It's a bird, its a plane, its the Superman Returns thread.

[SurfD]

Well, just got done screening Supe Returns, thought I would toss out my 10cent critique:

I liked it.  Good action, fiarly coherent plot, some very decent character development.  Very little in the way of inconsistincies (other then one small gripe about the whole Lex master plot setup), and some interesting (although not mindblowing or cleverly hidden) twists.

Rehashing of superman's background / origin story takes up a whoppign 5 minutes or less of the movie, half of which is told in nice, concise flashback.  From there, its all about Supes and adjusting to life in metropolis after a 5 year absence.

Movie is fairly heafty.  The print i screened clocked in at 2 hours 50 minutes (counting 6 full length trailers and theatre adverts).  You will be happy to know that there is nothing to see at the end of the credits, so unless you feel like listening to the Superman theme score, feel free to bail when the lights come back up.

All in all, I would put this at just a tiny bit under Batman Begins as a really good Revival movie for DC's other superhero movie franchise.

[shiznitz]

I already saw this movie in 1978.  Apparently Singer co-opted Brando and dialogue from the original. Will wait for Netflix.

[bhodi]

I liked it, but when the scene came up, all I could think of was this: http://lexluthor.ytmnd.com/

[Zetleft]

I already saw this movie in 1978.  Apparently Singer co-opted Brando and dialogue from the original. Will wait for Netflix.

How CGI helped Marlon Brando return.  clicky

[Broughden]

Okay I went to see the movie tonight.

Initial impressions...

Spacey did a marvelous job.
Routh did a pretty damn good job as well.
Production quality and special effects were AMAZING but compared to X-Men 3 or the last Star Wars movie...Im not really sure how they managed to spend so much more money than those two movies did.

The one BIG thing that I felt was kinda a let down (SPOILER ALERT)- posted in black.....













I dont know. While I think Spacey did a great job as Lex Luthor, the main plot seemed to come down to...... Superman versus the Giant Evil Island! Also it was an entire island FULL of kryptonite! I understand the concept of suspension of disbelief, but I also feel the writers have to be true to the character....sorry but I dont buy Superman launching an island the size of Manhattan into orbit when its made of Kryptonite. (with more kryponite still stuck inside of him- the sliver they pull out at the hospital).  The ending just left me thinking...WTF?!?

[Cheddar]

Okay I went to see the movie tonight.

Initial impressions...

Spacey did a marvelous job.
Routh did a pretty damn good job as well.
Production quality and special effects were AMAZING but compared to X-Men 3 or the last Star Wars movie...Im not really sure how they managed to spend so much more money than those two movies did.

The one BIG thing that I felt was kinda a let down (SPOILER ALERT)- posted in black.....

Hey asshole, I am using the babylon background!  (whitish background).  Thanks for spoiling everything for me!!!!!11111eleven

[Issele]

Okay I went to see the movie tonight.

Initial impressions...

Spacey did a marvelous job.
Routh did a pretty damn good job as well.
Production quality and special effects were AMAZING but compared to X-Men 3 or the last Star Wars movie...Im not really sure how they managed to spend so much more money than those two movies did.

The one BIG thing that I felt was kinda a let down (SPOILER ALERT)- posted in black.....

 To reply to the spoiler  in black, in how is that possible....He is Superman.

[raydeen]

Went to see it today at the Imax with the 3D effects. Good movie, but the 3D was wasted and seemed like a complete afterthought. Parts that I thought should've been in 3D weren't and parts that I felt shouldn't have been were. There were at least two scenes that they put into 3D that were so dark the effect was pretty much lost. And the actors looked really fake when 3D'd. Sort've looked like they were plastic action figures hung in front of the background. The opening credits should've been in 3D. That would've freaking rocked. They showed some previews for upcoming CGI kids films that were in 3D and they looked incredible so the technology is certainly worth using more. Other than that, the only other complaint I could come up with is it could've been shorter. Kevin Spacey did rock as Lex. Definately made the movie.

[Abagadro]

Im not really sure how they managed to spend so much more money than those two movies did.

Huge amounts of money were spent that never went into the movie you see on the screen but are included in the "budget." They had to pay tens and tens of millions of dollars to people like Nicolas Cage, Tim Burton, Kevin Smith, J.J. Abrams, McG, etc. etc. etc. who have been part of the project but then left before Singer took over.  So the 260 mil. figure you seen thrown around is pretty misleading.

On the flick, I liked it quite a bit.

[Llava]

Great movie, except I had to sit next to some 4 year old whose parents wouldn't shut him the fuck up.

I'm sorry, but you know what?  Wait for DVD or get a babysitter.  Keep your child out of movies that aren't rated G or PG.

[Kail]

Great movie, except I had to sit next to some 4 year old whose parents wouldn't shut him the fuck up.

Ditto.  Every damned time the soundtrack dropped to "dramatic silence" the sprog behind me yelled "MOMMY, IS THAT GUY DEAD?" or something.

On the movie, meh.  I thought it was a bit on the predictable side, but still worth the price of admission.  Lex was an interesting character, but that was the lamest evil plot I've ever seen.

[Abagadro]

but that was the lamest evil plot I've ever seen.
 

I somewhat saw the flick as a relaunch of the franchise with the concept being "let's pay homage to the original so we don't look like assholes."  They were handcuffed by Reeve's post-Supe life and had to at least not appear to trash it in the reboot.  They are now in the position to do more interesting stuff.

[Chenghiz]

I haven't seen the older Superman movies, but this one pretty much got my impression of Superman dead-on. I enjoyed it. Luthor's plot was megalomaniacally awesome but had some severe problems that I probably don't have to mention, but whatever, it's a comic book film.

I did notice the CG characters in some of the scenes, but Routh was wearing so much makeup as Superman that it was actually kind of hard to tell what was CG with him.

[Broughden]

, but that was the lamest evil plot I've ever seen.

Glad Im not the only one who felt this way. Hence my spoiler post above (and below) about this.

To reply to the spoiler  in black, in how is that possible....He is Superman.

Response is posted in black below. It is SPOILER information so dont read past this line if you havent seen the movie:













I understand that but as I said its a matter of consistency. For example when he first lands on the island he was there for what? 30 secs? And was so weakened already that Lex knocks his ass down the stairs. Yet 15 mins later Im supposed to believe he can pick up the same island the size of Manhattan and fly it into orbit? Sorry but thats bullshit.

Not to mention...look at how difficult stopping that 747 airliner was for him. But then again later in the movie he can launch entire islands into space. More BS.

Sorry but the consistency just wasnt there as far as Im concerned.

[ahoythematey]

After seeing Jon Peters as the producer I just thought it was something of a miracle that I went through the whole movie without seeing a big-fucking-spider.  As for the spoiler stuff, I'm wondering if Superman is more super as he bathes in more rays from our Sun, because that could help explain the swiss-cheese logic in that part, although I'm not saying it does.


SPOILER


Honestly, though the inner geek in me is more concerned about the whole kid aspect.  Didn't somebody on Singer's crew clue him in on Larry Niven's stuff?


END SPOILER






I loved the movie, warts and all.

[Chenghiz]

About the Larry Niven thing:

Niven's main conjecture doesn't really work unless you consider ejactulation to be a voluntary muscle action. When he blinks there are no sonic booms, so his involuntary actions can either be controlled and slowed down, or aren't that strong to begin with.

[tazelbain]

The plot was fine.  I still hate plastic man.
I hope they give him a non-lex enemy this time, someone who'd be a real challenge like the Justice Lords.

[Llava]

Response to spoilery questions:

The entire island was not made of kryptonite.  It had kryptonite pockets in it.  Unfortunately, he walked directly over one of  those pockets when confronting Lex and was weakened for it.  When he got away, he bathed in the sun, which does make  him stronger (read Grant Morrison's recent issues of All-Star Superman to see what happens when he gets right next to the sun) and drilled into the ground to avoid such close exposure to the kryptonite.  Some radioactive pieces did grow near him, but by that point he was exiting the Earth's orbit.  All he had to do was let go.  Which he did.  Then fainted.  Regarding it being hard to stop the plain- it's not because he wasn't strong enough, it's because he was trying to be gentle so as not to kill everyone on the inside.  See, he could've just grabbed the plane by the  tail and stopped it mid-air, but it would've ripped in half and dumped out everyone.  Remember how the tip of the plane collapsed in for a second, if he'd been much less gentle he could've ripped a hole right through the whole thing.

[Broughden]

Response to Llava:


Yes but remember its the radioactive properties of Kryptonite which effect him, hence his need for a lead lined suit in the past. Having a few rocks between you and literal tons of Kryptonite isnt going to do anything to stop the radioactive energy from bombarding you...especially with a sliver inside.
Hell we could argue back and forth as two geeks for weeks about this. I just found the whole thing cheesy.

[Ironwood]

Superman is cheesy.

What the hell were you expecting ?

[Llava]

We're not just talking about having some rocks between him and the kryptonite.  He was potentially miles away from any radiation before the end there, when it grew out around him.  The sliver in him was likely temporarily counteracted by his bathing in the sun, but played a part in his near-death when he was exhausted and fell to the Earth.  Chances are it wasn't enough to weaken him, but it was enough to stop him healing.

But you're right that we can go back and forth over this.  I think it was at least, however, plausible.

[raydeen]

As for the spoiler stuff, I'm wondering if Superman is more super as he bathes in more rays from our Sun, because that could help explain the swiss-cheese logic in that part, although I'm not saying it does.

I had this sick urge to yel 'BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRDMAN!'  at the top of my lungs at that scene. :D

[caladein]

Great movie, except I had to sit next to some 4 year old whose parents wouldn't shut him the fuck up.

Ditto.  Every damned time the soundtrack dropped to "dramatic silence" the sprog behind me yelled "MOMMY, IS THAT GUY DEAD?" or something.

I just always tell them yes, yes he's dead Bobby. The moms always look at me funny though.

[Samwise]

I'm wondering if Superman is more super as he bathes in more rays from our Sun

I believe that's what they were oh-so-subtly hinting at, yes.

[ahoythematey]

What I meant was if Superman actually intensifies beyond his normal superness as he receives more exposure of our sunlight that isn't "diluted"  by the earth's atmosphere while he flies in space.  It seemed likely, but I haven't read that many superman comics as some.

[Broughden]

What I meant was if Superman actually intensifies beyond his normal superness as he receives more exposure of our sunlight that isn't "diluted"  by the earth's atmosphere while he flies in space.  It seemed likely, but I haven't read that many superman comics as some.

That would lead to people like myself asking......

Gee, he flew to the other side of the galaxy to search for his former home world? Huh...then why didnt he immediately die once he left our solar system and got beyond the range of our yellow sun?

[Abagadro]

He didn't fly there how he flies around here. He took a crystal ship like the one he used to get here as a baby.

[Samwise]

Gee, he flew to the other side of the galaxy to search for his former home world? Huh...then why didnt he immediately die once he left our solar system and got beyond the range of our yellow sun?

He carries a pretty decent charge.  Otherwise he'd be powerless at night.  Duh.

[schild]

I've always preferred this answer:

He's fucking Superman.

[Broughden]

This is almost as geeky as arguing about science in Star Trek.....i love it.

[Samwise]

Arguing about superhero abilities is an order of geek magnitude over Star Trek.  It's up there with arguing about the physics of D&D spells.

[Broughden]

Arguing about superhero abilities is an order of geek magnitude over Star Trek.  It's up there with arguing about the physics of D&D spells.

so that makes us like UBER geeks then right?!!? Okay back to arguing about Superman!

[HaemishM]

Arguing about superhero abilities is an order of geek magnitude over Star Trek.  It's up there with arguing about the physics of D&D spells.

But not nearly as geeky as writing slash fan fiction depicting Kirk having sex with Spock and Harry Potter.

[Ironwood]

Stop it, or someone'll break out the flowchart again.

[Llava]

He does carry a pretty good charge (weeks or months, arguably, as he's been to other planets many times) but they decided not to touch on that and use the crystal ship thingy, which makes sense as he was gone for 5 years in this, and seemed quite weak when he returned until the next day.