Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. I just got out of the preview screening of SUPERMAN RETURNS here in Wellington. I know I'm a bit tardy, but I think I'm just making it in under the wire.
I'm not going to go very in-depth. You've read so many reviews already and a lot of you have seen the flick at a midnight showing by now, but I wanted to go on record with my immediate thoughts.
First off, if it wasn't for Richard Donner's SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE I might not exist. How many people can say that? On my parent's first date they went to see SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE opening weekend. Less than 3 years later I burst onto the scene. Thank God the movie didn't suck, eh? Who knows where I'd be, if anywhere at all.
I grew up with the movies, of course. I loved the first and second SUPERMAN movies, but even as a kid I couldn't get behind SUPERMAN 3 and 4, despite my well-bred love of Christopher Reeve in the role. I'm even at the point where Otis and Luther's campy relationship in the films doesn't bug me. I can see Hackman's torment at having to surround himself with idiots. The barbs he throws at Otis (not to mention fists) really reveals his distemper at these guys. So, what bugs a lot of fans doesn't bug me.
My thoughts on SUPERMAN RETURNS may contain spoilers... some quite heavy, but by now I think if you're reading this chances are you've seen the return of the big blue boy scout. But a fair warning for the rest of you guys.
I was pumped for this movie and really walked away happy, but I see some rough edges in the story and some of the development. Some stuff that doesn't make a lot of sense, some stuff that makes sense, but didn't quite work for me. But on the whole, the movie rocked.
That was in no small thanks to Brandon Routh. Like many of you, I scrutinized that first pic of him in the suit and like many of you I thought he looked too young. He looked like a male model. The symbol on his chest was too small. The red was too burgandy. Then at Comic-Con last year I saw some footage of Routh in action. I was relieved a bit, but not wholly convinced. I think his voice is what turned me around in the early footage. He sounded like a man, not a boy. And he sounded a whole bunch like Christopher Reeve.
I knew it'd take seeing the film, all the sequences in context for me to really get behind him in the role of Superman. He must have been nervous. Not only because he was filling some very large red boots, but as an actor if he blew this opportunity, he'd be gone. None of that shows in his portrayal of the Man of Steel. He's confident, yet very natural in front of the camera. He's the find of the series and I think we can expect some great work in the future, in Metropolis and beyond.
Kevin Spacey as Lex is a genius bit of casting and the one part of the movie I was most looking forward to. And he does make a great Luthor who spends the majority of the film bald, thank the movie gods. However, I think the script is least kind to his character. His whole plan is to create a new country based on the crystal technology he nabs from the fortress of solitude. This country will literally bury most of America under water. There are a few problems here... Firstly, when the crystals form they make giant, black uncomfortable looking jagged rocks. Not quite the beach-front property eager citizens will plop down big bucks for.
Also, if he destroys most of America he should be smart enough to know that a change that sudden in world economics will have a great affect, sending the world's economy into a tailspin. The only part of his plan that makes any sense is using this alien technology and weaponry to establish his country as a power player. But we never see any of these weapons, just the mass-creating crystals.
I may be alone in thinking this, but I honestly think Gene Hackman's Lex was more sinister. He wasn't as successful, for sure. This Lex really has Superman dead to rights and the way he makes his new continent a Superman-free zone is pretty ingenious. Let me rephrase my previous statement. I think the Extended cut of Richard Donner's SUPERMAN shows Lex as a more sinister man. When he finds out what Ms. Teschmacher does, he's going to feed that back-stabbing bitch to the lions. Here, he just kind of looks annoyed.
Kate Bosworth is adorable. I predicted she'd be a big star back in the RULES OF ATTRACTION days and I'm happy to see her establishing herself. She's great as Lois.
The biggest surprise of the film, for me, was how they handled Lois and her son. Mega spoilers here.
By now most everybody knows that the kid is Superman's. I thought this was going to be pretty ridiculous onscreen, played like MUMMY RETURNS or the most recent ZORRO movie, with the kid jumping around and saving the day.
Singer and Co. handle the mystery of the child and his relation to Superman very well, with a nice, subtle touch. I love Lex putting the pieces together. I love the final speech Superman gives. The real heart of the movie is the relationship drama between Lois, Jason (the kid), Richard White (James Marsden) and Superman. I love that the kid never starts flying around doing crazy shit. That sold him being the son of Superman to me. I saw him as a child, not a cartoon.
John Ottman's score is very nice. I loved his score for H20 and thought he did a fantastic job adapting John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN theme there. He does an even better job creating his own themes and mixing them into John Williams' work. Well done.
When Superman is on his rescue craze I was turned into a kid again. The shots of Superman saving someone, placing them gently on the ground and flying off without slowing down had my jaw on the floor. That was the Superman I wanted to see. I loved that the danger seemed to be real. Metal crumples, glass shatters. Superman doesn't just step in and nab an airplane out of the air and deliver it untouched to the ground. And bonus points for Singer and Co. for frequent and badass usage of laser vision.
I hope on the next film they don't spend as much time winking at the camera and copying point by point the original film's structure and characters. On one hand I loved that it was the world I know, the Metropolis I know, but on the other I think they relied too heavily on the original films, spending way too much time referencing them. Parker Posey IS Ms. Teshmacher. Luthor's plan is more ambitious (and more successful), but essentially the same thing he tried before, just a differnt way of going about it. I guess that's why I really dug the family story with Lois, Jason, Richard and Superman so much because it was the only part of the story that wasn't done before.
I know that sounds whiny and like I'm mixed on the movie. I really am not. I enjoyed the film, was awed by the action, really felt for the characters. I think this is a great set-up movie. I really want to see Singer attack the sequel. I want to see the X2 to SUPERMAN RETURNS' X-Men.
So, what did the rest of you think? I know there's a talkback set-up already, but feel free to discuss below. Thanks to WB for helping me see the flick early while here in Wellington, thanks to Kate at Village Roadshow and thanks to Tim at the Reading Cinema.
-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com
