2006 sequelRating: 10/20 (Dylan: 2/20; Emma: 12/20; Caden: 20/20)
Plot: Superman's been away a while, five years specifically. So has Clark Kent actually, but nobody's able to make that connection. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor somehow wins he appeal, is released from prison, and concocts a complicated plot to use crystals to make a big island because, just like in the first movie, he's obsessed with the idea of beach front property. Superman takes care of bad guys while dealing with the fact that Lois Lane has moved on.
I don't like this Superman. There's nothing wrong with this Brandon Routh kid, the guy who plays the Man of Steel, but just like the above poster presents him, he at times seems more like a magician in this movie than he does a superhero. Plus, this version of Superman is both a Peeping Tom and a wife stealer, and I felt bad for Lois Lane's new guy (Richard) who really did nothing to deserve having a guy in tights trying to move in on his girl. I didn't realize that this movie was a sequel. I thought "reboot" had more to do with starting from scratch, so I was surprised to see Marlon Brando and hear the recognizable music. Unfortunately, a lot of ideas are recycled, too, if not from previous Superman movies than from other contemporary comic book superhero flicks. This movie is uglier and darker though and the fun from those first two Superman movies (probably the other two, too) is replaced with a sinister seriousness, mostly because of a different Lex Luthor character. Kevin Spacey is awful here in what would have been called an attempt to Heath-Ledgerize his bad guy if The Dark Knight had come out a couple years before Superman Returns. Spacey looks more like Graf Orlok than a criminal mastermind, and I actually thought he was going to try to bite Superman at one point. At least he's about the right age, unlike Superman and Lois Lane who, despite being in a movie that takes place five years after the others, looks a lot younger than Chris and Margot. This movie's got some clean, crisp visuals, but the special effects aren't consistent, sometimes even within the same scenes. There's an early scene with involving a plane, easily more exciting than anything that happens later in the movie, that looks pretty cool, completely ridiculous, and all the adjectives in between. And don't get me started on how Lois Lane survives without a scratch despite being bounced around that plane like she is. There's also a scene with a young Clark Kent running through a cornfield that reminded me of the rubber-legged Clark Kent in the first Superman movie. Perhaps it's an homage to that scene? Ironically, my favorite effects were when Lex Luthor destroys a model train set. I liked that scene, and I also liked a completely unnecessary shot of Jimmy awkwardly eating a sandwich and a scene with a poorly-tattooed henchman and Lois Lane's son playing a piano duet. But when the best scene in an action movie is less than two seconds of a guy eating a sandwich, you've got a problem.
Note: I only saw the first fourth of this movie with Dylan, Emma, and Caden. They finished without me, and I had to finish watching later.
5 comments:
I liked this a bit more than you...I would give it a 14.
The major issue with this movie is the complete removal of Clark Kent as a character. Notice he never gets a home. You never see him interacting with anyone outside of the Daily Planet, (And even there its minimal) There was no reason to have Kent in this movie at all, except a Superman without a Clark Kent is about as uninteresting character as there is. (And that is the fatal flaw in this movie)
I thought the plane scene was incredible, and well done. I enjoyed a lot of Superman saving parts of the city during the earthquake....but outside that it was a lot of scenes that made little to no impact on me. I was probably more disappointed in this movie than most people because the stuff they could do with Superman would be fun to watch. Instead its just so blah.
They should have brought in a different villain than Luthor. For Gods sake he appeared in three of the four Reeve movies, and now this "sequel".
I feel bad for Routh because I thought he did a great job as both the Man of Steel and when we got to see him, his mild mannered opposite. Its been four years since this movie came out, and it looks like there are slim odds they will make another Superman movie anytime soon. I also liked Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane....but the husband and the kid? Waste of time and an unnecessary addition to the whole thing.
I blame Bryan Singer....freaking idiot.
I forgot to mention my biggest problem with this--far too many (obvious) parallels between Superman and Christ. Jesus, that point sure was pounded into the old head.
I liked Superman as a kid, but I don't even know any other villains. I guess I wasn't a real fan. I hated Kevin Spacey though.
I thought Lois Lane's kid was unnecessary, too. Really, what reason does that kid need to be in this? Take him out, make slight adjustments to the plot, and you lose nothing at all.
I'm changing my rating to a 10. That'll put it closer to right in between the first two Superman movies and 'Quest for Peace' which seems about right.
This film left a very bad taste for me, and the more time that goes by, the less happy I am with it. I never really thought about the Super-cuckold-wanna-be angle, but that is a good reason to not like what the makers have done with the character. The Spacey character begins OK, but then his and the plots' incredible darkness proceed to ruin the movie. A 13.
I thought you liked darkness in your superhero flicks.
I do if the villian has style. Spacey is just a sadistic creep, and doing it to Superman the way he does is very distastful and unpleasant. It's inappropriate for a mortal to torture Superman in that way.
Post a Comment