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superman returns
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SUPERMAN RETURNS
Directed by Bryan Singer
Starring: Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, James Marsden, Frank Langella,
Eva Marie Saint, Parker Posey, Sam Huntington, Kal Penn, Kevin Spacey
REVIEWED BY: Teri Tom
Watson Scale rating (0 being worst and 6 being perfect): 3.0
As someone who can still recite most of the dialogue from 1978's
SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE, I awaited Bryan Singer's SUPERMAN RETURNS with
unhealthy anticipation. For weeks, I tracked the making-of video blog
on the Warner Bros site. Singer and screenwriters Dan Harris and
Michael Dougherty clearly love Richard Donner's mostly successful
original. From the set design to the dialogue and music, to the opening
credits and Brandon Routh's Christopher Reeve profile, these boys
clearly pay homage to SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE. There's even a snapshot of
Glenn Ford on the Kent mantle. And who else would remember references
like Adis Ababa? When I heard that Bryan Singer had gone out of his way
to buy the rights to Marlon Brando's footage, I figured there was no
way this movie could go wrong. And it doesn't go wrong. But it doesn't
go right either.
There are several elements contributing to this, any one of which might
be forgivable on its own, but together, they make for a pretty
uninspiring film. First is the pacing. If this were a piece of music,
we'd say it has no dynamics. This is a problem from the very first
minute. Where the 1978 film moves slowly from its comic book intro to
the first bass rumble and then builds into the Supes fanfare, SUPERMAN
RETURNS starts on 10, blaring that fanfare, and, well, when you start
on 10, you can only go one louder and only if this is Spinal Tap. From
there, events just keep getting thrown at us. Supes immediately
lands in Smallville, but there's really no time to contemplate why he's
returned or why he left in the first place before all hell breaks
loose. Such is the nature of the action film, but it seems to have
gotten worse.
Blame it on MTV and our ever-shortening attention spans, but
storytelling and editing have been condensed to quick cuts and action
sequences. There's no time to focus on anything or to let things
develop as they should. In Donner's SUPERMAN, events unfold very
slowly. It takes the first 22 minutes just to get off of Krypton. Supes
didn't don his blue tights until almost an hour into the film.
Of course, it's not Singer's fault that he doesn't have the benefit of
the three-act structure that worked so well for Donner's film. In fact,
this story explores some very interesting territory -- what it means to
be Superman and his relevance today. The latter may also be why this
film feels a bit misplaced. Unlike Marvel's anguished heroes -- the
mopey Spidey, the soapy Fantastic Four, and the misfit X-Men -- DC's
Superman, since his Depression-era inception, has been most successful
when he remained somewhat outside of our reality as an uplifting
fantasy to get us through uncertain times. I mean, how can you take too
seriously a guy who wears his underwear over his pants?
It's a fine line between camp and taking oneself too seriously.
Though it teetered on camp at times, Donner's film struck that balance.
And more important, there was a sense of wonder. Singer leans towards
the serious, which arguably works great for darker characters like
Batman, but it just never seems to have worked for Superman. The odd
thing is it works fine in the comic book medium. I'm not sure why
that is, but it's very difficult for me to see on screen yet another
comic book hero fall Christ-like, as Spidey did in SPIDERMAN 2, as some
metaphor for a martyred messiah while covered head to toe in blue and
red spandex.
Maybe I wouldn't be griping about the pacing or the tone if there had
been some kind of pop from the actors. Granted, Brandon Routh makes an
okay Superman. He lacks Christopher Reeve's charisma, but he does a
good job as a stoic, pensive Supes. Kevin Spacey is a very good Luthor
and unlike Gene Hackman, he went the distance and shaved his locks.
While he's still got some bumblers in his employ, and except for our
last glimpse of him, Spacey's got quite a bit more menace under the
surface than Hackman did. Kate Bosworth is all right but I miss Margot
Kidder's kooky, spunkier (and smarter) Lois. And the scenes between
Bosworth and Routh rely too much on backstory. Flat Supes. Flat Lois.
There is no chemistry. Everyone's moping around like they're on
anti-depressants.
And while a few references to the dialogue in Donner's film is fun and
kind of cute, after awhile, it got to be a bit much -- sort of like
watching a pastiche instead of a film that should stand on its own. I
suppose most people won't recognize many of the references, but if you
do, it loses its charm and gets to be annoying.
One final gripe, as always, about the music. I love the 1978
soundtrack, but I would be the first to admit that John Williams is a
composer who lacks subtlety. So you know it's bad when I say this
soundtrack misplaces the original score. I got sick of hearing the
fanfare blasting fortissimo every fricking time Supes appears. Even
John Williams knew not to go full tilt when Christopher Reeve got
Frisky the cat out of that tree.
After all the waiting and for all of Bryan Singer's enthusiasm for this
project, I'm afraid it falls short of expectations. SUPERMAN RETURNS
gets an "A" for effort and an "A+" for intentions. But on the Watson
Scale, I'm afraid it gets an even 3.
| | | Copyright © 2006 Teri Tom |
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