For me, Christopher Reeve will always be Superman, his chest bearing the "S," that nice piece of curly hair fronting his forehead.
But more than 20 years later, Brandon Routh wears the blue and red suit, flying around saving the world in Superman Returns.
Routh is no Christopher Reeve, and you miss the chemistry Reeve had with Margot Kidder, who played Lois Lane.
But Routh and Kate Bosworth, who has taken over as Lane, has none of the flirty fun Reeve and Kidder had in the original.
However, that's more than made up for in the eye-popping special effects and the bravura performance by Kevin Spacey, who portrays villain Lex Luthor.
This Lex Luthor is darker, more maniacal than the one Gene Hackman played. Luthor still has wit, but Spacey gives Luthor an edge, a cruel streak that is oblivious to having a conscience.
In a sense this is a movie that overall is darker, stripped away from the innocence of the 1978 version. We are not innocents anymore in a post-911 America, and the story picks up where Superman II left off, with the caped crusader disappearing for five years and returning to find Lois Lane with a five-year-old son and a fiancee who has won a Pulitzer for an editorial entitled "Why The World Doesn't Need Superman."
Here, the Superman as Christ-figure motif is impossible to miss, from the late Marlon Brando as Jor-El speaking of sending his son to save mankind to the crucifixion-like beating he gets near the end by Luthor's goons after he has been exposed to Kryptonite.
Sometimes, Bryan Singer, the director, lays that Christ symbolism on too thick, and the movie suffers for it, sucking the fun out of what Superman has always been.
And the movie is way too long for your typical action blockbuster, as if Singer doesn't know when to end.
But somehow, despite those flaws, you get caught up in the Superman saves the world wonder of it all, and you can see why people might want Superman to return...for real.
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3 comments:
how many stars would you give it?
thank god...I didn't pay to see this movie. I went with a female friend because she really wanted to see it.
superman returns is a perfect example of what's wrong with today's movies -- all special effects, no storyline.
let me first say that i thought superman returns was a good flick. however, it can't hold the jockstrap of superman I & II.
what bothered me was how much they ripped off of superman I. this current superman regurgitated at least a quarter of the lines christopher reeve did, which doesn't strike me as very original. it was more than just the catch phrases, too.
also, this lois lane sucked. margot kidder was very believable as a reporter. she had instincts like one. watch superman I and peep her first interview with him. great stuff. she asked questions any journalist would ask.
again, the special effects were marvelous. but superman I and II are two of the most well-written, complete flicks ever made. as great as that airplane scene was in s returns, i still prefer the originals.
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