Posted on 06/28/2006 2:52:45 PM PDT by pabianice
My lady and I caught SR today at the noon matinee. Spoilers follow ...
Superman Returns could have been called, "Superman II: The Wrath of Luthor," without the phasers and treknobabble. The makers have fashioned a long (157 minute) popcorn muncher that pays homage to the past supermen as "Stargate SG-1" does so carefully when lifting a story line from a "Star Trek" episode or other scifi classic. The new movie also matures the storyline and characters a bit for the 21st century.
The F/X are spot on. The new Superaman really does fly gracefully, thanks to today's CGI and some great editing. Scenes of him hovering hundreds of miles above the Earth look exactly like film shot from the Space Shuttle framing an astronaut on an EVA, all bright colors and sharp lines in sunlight. Except Superman is not wearing a space suit. An early sequence in which he saves both a space shuttle and its airplane booster is excellently done, with both external visuals and internal stagework done flawlessly. His saving the day above a baseball stadium is truly exciting.
The writers have matured Superman and his associates. While the film does retain a jokey flavor that always seems just off stage, Superman is confronted by his love for Lois Lane and her son, a character with a big surprise in store. The supporting cast varies from very good (Kevin Spacey doing a hard-edges, vicious Lex Luthor ina way Hackman never did) to tolerable, with several cameos and too many other one-line characters. The new lead (Routh) pulls off a very difficult job: making the character interesting while never trying to mimic the late Christopher Reeve. A scene in which a kryptonite-weakened Superman has the crap beaten out of him by Luthor and his henchmen is hard to watch.
The plot is essentially a remake of Superman I after too many "Jolt" sodas. But the earnestness with which it is made plus its production values makes it highly watchable (especially at a noon matinee). And another plus: both adults and kids can enjoy it together. *** out of ****.
I saw it today with my 7 y.o.daughter, we both enjoyed it , it's the best movie I've seen this year.
I guess Jimmy Olson's nowhere to be seen.
With his redesigned burgandy and dark blue costume, he looks more like "Fabulous Man."
Jimmy Olson is there - played by Sam Huntington. Sam is a friend of mine.
Cool.
I could not tell if the filmmaker was making this a Christian Allegory or mocking Christian allegories. There is so much of the religious in this movie.
Superman tells Lois at one point. "You said the world doesn't need salvation but why do I hear the world calling out for a savior."
There is the scene about the Father being the Son and the Son being the Father.
The scene where Superman is stabbed in his side and his beating were straight out of the passion.
There is just scene after scene where Superman is shown as a Christ figure and it isn't a mistake these things are there intentionally. Despite the fact that this was made by serious leftists and religion haters I felt a very religious reaction to the movie. I think maybe the film maker tried to mock Christ and in doing so created a movie that really uplifts. Much like Lion the witch and the wardrobe is allegory the story seems so right.
I notice that the identity of the father of Lois' son is studiously avoided in all these "friends of the film maker's" or friends of the actors' reviews...
If you want a spoiler I can attach one.
bttt
Good observations. I don't know the background of the director and screenwriter, but clearly religious symbolism and imagery in movies tends to be popular, and powerful, whatever their motives.
Heck, I'll be watching it. I can keep my politics and entertainment straight and out of each others way.
Except for a few such as Streisland, Sarandon and such.
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