07-04-2006, 01:42 AM
I liked the movie for the most part. Although, after giving it a few days thought, I think there is room for big improvements in the inevitable sequel. Spoilers follow..............
Brandon Routh was dead on perfect in my book. He nailed it and could only get better if the story around him was built to allow it. Lets see Superman fighting something that really taxes him. I want to see the guy flex his muscles, and not just to lift an enormour crystal out of the ocean. Give him a villain to beat on that could actually go a few rounds. Mongul, Metallo, Bizarro, Parasite, Darkseid or even, god forbid, Doomsday. I for one am tired of the same old, same old Luthor/Kryptonite schtick.
Speaking of Luthor, Kevin Spacey was pretty darned good, but only so with as much as he was given to do. Luthor was not written all that well in my opinion. He didn't exude the evil genius that he should have. His master plan for example had a hole in it big enough to use as a hoop for the falling Planet logo. Ok, so he planned to destroy the US in order to make room for his new super continent? But if you give it some thought, if the USA was destroyed, the world economy would take so long to recover that Luthor wouldn't be around to reap any benefit that might actually come from it. I think that Luthor was really only included because it was expected. If Brian Singer could have left him out entirely, I bet he would have. The writers need to watch a few episodes of Justicve League Unlimited to find out just how to write Lex.
The supporting cast was above average. Kate Bosworth, who I hated the idea of playing Lois, even surprised me. Yes, she was still unforgivably too young for the part, but she did the best she could. Langela, Huntington and Marsden were very good in their roles. And even the little surprise revelation didn't bother this hard core geek too much. What bothered me most was the long drawn out ending. You see Superman recovering in a hospital bed, which I think was just plain odd. It seemed so out of place to me that the movie screached to a halt the minute I saw him on the gurney. And then we were given this slow crawl to the credits that I think seriously undermined the fast paced wow bang pace that the film had early on. I think Superman Returns was good, but it wasn't great. Although, I had the same feelings towards Singer's first X-Men film. And the sequel to it is still the benchmark to which I measure all other comic book movies, so who knows, maybe the next one will get it over the fence, instead of safely holding at third the way Superman Returns did.
Brandon Routh was dead on perfect in my book. He nailed it and could only get better if the story around him was built to allow it. Lets see Superman fighting something that really taxes him. I want to see the guy flex his muscles, and not just to lift an enormour crystal out of the ocean. Give him a villain to beat on that could actually go a few rounds. Mongul, Metallo, Bizarro, Parasite, Darkseid or even, god forbid, Doomsday. I for one am tired of the same old, same old Luthor/Kryptonite schtick.
Speaking of Luthor, Kevin Spacey was pretty darned good, but only so with as much as he was given to do. Luthor was not written all that well in my opinion. He didn't exude the evil genius that he should have. His master plan for example had a hole in it big enough to use as a hoop for the falling Planet logo. Ok, so he planned to destroy the US in order to make room for his new super continent? But if you give it some thought, if the USA was destroyed, the world economy would take so long to recover that Luthor wouldn't be around to reap any benefit that might actually come from it. I think that Luthor was really only included because it was expected. If Brian Singer could have left him out entirely, I bet he would have. The writers need to watch a few episodes of Justicve League Unlimited to find out just how to write Lex.
The supporting cast was above average. Kate Bosworth, who I hated the idea of playing Lois, even surprised me. Yes, she was still unforgivably too young for the part, but she did the best she could. Langela, Huntington and Marsden were very good in their roles. And even the little surprise revelation didn't bother this hard core geek too much. What bothered me most was the long drawn out ending. You see Superman recovering in a hospital bed, which I think was just plain odd. It seemed so out of place to me that the movie screached to a halt the minute I saw him on the gurney. And then we were given this slow crawl to the credits that I think seriously undermined the fast paced wow bang pace that the film had early on. I think Superman Returns was good, but it wasn't great. Although, I had the same feelings towards Singer's first X-Men film. And the sequel to it is still the benchmark to which I measure all other comic book movies, so who knows, maybe the next one will get it over the fence, instead of safely holding at third the way Superman Returns did.