Superman Returns (2006)
I got to see Superman Returns (2006) recently and I have to say I was disappointed. I enjoy superhero movies generally and the original Superman (1978) and Batman (1989) rank amongst my favourites. I have been disappointed with recent superhero movies such as X-Men (2000) and Spider-Man (2002) but I was hoping for something a bit different here.
- Lois Lane
- Well you're back and everyone seems happy about it.
- Superman
- Not everyone.
The film starts approximately five years after the events of Superman II (1980) with the hero (played by Brandon Routh) returning from a journey to find his home planet of Krypton. Although he is able to to resume his life as Clark Kent, a reporter for the Daily Planet newspaper in Metropolis, he soon finds that much has changed while he was away.
Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) has moved on from her infatuation with Superman and now has a family. She even wrote an award-winning article entitled "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman". But whereever Lois goes, trouble is sure to follow and Superman soon makes a triumphant return to the public eye.
Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey), the maniacal genius bent on world domination, also returns from a prison spell richer than ever and still fascinated in real estate. He plans to build a new continent in the atlantic ocean using some crystals stolen from Superman's Fortress of Solitude as a catalyst for a massive transformation in the ocean floor.
Brandon Routh does a good job as both sides of the hero and, like Christopher Reeve, is comfortable portraying the earnest and sincere superhero and the bumbling and less-confident Clark Kent. He doesn't say a lot in the film however and I would have liked to have seen more development of the Clark Kent alter-ego.
The special effects in the movie are very effective and lend the action sequences real excitement. The first sequence in which Superman is involved is probably the most exciting of the film as he tries to save an out-of-control jet that is breaking up mid-flight.
A number of sequences borrow ideas from the 1978 film directed by Richard Donner. These include the roof-top meeting between Superman and Lois Lane and aspects of Luthor's evil plan. The new plot elements in the story focus on the distance that has developed between Superman and Lois Lane.
If I was to compare the two movies, Donner's Superman had a more rounded script that evoked the essential qualities of the main characters in a fun and entertaining way. Christopher Reeve perfected the transformation from a bumbling and self-conscious Clark Kent to a strong and courageous hero and Gene Hackman and Margot Kidder also made their characters their own. Because that was my first exposure to the Superman story, those portrayals became the true characterisations for me. The new movie fails to create memorable interpretations of those characters and I don't know if anyone coming to the story for the first time will be interested enough to want to get to know them. Roger Ebert made the following point in his review:
"... when the hero, his alter ego, his girlfriend and the villain all seem to lack any joy in being themselves, why should we feel joy at watching them?" ― Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times
I was looking forward to hearing the score in the theatre as I had heard that John Ottman would be integrating the Superman March and other pieces from John Williams' original compositions. The main march does sound great in the opening titles, a lightening-fast journey through the galaxy from Krypton to Earth. The highlight from Ottman's original work is in his exciting score for the airplane rescue (this can be heard in the track entitled Rough Flight on the soundtrack CD).
Overall, I think that the film could have included more action sequences and chosen a lighter tone for the central relationship between Clark and Lois. The more comical elements of their interactions and Gene Hackman's complete and utter disdain for the human race were sorely missed.
I'll finish with a piece of dialogue from Richard Donner's Superman. In one of the final scenes, Superman flies into the grounds of a prison to hand over Lex Luthor and his sidekick Otis (Ned Beatty). The warden thanks Superman for bringing the criminals to justice and then asks for their names. Luthor announces himself defiantly, but not before removing his wig to reveal his bald head ...
- Lex Luthor
(addressing the warden)- Lex Luthor, the greatest criminal mind of our time!
- Otis
- Of our time!
- Luthor
- I hereby serve notice ...
- Otis
- He's serving notice to you!
- Luthor
- ... that these walls ...
- Otis
- ... that these walls here! ...
- Luthor
(to Otis)- Would you shut up, please!
Links
Filmography links and data courtesy of The Internet Movie Database.
Artwork and quotes are protected by the copyright owners.