Movie Matinee
Superfilms!
I was asked for my thoughts on the new Superman movie Man of Steel.
I could have just done that, but after watching the first three
Christopher Reeve movies with a few friends recently, I feel the need
to talk about the new movie in reference to the old. The reason for
that: I feel much of the criticism of the new film is due to referring
to what has gone before.
Superman Returns (2006)
The 90's were, for Superman film fans, the lost years of the man of steel (Though we did have a few great TV shows during that time). There were scripts upon scripts proposed during that period: A fifth Christopher Reeve entry featuring the death and return of the character, Several attempts to reboot the franchise including a whacked out of its gourd treatment by Tim Burton and producer Jon Peters that involved the death of a flightless, capeless, Superman and a Giant spider (which I happen to be making an animated rendition of currently).
In the 21st century, there were talks by JJ Abrams of a Superman movie where he goes to the afterlife to learn a few lessons from his pop, and even a Superman/Batman crossover film that only really happened in the I am Legend universe.
With Superman Returns, they decided to take things back to what made the first two movies great, and make a sequel... to a 24 year old movie.
Well that could've gone better.
There were a lot of things I sort of liked about this movie when it came out. I liked Brandon Routh as Clark Kent (not so much as cold and creepy supreman) and I liked Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, mostly because even though he's still inexplicably land obsessed, is much more insane and threatening in this movie. Supporting cast is pretty strong, but, yet again, we have kind of a lame Lois Lane. We also have Super-kid (who kills a guy by smashing him with a piano) and, once again, a plot that keeps the hero and villain apart for far to long in the movie.
I'm also pretty sure that this costume killed Superman's underpants in movies for years to come.
The effects in this movie are Superb and the Super feats are pretty cool too, but then again, superman lifting things is just kind of OK. There's also a few bizarre things that I don't quite get, like why lex Luthor would want land to be transformed into that ugly infertile black stone. I mean, sure, everybody needs land, but I think that everyone would crowd all the pretty parts of the world to avoid staying in that hell.
In general, I think the movie was held back by its need/desire to replicate what had come before it. Director Bryan Singer never got the chance to create a new cinematic vision of Superman and instead just tied himself to his affection for the original two movies, which, as I have said, twice, had plenty of problems and weren't that great.
I think if they tried to break with tradition, it would have provided a more interesting, and ultimately more successful film. I guess not even John William's Score and a Christopher Reeve look-alike could make it work. At least he didn't kill anyone in this one!
In the 21st century, there were talks by JJ Abrams of a Superman movie where he goes to the afterlife to learn a few lessons from his pop, and even a Superman/Batman crossover film that only really happened in the I am Legend universe.
There were a lot of things I sort of liked about this movie when it came out. I liked Brandon Routh as Clark Kent (not so much as cold and creepy supreman) and I liked Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, mostly because even though he's still inexplicably land obsessed, is much more insane and threatening in this movie. Supporting cast is pretty strong, but, yet again, we have kind of a lame Lois Lane. We also have Super-kid (who kills a guy by smashing him with a piano) and, once again, a plot that keeps the hero and villain apart for far to long in the movie.
The effects in this movie are Superb and the Super feats are pretty cool too, but then again, superman lifting things is just kind of OK. There's also a few bizarre things that I don't quite get, like why lex Luthor would want land to be transformed into that ugly infertile black stone. I mean, sure, everybody needs land, but I think that everyone would crowd all the pretty parts of the world to avoid staying in that hell.
In general, I think the movie was held back by its need/desire to replicate what had come before it. Director Bryan Singer never got the chance to create a new cinematic vision of Superman and instead just tied himself to his affection for the original two movies, which, as I have said, twice, had plenty of problems and weren't that great.
Nevermind.
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