Superman Returns

[Missy]

Thoughts?

Frankly, I liked it and think it's a great heir to the Superman movie franchise, but felt the last 20 minutes (the death and resurrection) were very, very anticlimactic and could / should have been cut.

More once I've had time to digest everything.

[MaxPower]

Thanks for the spoilers tag there Yoda

Not that I'm too phased, but this is a generic thread, so you may want to edit either the title or your post, now that the movie is out.

[Missy]

Mmh. Trust me; what I said isn't a big deal. If anything, it hurts the film and is far from important to the plot. If you really want to read a spoiler, read Roger Ebert's review.

[MaxPower]

Yeah like I said I don't care, but I know some people have a hissy fit with anything resembling a spoiler...

I'll wait for tight arse Tuesday to go and see this I think..

[S-T]

After watching the film, I think the premise of this web site is correct:

http://www.superdickery.com/dick/1.html

[S-T]

WARNING: there are spoilers in this review.

Scroll down to read it.

I saw Superman Returns yesterday. It was an fun movie, one that is meant to inspire awe in the return of earth's greatest hero from a hiatus in the far reaches of space. The rescue of the plane early on was certainly cool, and Superman stretching the limits of his power to save the earth from destruction at the end was a great finale.

This movie introduces a major difference between the traditional all-American hero with strong family values and this script's interpretation of the character. This is also the main problem I had with the movie itself. Superman is not the hero he used to be. Instead, he is a deadbeat dad, a stalker, and a wanna-be adulterer. These traits make it difficult to sympathize with the character, and serve to dampen the enjoyment of the movie.

When Superman comes back to earth, he finds that Lois Lane is engaged to another man. Lane has also been living with him for the past five years and has a four-year-old son. (Apparently, it did not take Ms. Lane much time to "move on" after Kal-El disappeared.) As it turns out, Richard White is not child's father: Superman is. So basically, Superman is a deadbeat dad who knocks up Lois lane and then takes off into space for half a decade.

Heartbroken to see that Lois is shacking up with Richard, Superman hangs out in their yard and uses his x-ray vision and super hearing to spy on Lois and her family. This is creepy, and makes Kal-El look more like Superstalker than Superman.

Finally, Superman meets Lois on the top of the Daily Planet building, where he attempts to romance her. She pulls away at the last second from kissing the man of steel. Hello, is anyone home? She is engaged, is living with her fiancé, and has a four year old son. There has been no indication so far in the movie that the child is actually Superman's instead of Richard's. Is this the hero we remember from the previous movies?

The acting was good, and some of the action scenes serve as a fun adrenaline rush back to the heyday of the first two Superman movies with Christopher Reeve. The movie was not without its flaws, though, the main one being Superman's lack of character. There were also too many loose ends that should have been tied up. What happens next in Superman's relationship with Lois and their child? What will happen when the child starts showing more signs of super powers? What happens to Lex Luthor, who is trapped on a small island but not captured by Superman?

Final grade: B+, mostly on the strength of the special effects, the action scenes and Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor.

[JackFetch]

So basically, Superman is a deadbeat dad who knocks up Lois lane and then takes off into space for half a decade.

You want to explain how you can be a deadbeat dad when you don't even know you are a dad? From the look on Lois's face during the piano incident, she might not have known either. That leads me to belive she jumped straight into bed with Richard right after Supes left Earth. Even if she did know, she told everyone that the father was Richard, and he took care of the child as the father so Supes couldn't have been responsible for him if he wanted to.

[S-T]

You want to explain how you can be a deadbeat dad when you don't even know you are a dad?

Of course, he didn't stick around long enough to know if Lois was with child, either. Lois didn't keep this from Superman, he just took off for five years.

Even if she did know, she told everyone that the father was Richard, and he took care of the child as the father so Supes couldn't have been responsible for him if he wanted to.

I don't think Superman would have been shut out of responsibility against his will, had he stayed around. He could always persue custody in a court of law. (Then again, being an illegal alien, he might not have standing. If we have any attorneys here, they might eb able to shed some light on this.)

That still leaves stalker and wanna-be adulterer.

And burgular. After all, he did sneak into Lois' house to see the kid.