is to superheroes.
Everything you've ever wanted to see in a Superman movie and tons of things you never thought of. Honestly, the Donner films are quaint curios, a nice try, but this film makes it abundantly clear that no one should have tried to make a Superman movie until the technology existed to make this one. Seriously.
The flying, the OUTRAGEOUS feats of strength all feel solid as a god damned rock. The performances all mesh well into the fabric of the film and its world. Brandon Routh is a perfect choice, as you don't think of anything else but Clark Kent and Superman when you see him. Posey and Spacey were fantastic. There's stuff in there that unless you've been spoiled (I wasn't) might legitimately surprise you. And if you haven't been spoiled you will literally have no idea where this is headed next.
But what really sells it is the detail. The dust. The sonic booms. The atmosphere. It is the most seamless live action superhero movie I've ever seen.
Just as there are some things Superman can't do, and that's why other heroes exist, obviously there are a myriad of other movies that can't do what this one does. That are exceptional in their own ways. They are subtle where this movie is bold. But just like there are some things only Superman can do, there are some things only this movie can do. You've never known what a Superman could actually do until you've seen this movie, trust me.
The strange thing is, I'm not compelled to see it again like RIGHT NOW. It is eminently satisfying and gratifying and when it ends, you don't want it to start over. Or at least I didn't. It's iconic, the way Superman is, and that's not the kind of thing, I guess, you can just get pummled by again and again.
I certainly will see it again, but I doubt it will be the same experience. Not knowing at all what to expect, I think I was able to really enjoy the film on its own terms, without waiting for this part or that part. Everything was completely fresh and awe inspiring when it needed to be.
Just one really incredible movie.
And Finder, that reviewer [on Newsarama] was Mike SanGiacomo, the man who tried to convince the world that Paul Gulacy was what was right in comic books and people like Darwyn Cooke and Cameron Stewart were what was terribly terribly wrong with them.
Spyder added:
I have seen this film. It is quite enjoyable. Easilly the most satisfying superhero movie since Spider-Man 2. Worlds beyond that X3 rubbish. It just feels... right, I suppose. You should go see it if you have not.
Teehee. "Krrrrrrrypt-tinite." Giggle.
Cameron Stewart, taking time out from being no Paul Gulacy, said:
Benjamin, I agree wholeheartedly (about the movie, I mean, not about San Giacomo ).
From the still photos I'd seen, from the trailers, from the bits I'd read, I had reservations. I thought Routh looked too young and thin, I thought Kate Bosworth was unconvincing as both a seasoned reporter and a brunette, I had my little nitpicks about the costume.
But I absolutely adored Superman Returns from beginning to end. Routh was a perfect choice, there wasn't a minute in it that I didn't completely buy him as Superman and Clark Kent. The action scenes are exciting and epic, the flying scenes are breathtaking, Spacey manages to be both funny and truly sinister. There was one scene (I won't spoil it) that almost had me in tears, and I really wasn't expecting that.
There's one plot development that is a significant deviation from the comics, and I'm not quite sure how it will play out in subsequent films, but for this one at least it didn't bother me.
Loved it. Loved it loved it.
Solitaire Rose:
I saw it in an Imax trheater with four sequences in 3D, and I have to say that I liked it a LOT more than I thought I would. Spacey carried the movie on his back, and while the Superman sequences were well done, I kept wanting the movie to go back to Luthor. The plot was well done, and fed off of the older movies without wallowing in them.
It also reminded me why I like the Movie Superman so much more than the comic book Superman. He is, at heart, a very simple character, and the movie remembered that, making the PLOT complicated and not his reaction to it, if it makes any sense.
Parker Posey in ANY movie makes it better, but I was really surprised how well she did at the "sidekick" part.
Bosworth didn't look old enough to drive, let alone be a reporter who's been in the business for at LEAST seven or so years.
My nitpicks were actually mentioned by someone behind me in the theater who said, "They should call him Super-Stalker."
Mister Six:
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.
You have no idea how hard it was to do that while trying to avoid spoilers. I love you guys. I suppose I'll never live to see it, anyway. |
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