Superman Returns! Or Did He?

[UnkHiram]

Let me be completely honest, I grew up reading comic books. Superman
was never my favorite character but he was a close second. I
remember as a kid watching the reruns of the Superman TV series from
the 50's.

I still have fond memories from 1978 when Superman: The Movie came
out on the Big Screen. A cast that was golden to put it mildly, Gene
Hackman, Marlon Brando, Glen Ford, Jack Cooper, Ned Beatty, Valerie
Perrine, Suzanne York, Margot Kidder and Christopher Reeve.
Christopher Reeve Was perfectly cast as the Man of Steel and the
supporting actors were outstanding. The advertising tag line at the
time was "You will believe a man can fly", and yes we all bought into

the mythos. Superman 2 was not quite as good, Superman 3 was average
at best and Superman 4 was terrible. The movie series ran its course
and retired to the film archieve.

Since then we have seen many comic book heroes come to the big
screen. Batman, Spiderman, The X-Men and the Fantastic Four thrilled
us. Daredevil, The Hulk and the Catwoman disappointed us. Superman
came to the little screen in three different versions during the 28
years between Superman: The Movie and Superman Returns. Some of the
Television series were very good, some were so bad that the producers
deserved to be sent to Tehran for vacation. Through all of these
incarnations of Superman one thing never changed, Superman stood for
Truth, Justice and the American Way.

On June 28th, the Original Super Hero, The Big Dog ---- SUPERMAN
returned to the big Screen. This incarnation was called Superman
Returns, after seeing it this afternoon I am compelled to ask Did
he? As the movie opens we hear that excellent John Williams
soundtrack that was so burned into our memories from the 1978
Superman Movie. It went down hill from there! The casting was
pathetic. Not only was Brandon Routh totally unconvincing as
Superman but his supporting characters were completly miscast. Kevin
Spacey is too young and too "Nice" to be believable as the Arch
Villian Lex Luthor. Lois Lane in the comics was stuninly beutifull
and stood out in a crowd, Kate Bosworth brought as much charisma to
the role as a dead fish. To say the plot was weak would be paying it
a great compliment. The special effects were on a par with the
original movie, however in the last 28 years we have grown to expect
much more than that. To be honest I did not even believe that a man
could fly. As disappointing as all of these movie flaws were they
were small compared to the slap in the face of the Superman Mythos
dealt out by Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris. Dougherty and
Harris were the writers of this "movie" and they choose to change one

of the foundations that the Superman Mythos was built on. Perry
White, played by Frank Langella, asked the question does Superman
still stand for Truth, Justice and all that stuff? Huh? What
happened to the American Way. When Dougherty and Harris were asked
about this oversight, Mr Harris stated that "The world has changed.
The world is a different place, The truth is he's an alien. He was
sent from another planet. He has landed on the planet Earth, and he
is here for everybody. He's an international superhero." Mr
Dougherty said "We were always hesitant to include the term 'American
way' because the meaning of that today is somewhat uncertain," Ohio
native Dougherty explains. "The ideal hasn't changed. I think when
people say 'American way,' they're actually talking about what
the 'American way' meant back in the '40s and '50s, which was
something more noble and idealistic."

So in view of this new attitude from this AMERICAN Icon, I feel
compelled to ask Did Superman return? Or is this just another cheap
knock off not worthy of attention. For me, I regret buying a ticket
to this tripe.

[Peachdiane]

Do you mean June 28?

Anyway as for comic books I was into the likes of Fantastic Four and X-Men. I was never into Superman and will wait until it comes out to rent. Thanks for the review.

[UnkHiram]

Yes I did, thanks for pointing it out. I fixed the date.

[S-T]

WARNING: there are spoilers in this review.

I saw Superman Returns (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0348150) yesterday. It was an fun movie, one that is meant to inspire awe in the return of earth's greatest hero from a hiatus in the far reaches of space. The rescue of the plane early on was certainly cool, and Superman stretching the limits of his power to save the earth from destruction at the end was a great finale.

This movie introduces a major difference between the traditional all-American hero with strong family values and this script's interpretation of the character. This is also the main problem I had with the movie itself. Superman is not the hero he used to be. Instead, he is a deadbeat dad, a stalker, and a wanna-be adulterer. These traits make it difficult to sympathize with the character, and serve to dampen the enjoyment of the movie.

When Superman comes back to earth, he finds that Lois Lane is engaged to another man. Lane has also been living with him for the past five years and has a four-year-old son. (Apparently, it did not take Ms. Lane much time to "move on" after Kal-El disappeared.) As it turns out, Richard White is not child's father: Superman is. So basically, Superman is a deadbeat dad who knocks up Lois lane and then takes off into space for half a decade.

Heartbroken to see that Lois is shacking up with Richard, Superman hangs out in their yard and uses his x-ray vision and super hearing to spy on Lois and her family. This is creepy, and makes Kal-El look more like Superstalker than Superman.

Finally, Superman meets Lois on the top of the Daily Planet building, where he attempts to romance her. She pulls away at the last second from kissing the man of steel. Hello, is anyone home? She is engaged, is living with her fiancé, and has a four year old son. There has been no indication so far in the movie that the child is actually Superman's instead of Richard's. Is this the hero we remember from the previous movies?

The acting was good, and some of the action scenes serve as a fun adrenaline rush back to the heyday of the first two Superman movies with Christopher Reeve. The movie was not without its flaws, though, the main one being Superman's lack of character. There were also too many loose ends that should have been tied up. What happens next in Superman's relationship with Lois and their child? What will happen when the child starts showing more signs of super powers? What happens to Lex Luthor, who is trapped on a small island but not captured by Superman?

Final grade: B+, mostly on the strength of the special effects, the action scenes and Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor.

[Wolfcounsel]

Superman cannot stand for "truth, justice, and the American way" in this day and age because the candy asses will have a sh*t fit if they hear that.

[S-T]

"The world has changed.
The world is a different place, The truth is he's an alien. He was
sent from another planet. He has landed on the planet Earth, and he
is here for everybody. He's an international superhero."

Really?

http://www.freeconservatives.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=1253&d=1151776427

[Peachdiane]

Yes I did, thanks for pointing it out. I fixed the date.

No prob. I was just thinking if I missed the 4th, I'm in huge trouble. :D