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

[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.

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

must....not....google....resist.....temptation.

[HaemishM]

If that's a temptation, you really need to get out more.

Or be confined to a 6x9 and kept away from decent folk.

[Xerapis]

Yeah, seriously.

Dude, I'm gay.  And that is just....icky.

Besides, they never should have had that episode where Spock was shirtless.

Vulcans should be smooth, like elves or Asian boys.

And before any of you say anything...NONE OF WHAT I JUST SAID IS AS DISTURBING AS DREAMING UP STAR TREK/HARRY POTTER SLASH FANFIC.  IT'S JUST NOT.

[Broughden]

Yeah, seriously.

Dude, I'm gay.  And that is just....icky.

Dont worry I was posting sarcastically. My sense of humor just sucks, as Ive been told many many many times here.

[Xerapis]

Yeah, seriously.

Dude, I'm gay.  And that is just....icky.

Dont worry I was posting sarcastically. My sense of humor just sucks, as Ive been told many many many times here.

~insert large sigh of relief~

[Broughden]

Superman plunging rapidly, faster than a speeding bullet...........at the box office. Discuss.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,202526,00.html

Superman: Dying for Real

It may be all over for Superman this weekend. Bryan Singer’s “Superman Returns” took the biggest hit day to date from Tuesday to Wednesday this week, losing an astonishing 38.9 percent.

This was the biggest drop on that day for any film in the top 10. “Superman Returns” has now limped to about $119 million since its opening 10 days ago.

[dusematic]

Jesus I like nerdy stuff as much as the next guy but having in depth analysis of the plausibility of Superman is a little too rad for me.  I didn't really like the movie.  I mean, I did because it was Superman, but I didn't really think it was that good.  Singer gets too much credit.  X-Men 3 was the best X-Men movie.  Batman was decent, but really, who couldn't have made a sweet Batman movie with Christian Bayle?

[stray]

Finally saw it. Little long, but I thought it was OK. Not bad. Didn't read this entire thread, but if anyone said anything like "better than the originals" or "as good as" all I can say is

WRONG!!!!!11111

It had enough going for it to not make me sick, but I wouldn't care to see this again. While I and II are still as good as they were 25 years ago (a rare feat for anything sci-fi or comic book-y). Reeves was also a much better actor than Routh (he actually made the whole idea of Clark Kent believable. Routh was only good as Superman). Spacey didn't come off as faggy and decadent as I thought he would, but he can still kiss Gene Hackman's ass.

Hmm...What else?

Mrs Teschmacher > Kitty

Otis > Kumar...?

Zod

That Pimp scene in Superman II


Margot Kidder loses major points for the poetry sequence however.

[stray]

Silly me...

The pimp scene was in Superman I

"Say Jim...Wooo!!! That's a bad outfit!"

[edit]

Pimpspeak is hard.

Also: the kitty rescue scene. Little girl gets slapped at the end. Funny shit.


Last thing I should mention is that Superman Returns seemed to copy lines from the other films. Kinda lame. For example, Lex's condescending banter with Miss Teschmacher was almost exactly the same as Kitty's (can't remember the exact line though). Same goes for the line about "flying" when Superman lets down the plane in this new one, compared to the scene when he rescued Lois from the helicopter in the first movie (..."statistically speaking, it's still the safest form of travel").

[Llava]

Singer gets too much credit.  X-Men 3 was the best X-Men movie.  Batman was decent, but really, who couldn't have made a sweet Batman movie with Christian Bayle?

There are four things wrong in the selected portion of your post.  Each of them is wrong on a different level.

1) No, he doesn't get too much credit.  The man consistently puts out good movies.
2) No, X-Men 2 was the best.  X-Men 3 wasn't the piece of shit most people here claim it was, but it was certainly not the best.
3) Bryan Singer had nothing to do with Batman Begins.  Nothing.
4) It's spelled Bale.

[stray]

He gets just a bit too much credit for Usual Suspects at least. That film isn't remarkable for it's direction. It's just right, don't get me wrong, but it isn't remarkable. What stands out is Del Toro, Spacey, and the Script. Christopher McQuarrie conceived of and wrote the thing. He invented Keyser fucking Soze. And few people ever mention him. He's been given very few opportunities afterwards as well (only one chance to direct his own film -- Way of the Gun).

[Johny Cee]

He gets just a bit too much credit for Usual Suspects at least. That film isn't remarkable for it's direction. It's just right, don't get me wrong, but it isn't remarkable. What stands out is Del Toro, Spacey, and the Script. Christopher McQuarrie conceived of and wrote the thing. He invented Keyser fucking Soze. And few people ever mention him. He's been given very few opportunities afterwards as well (only one chance to direct his own film -- Way of the Gun).

I like Way of the Gun.  No one else seemed to....  The parking lot scene in the beginning,  and having a badass Jimmy Caan running around, are the high points for me.

[Llava]

I liked Way of the Gun, too.  But I think I might be ever so slightly gay for Ryan Phillipe.

Not as gay as I am for Pitt or Depp, but it's there.   I want to like him.

[stray]

Ryan Phillipe and Brad Pitt?

Just for future reference, if you're going to publicly admit to slight gayness, name someone that doesn't make you actually look overly gay  .

Y'know....Like Lee Marvin or the above mentioned James Caan. You can be totally gay for Lee Marvin, and not even amount to the "slightly gay" of having a thing for Ryan Phillipe.

[Litigator]

Superman is kind of tough to make a good movie out of. He's a God from space, and I think that Singer was right to hit the "god" images rather than the traditional superhero type images. Superman floating in space listening to the worlds prayers for help was kind of a powerful image. Ultimately, Superman as a movie property has to be about God. Superman is God, and he is alone and isolated. His desire for Lois and the impossibility of reaching it brings out the point of Superman's otherness, alien-ness and solitude, and the fortress makes that point as well.

Lex is about the human desire for power and resentment towards those who have it. As benevolent as Superman tries to be, Lex hates him for being Superman, and will try to kill him. The cruelty that Lex and his goons displayed toward Superman was thought to be excessive, but it drives home the message.

But this is really the sum-total of a two and a half hour movie, that was otherwise pretty empty. The movie felt hollow. The action sequences came off a bit flat, and the chemistry between Kate Bosworth and Brandon Routh was nonexistent, and simply didn't add up to a compelling motivation. Also, Routh more or less looked the part, but his attempts to act like Christopher Reeve made it painfully obvious that he is not Christopher Reeve. I appreciate the desire to pay homage in reintroducing the franchise, but why invite an unfavorable comparison?

As for Brando, apparently, he shot a lot of footage for Superman 2, and then the studio cut him out of the movie to try to save money. This was part of the feud that led to the firing of Richard Donner and the hiring of Richard Lester to finish the movie. A Donner cut, including the never-seen Brando footage, is going to be released soon, so that will be much better than the computer-generated Brando in Superman Returns.

[stray]

Puzo touched on the "God" thing in original script as well. He admittedly borrowed all the Father/Only Son lines with Jor-El from the Gospels.

[sarius]

The island was really a distraction to me for the movie.  I must more appreciated the tragedy of being Superman as a theme than another impossible Lex story.

One wonders, do advanced civilizations believe in passwords or what?

[Llava]

Ryan Phillipe and Brad Pitt?

Just for future reference, if you're going to publicly admit to slight gayness, name someone that doesn't make you actually look overly gay  .

Y'know....Like Lee Marvin or the above mentioned James Caan. You can be totally gay for Lee Marvin, and not even amount to the "slightly gay" of having a thing for Ryan Phillipe.

I think I'd rather be overly gay for Ryan Phillipe than slightly gay for Lee Marvin.

[stray]

Dude, Lee Marvin with an eyepatch is HOT.

[Llava]

I don't know, I guess I just don't go for the silver guys.  I need my men to look young and full of vitality.  But maybe I just haven't seen the right guy yet.

(Plus he kind looks like Captain Murphy from Sealab.
  )

[HaemishM]

And few people ever mention him. He's been given very few opportunities afterwards as well (only one chance to direct his own film -- Way of the Gun).

Way of the Gun would be why. It wasn't a bad flick, but it was definitely one that would NEVER click with mainstream audiences. It's one of those movies I like, but can't figure out why.

[jpark]

I don't normally spring for hollywood chicks but boy - Kate Bosworth was a knock-out.  Anyway - great flick.

[WindiaN]

was i the only one who laughed out loud when kumar came on screen?

[HaemishM]

was i the only one who laughed out loud when kumar came on screen?

It took me a minute to figure out who he was, but yeah. I love that actor. Wish he'd had some more speaking lines.

[Slyfeind]

Damn. That's what I get for waiting until the last week to see this. The thread is already in The Gay.

Anyway, good film. I was hoping it would be OMG THE BEST EVER FOREVER AND EVER and like, headlines in newspapers all over the world saying "Superman Sinks Titanic!!!" in terms of money made, and suddenly the Taliban thinks it should chill out because they saw Superman and would be all like "Any people that makes Superman Returns must be good." And...yeah. All that shit.

But as it stands, it was a good way to kick off a new/old franchise. I want to see a sequel. The opening credits were worth the price of admission. Then ten minutes of story, followed by an hour of homage and tribute and in-jokes, and the rest of the movie picks up the story again. And that's cool, I was hoping for the tributes and homages, and totally loved the copied phrases and tableaus. I thought it pretty blatant at that one part, that Superman was soaking up and storing Yellow Sun Maximum Power!!11!! Kind of a bummer that Superman didn't serve a bit of whoop-ass to Lex and his thugs.

But overall, I think Brian Synger and company need to take a break. They're still on good form, but their work is starting to seem a little rushed.