Superman Returns
We went to watch Superman Returns today. It certainly has a long run time at over two and a half hours, but the fact that at the end you haven’t noticed so much time going by tells you how involved you’ve become in the story. I must say the beginning half hour or so of the film goes by rather slowly. I kept expecting there to be more going on, but it was straight forward. No, this isn’t a remake. It kind of picks up after Superman 2 and continues on it’s own. The entire film makes lots of references to the first set of Superman movies. Stylistically, they are all over the place, so this is very much a continuance. From the beginning, they use ‘ancient’ special effects on the beginning credits. From there, the new Superman actor is uncannily like Christopher Reeves. His voice and mannerisms are outstanding. I actually think he surpasses Reeves in the role (except for the hair curl not quite being right). The suit is nearly the same, albeit with a texturization that is now visible. The ‘S’ looks almost carbon fiberish. I really appreciate the throwback to older styling. Also, they go out of their way to redo all the various flying poses that Reeves made famous. Due to advances in special effects they are more seemless, but I could detect the use of CGI a few too many times for my liking. Kevin Spacey is an outstanding Lex Luthor. He fills the role so well. Kate Bosworth was a let down for me. I like Margot Kidder much better as Lois Lane. Throughout the film I kept thinking how much they had made Kate look like Natalie Portman. Also, she didn’t have that reporter persona projected. I got a more ‘damsel in distress’ feeling and that’s only part of the Lois character. Also, I really didn’t like the storyline change to include a fiance for Lois. I understand why they did it in helping to introduce ****SPOILER FOLLOWING**** Lois’ son without declaring it as Superman’s son as well, but as I think about it closer, it just doesn’t fit the story line either. In order for things to work, Lois would have to be a bit more loose than the traditional Lois character was. I hope this marks a renewed interest in continuing the Superman film series. If you are an old Superman fan like me, get out there and see it!
