Superman Returns Review
I have been waiting on this movie for quite a while. But I know some people who have been waiting on it a lot longer than myself. It has been a long time coming, and it was definitely not a disappointing movie. The acting is pretty solid, the action is good, and the special effects are amazing. It is not your average superhero movie because it is a storyline driven movie instead of the action oriented pic that everyone envisioned. The movie is fun, and spectactular to see. I have to give Superman Returns an 8 out of 10.
Okay, let’s start with the major questions. Did Superman Returns live up to the expectations? Well, it’s according to what your expectations were. If you wanted an action movie that was just Superman melting stuff with his heat vision, or wanted to see him punching through walls the whole movie, then this is not the movie you were looking for. But if you wanted a movie that could appeal to multiple demographics, and could keep you completely enthralled in the storyline for the entire 2 and half hours, then this is your movie. I liken it to The Hulk that came out a few years back. Everyone wanted to see lots and lots of Hulk smash, including myself. But that didn’t happen and so there was a disappointment, even though the movie was really good in and of itself. Superman is much the same way. It is an iconic character that is known for all of the things that he can do, and not all of the things that he goes through. This film touches more on the relationships that Superman goes through and how he has to handle those relationships. It also focuses on the difficulties of going away from something you love so much, and having to come back and see that things have changed since you left.
So, let’s go through some of the very strong points of the movie, the writing and the special effects. The writers who took on this movie are the same ones who worked on X-Men 1 and 2, so you know that there is definite quality and enjoyment there without being too hokey. It is written by Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty. If you want to see a serious contrast in writing styles and the major differences that come up when you change writers, watch X-Men 2 and 3 back to back. You will see that the writing team can make a huge difference. X-Men 2 was so strong and almost flawlessly written, then X-Men 3 came out and had a couple of hacks writing for it, so it is good to see the talent of the original X-Men movies move their arena to another franchise. I mean, there were only a couple of lines that were kind of forced down your throat. The rest seemed seamless and were perfectly placed.
Then we have the special effects, that were really spectacular. With a $260 million dollar budget, the effects had better be absolutely magnificent, and they were. The airplane scene, and the scene at the end where he is flying around saving people is fantastic. You really kind of forgot that you were watching a movie, except for the guy flying around in tights. It looked stellar, and even if you don’t like those types of movies, go check and see what you think of the visuals.
Now, let’s talk about the actors and the acting. For the most part, this movie had really solid acting. Frank Langella as Perry White was great, Sam Huntington as Jimmy Olsen was a lot of fun, and all of the third tier actors were really good and transparent to the rest of the movie, which is as it should be. Then you have Kevin Spacey, who was freaking awesome as Lex Luthor. Ever since I saw Austin Powers 3, where he was dressed up as Dr. Evil, I thought he would be great for the part, and apparently I wasn’t the only one. Kevin Spacey’s character of Lex Luthor is one of those characters that as soon as he comes on the screen, you take note because you know something good is going to happen. He really pulled off the character with flying colors. We also have Parker Posey as Lex’s arm-candy. I was really impressed with her in this role. I thought that she would detract from the film because I haven’t seen anything that really impressed me with her, but she really added to the movie. If she had played her character just a little differently, it would have been a very different character and would not have been so good.
Then you have James Marsden. The guy really kind of stole the show for me. I had truthfully forgotten that he was in it until I actually saw him in the movie. His portrayal of Richard White was amazing. I hadn’t seen him in anything that really blew me away until this film. He played the part brilliantly, and the movie needs that. He plays a likeable guy who is just in the wrong relationship. Because of this, he has the chance to get his heart broken. You are kind of rooting for him, while at the same time you root for Superman. The guy was great, and you will like his performance a lot.
Now, let’s talk about a couple of weak points. The first is Kate Bosworth. And it’s not that her portrayal is all that bad. It’s more that she was just miscast. She shouldn’t have been playing Lois Lane. I mean, they should have picked an older actress to play Lois Lane and she did not fit that seasoned professional role. She did fine, and it wasn’t really her performance, but just the fact that she wasn’t the person who should have been playing the role in this film. The other weak point is Brandon Routh. Now, going into the movie, I wanted him to be amazing and maybe that was my fault for not going in with a clean slate. But he didn’t do too well. He was too stiff, and I feel like they knew that because, even though he is the main focus of the film, he probably gets the least lines of any of the major characters in the movie. He just seemed like he was coming straight out of acting class and into this role. I have heard some items putting him up against Christopher Reeves and how he was playing the part with inspiration from Reeves’ role as Superman. And while that may be part of the reason for the mechanical nature of the acting, you still have to give the machine a heart to make it do that type of work. He looks the part and he seems so likeable that you want to make exceptions for him because you want to like him so bad, but it just isn’t enough. He may get better, but right now he needs to be quite a bit better to be at a quality level.
So, to wrap it all up. The movie overall is very good. I loved watching all of the action, even if it is not the most action-oriented movie. I also enjoyed the dialogue and writing because it kept me entertained. The acting was almost perfect, except for a couple of the major characters. But they are fine in the roles, even though there were more people out there more qualified. Even if you don’t care for most comic book movies, I think you will like this one because even though it is about a guy who flies around and saves people, it is more about the trials of life. Like I said before. I have to give Superman Returns an 8 out of 10.