Welcome Back Superman
June 28th, 2006
Written By: Adam Sussman
My wife and I were one of the first fans in line last night to catch the opening showing of Superman Returns. With her working in the “biz” we don’t usually get too excited about new movies but we had to make an exception for Superman.
Bryan Singer created a nostalgic action motion picture viewed through the clarity of the Hubble Telescope.
Okay, I so don’t write movie reviews for a living but Superman Returns has got to have been one of the most highly anticipated movies for me this decade as I was anxious to see what Singer would do.
I knew Singer had a history of making comic’s come to life in the modern age such as with the X2 series but in the back of my mind I was worried he may go Tim Burton on all of us and create a Batman type flick.
For all you real Superman fans I am pleased to report Singer does not offer any homage to Richard Pryor (Superman III) or Jon Cryer (Superman IV) but picks up where Superman III should have.
Superman Returns does offer tribute to all the favorite things we had come to love with the first two Christopher Reeve / Richard Donner episodes such as watching him fight crime in the streets of Metropolis and this time saving the destruction of an airplane carrying a space shuttle on its back.
The only negative I had about this movie was the lack of creativity for Lex Luthors master plan of destruction. This is nothing against Kevin Spacey, who played a great Lex Luthor but Singer stuck to Donner’s original version of Superman a bit much and it would have been nice to have seen an original story here.
Then again Singer had his hands full selling us on the idea Lois Lane had become a mother to “someone’s” baby!
All in all, I felt Singer pulled it off and I look forward to the “Untitled Superman Returns Sequel” due out sometime in 2009.
June 28th, 2006 11:46
Would you put it on par with Batman Begins for breathing new life into comic book heroes?
June 28th, 2006 13:36
Batman Begins was definitely the best Batman movie of them all. Superman Returns was much better then 3 and 4, but having grown up watching Superman and Superman 2 so many times, it’s hard to say.
I am sure there will be a whole generation of people who will come to know Brandon Routh as Superman.
June 28th, 2006 19:31
hey, great review! you should post this on FilmCrowd.com
your blog url is displayed at the bottom of each review you submit so it might even send a little traffic your way. we have a page up for Superman Return here
http://www.filmcrowd.com/content/world/all/5286/Superman_Returns/8/0
July 4th, 2006 14:54
is it too violent, or otherwise unsuitable for young viewers? i’d love to take my kids (7 and 4).
July 4th, 2006 16:24
Greg,
I would say there are some scenes not suitable for young children.
July 4th, 2006 22:07
Well, I saw the flick this weekend, and I was a bit disappointed. It felt like the movie went far too long with too little development of Luthor’s scheme.
Trying not to spoil anything, I was disappointed by the promise of more tech…
There were times when Superman’s voice sounded spot-on with Christopher Reeve’s, which was a little creepy.
It definitely didn’t play the same role to the Superman franchise as Batman Begins did to the Batman franchise. I guess not everything old can be new again. But then again, Superman just needed to return. Batman needed to begin again.
July 4th, 2006 23:24
Hey Nev, I agree with you on Luthors development and that Superman just needed to return. The next one should be very telling.
August 12th, 2006 05:13
The movie was alright,but it does have a few things that some fans would not expect.It was a failure in the right that not all fans who saw it,were happy with it.
October 18th, 2006 23:25
Oh my! Your close-up photo of Superman here made my heart skipped a little. No matter how much I bury my feelings ocean-deep I just couldn’t find the strength to stop myself from giggling and to control the dilation of my iris whenever I see Brandon’s photo, especially when he’s wearing that Superman suit.
I wish you have added more of his photos here but the videos and the trailer you have included in the write-up is more than enough to compensate for my longing.
Also, I was trying to imagine the looks on your eyes while watching Superman. I bet you and your wife were also thrilled – silent at one time and noisy at the other.
And the movie? I give it two thumbs up!
November 27th, 2006 11:49
I really liked Batman begins. The genre of comic-book hero in cinema is not for everybody, like semi-standardized production-line films, but Mr Nolan does the hero justice in a well thought-out and meticulously crafted film. There is no need for hesitation at the cinema, Batman Begins delivers.
December 11th, 2007 22:15
Wow..Thank you so much for sharing..I would like to say that i love this movie very much since i was young.
March 6th, 2008 03:06
Superman is so cool, I love all the movies, I even have my very own superman pants and suit. Its better than flash gordon any day.