Superman Returns

[squints]

Ebert is less than impressed.
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060626/REVIEWS/60606009

But I'll still see it.

[Gamblour.]

" It would have been fun to give Superman a bright, sassy child, like one of the Spy Kids, and make him a part of the plot."

Wrong.

[RegularKarate]

It's almost hilarious how fucking retarded Ebert has been lately.  I wish he would retire so I could enjoy the memory of agreeing with him without it being spoiled by his latest shit.  He needs to be removed as a "cream of the crop" critic.

Here was my initial reaction:

This movie, for the most part, got it right.  It is the best sequel to a movie made almost thirty years ago that only takes place five years later that's ever been done.
It's so true to the Donner version that nostalgia took over and kept me blind to what may have been kind of big flaws in the film.
Routh really emulates Reeves... no, he's not as good, but since Reeves was one of the best casting jobs EVER, you couldn't expect him to be as good.
I was slightly disappointed in Lois Lane, but everyone else did a fantastic job.
Without spoiling any plot here, I'll just say that at points, the movie got so involved in staying true to the original that it was just repeating it.  This didn't bother me very much, but as of right now, this is my largest "complaint" (other than a certain plot point I had a problem with that I won't mention here).

I'm going to DEFINITELY see it again because I loved this too much to really know if it was that good.

[grand theft sparrow]

Clearly his colon did the writing in his heyday.

[Kal]

Ebert is an idiot... that was the first thing I thought they did right


*SPOILERS*



Getting the kid to show who he was, but thats it. They would have fucked it if he was the one saving the day or doing something else 'super'.

*END SPOILERS*




Anyways, I loved every minute of it. I have no complaints, and I admire Singer for doing such a great job under so much pressure. This wasnt just a remake, or a sequel... it was a very big deal and he nailed it. I thought Brandon Routh was excellent. I cannot compare him with Reeves, because I also dont compare Spacey with Hackman. The point I believe is to show how good this guy was and he didnt dissapoint. He had a lot to prove and he did it, and I think he will be a good Superman next time when he is already a star (kinda like Vinny Chase after Aquaman maybe).

The rest of the cast was good. Mardsen is always the sucker, poor guy. I loved it... going to see it again but definetly IMAX.

[Ghostboy]

I was pleasantly surprised by Kate Bosworth. 

I loved her. And I think the whole love triangle was what really sold the movie for me. How great was James Marsden?

[Raikus]

So Superman has two weaknesses: Kryptonite and feelings.

What a great job Singer and crew did of getting you into the mindset of Superman. I loved the movie, but I think mostly for making Superman more human and emotional than all of the other characters. I don't get Ebert's qualms. Here's a guy that wants love and a life and a past, but can't really obtain any of it. His heroics don't come from ego or vanity but from the shear weight of the world's need. So he takes off on a pilgrimage, half to escape the ever increasing burden and half to see if in this entire universe he really and truly is alone. He spends five years isolated in the cosmos, no interaction, no one to talk to, simply him and his thoughts and, naturally, all of the doubts those thoughts lead to.

And when he discovers there's nothing else out there for him but earth he returns and finds that they've moved on to. Even those he thought never would have gone on with their lives. Worse, they've justified it fairly well.

And here enters a question I entertained: did Superman intend to come back and simply lead a normal life as Clark? When he returns he tells Martha, "Don't worry. I buried it" (referring to the ship of course). He's been to his former world's graveyard and paid his respects. Being back on the farm reminds him what being human felt like. He returns to his job and his supposed friends only to a lukewarm reception. But is Lois wasn't on the plane would he have gone to save it? It really seemed like he wrestled with that decision before choosing to act. Of course the argument for this line of questioning is that he was wearing his suit under his clothes, but I really wonder how much of that part was story and how much it was to get the shot of him parting his Oxford to show the S. If that shot wasn't in there I think it would really speak to him trying to lead a normal life.

So now he's back and out to the world. Most everyone loves him except those that he loves the most. He is rejected, returns to the only place that remains his and finds it desecrated -- robbed of his past, his link to his father, his touch with anything he used to be. There was just so much that allowed you access to what he was feeling.

I also like the love triangle part and above all, that Superman doesn't play fair. The second time he sees Lois it's to rekindle their previous history. He takes her flying again and tells her the reason he left. Then, in truly dickish move, he flies her right passed her house so she can compare what being with him and being with Richard is like. See the plane? Noisey, clanky and cumbersome. See what it'd be like with me? Peaceful, graceful and natural. That's the best cockblock of all time and he pulls it out of the hat right at the beginning.

There's a lot to this movie. I have to divide the aspects of it in my mind and talk about them one at a time. The emotional baggage was definitely my favorite part though. Can't wait for more.

[Fernando]

Estimated box office result from yesterday's opening with $21,050,000, its 8th in the all time wednesday's b.o.

It's crazy when 21mil. doesn't seem that high for an opening day.

The top ten.

1 Spider-Man 2 $40,442,604
2 LOTR: ROTK $34,450,834
3 Episode I - TPM $28,542,349
4 Passion of the Christ $26,556,573
5 LOTR: TTT $26,159,972
6 Matrix Revolutions $24,311,365
7 War of the Worlds $21,256,483
8 Superman Returns $21,050,000
9 Jurassic Park III $19,024,360
10 Men in Black II $18,599,621

[Kal]

True... people are gonna talk about that as dissapointing... but this movie has to rock. If a piece of shit like X-Men did so well with horrible reviews and everybody hating it, this so far has had better reviews and everybody loves it. I hope it does well mainly because Superman is the best superhero ever, and Singer deserves a lot of credit after his awesome work.

[modage]

watching the film, as much as i enjoyed it, i can see that its not going to be a huge hit.  my guess is more along the lines of Kong backlash as far as its reception and BO. 

[Ravi]

I thought it would be a huge hit.  It's Superman, for Christ's sake!  We'll see how it fares this weekend.

[McfLy]

Saw Superman, and thought it was great. Good cgi, and plenty of those 'hero moments'. I thought Brandon Routh was great, as Kent and Superman. Bosworth laked the spark of Margot Kidder. And Spacey was fine as Luthor, his overthetop bits were only in the trailer.

Here's hoping it makes enough return to warrent a Superman 4 and Singer stays as director. We don't want another situation like X3, we all know how great that movie turned out.

Parker Posey's one moment to shine redeemed her being a low-rent Miss Teschmacher for the rest of the movie. 

I kept expecting/wanting Lex to just belt out "Ms. Teschmacher!!!"

[Pubrick]

sequel title idea:

Superman Leaves and Returns Again Just to See If People Remember Him And Then Leaves Again, And He Keeps Going Back and Forth Like That Forever: Banky Syndrome

[Gold Trumpet]

I'm surprised by how well this movie is being accepted. The music and opening titles sequences are the same, but the new one is nothing like the original Superman movies. The originals (especially the first two) were great adventure stories with the main ingrediants of comedy and romance. The new Superman movie is another over done CGI festival of elaborate action sequences. In the first Superman movie, there were only two significat action scenes. The first was the introduction of Superman with his night of rescues and the second was the rescue of Lois Lane and others in the earthquake. The second only had a few scenes as well. Superman Returns supplies enough action to cover all four of the original movies.

The main ingrediant in the original movies, comedy, is lost here. People forget that in the original movies most of the characters had a comedic slant. In this movie only a few do. None of the characters are funny and worst, no one is charming. Its impossible to ask Routh and Bosworth to replace what Reeve and Kidder had. Well, Bryan Singer does ask them to be that by making this film a direct sequel. I think Singer cast both actors to dip into the young gene pool of Hollywood so making the sequels would be easier. He casted Posey Parker as Luthor's girl on the side but he should have casted her as Lois Lane if he wanted an actress closer to the sensibilities of Margot Kidder.

Maybe Brian Singer was trying to change the series. If he was, he made a very dull film. This CGI world has yet to truly sell me on a film. Over edited action sequences and stale characterizations should be crimalized. In the end Roger Ebert was right. I didn't read his review before I saw the movie. I just rewatched the first two Superman movies again. I still love them for their charm and watchability. I think I've seen them over  twenty times now. I also think I'm done with the Bryan Singer interpretation of Superman.

[Sunrise]

I'm surprised by how well this movie is being accepted...he made a very dull film.

Sorry for editing your quote, GT, but this is how I felt. I was thrilled by the title sequence, if only for the theme/march and the credits. After that I was bored. There is no other way to put it. Kevin Spacey was flat and managed to make Gene Hackman look even greater (wasn't sure that was possible, but K. Spacey pulled it off). Routh did what he was asked to do, which I suppose is okay. It just didn't work for me.

The main ingrediant in the original movies, comedy, is lost here.

Exactly. This film comes to a screeching halt between each action sequence...and the action sequences aren't enough to carry it. I certainly don't have Modage-New World distaste for this movie, but it does feel strange to me that the vast majority of posters are raving about it.