See, I even procrastinate about geekery
So if anyone actually reads my journal entries they know that I have been hinting for a few weeks that I would give my review of Superman Returns. So I finally will.
This could become essay length, you've been warned...
I guess I should start my general review by saying that ever since this movie started filming I had vowed not to watch it. And usually when I make a vow that severe I stick to it to the letter. I am a person who has never and WILL never see "While You Were Sleeping" because my ex-husband took another girl to see it on my 21st birthday when we broke up for a spell while we were dating. I usually make a vow, and if I mean it, I stick to it. Call it my stubborn nature.
But this is one of the rare times I have gone back on my word. The only others that come to mind at the moment involve my numerous attempts to quit watching Smallville - you can see more on that here - but I guess it's par for the course that it would be something else in the Superman fandom that would make me into a hypocrite yet again. To be fair, I'd say that I was strong up until about a month or so ago when the buzz for the release really started brewing. Then I started to cave. Of course it didn't help that I KNEW that it was all Jeff (j_mac179) was thinking and geeking about - but it never does.
By the time the release week arrived I was out hustling for a sitter so Ben and I could go see it. It was like a compulsion, I HAD to see this movie in the theater. Alot of the reasons I had been against the movie in the first place really weren't effecting me as much anymore. My biggest problem with the project was that I simply didn't want to see anyone else play the part besides Tom Welling. Childish and stupid I know, but I can be a little insane about my man-crushes. I felt that Bosworth was beyond wrong for the part, and honestly, after the most recent addition of a Lois Lane on SV, I was more convinced than ever that I just didn't even want to think about Clark Kent/Superman's future with her in the canon. But Spacey always intrigued me as Lex, from the very beginning that was about all the project had going for it with me.
If I have ever been more wrong about anything in my life in fandom than I was about Brandon Routh and subsequently Kate Bosworth in this movie, I am hard pressed to remember what.
The long and short of the whole thing is, I simply LOVED the movie. I have read alot of things from alot of people while I have been stewing about my real review and the simple fact is, alot of the only problems some people seemed to have with it was that it was not enough of a "superhero movie". When I infact think it is the absolute perfect superhero movie. I agree that the pacing at the beginning can be a bit frustrating, but I chock that up to the excitement promised to come. But when it does come it comes with a purpose, unlike so many other films in this genre which use the superhero premise for effect - this one used it to make it's point. But I will totally steal this line from Jeff and say that this is much more a drama about a superhero than a superhero action movie that the masses have become so accustomed to. If you can't deal with that concept as a whole - then that is where you might run into problems with the film.
The most surprising thing to me was how very much I did enjoy the script and the performances. Routh is outstanding as Kal-El/Clark/Superman in a way that I didn't even know the role could be played. I thought his portrayal is so much better than even Christopher Reeves in so many ways it will just sound like gushing to count them out. But the long and the short of it is that Clark isn't such a bumbling nerd and Superman isn't the James Bond-suave cookie-cutter as they were portrayed in the first films. You can see the pieces of the whole person that makes up the 3 parts of this man at all times, and for what I feel like is the first time in film, they humanize the character. It goes to the writing, Brian Singer of course, and Routh. I am a fan now, he has earned my respect - and I was dead wrong to think that Tom Welling - as beautiful as he may be - could have done the same job. Routh became the character to me - the whole character in a way I wasn't sure anyone could.
I was a child and actually remember seeing the Superman films when they were new, when that was how the canon was represented. Things about Clark Kent and Lois Lane were ingrained into my subconscious from that. That is probably why I always thought Lois was a bitch and Clark and Superman were just so far apart it at times bordered on the absurd. Actually, I can say that now without feeling all blasphemous - it was done with more than a bit of the ridiculous. I totally blame my utter dislike for all things Lois Lane from that point forward on how she was written and played in those movies. Most of the things I know about the whole canon have stemmed from conversations with Jeff over the years - because Superman has like always been his #1 iconic character. But the thing with this movie is that it transcends all of them - it almost brings it all full circle back to what should have been in the beginning, with the characters and the story. Forget the ridiculous factor that has so often been associated with the canon from onlookers - this is how it was supposed to have been.
Bosworth just worked for me. Her Lois wasn't as brash and hyper - but more a dedicated professional with a woman's feelings and a woman's problems. The "Lois Lane is a Mommy" storyline I totally bought. And I LOVED the kid. Loved him. A lot of movies would have gone for the cute kid as a sidekick - this kid was just alot more real to me. No comic relief button, just a real mild mannered kid. Always observing, ever aware. I liked the love-triangle story also, it was written and played remarkably well and it totally works. James Marsden has kinda made a niche with this type of role but in this movie it works again. You can't not like Richard because he is a good guy who isn't a caricature. None of the characters really are. Unlike the original films and even Smallville, the characters here are all fleshed out and just feel much more 3 dimensional any way you look at it. Which brings me to Spacey.
He was just awesome in the part. But yet, the other non-villain performances are so good he doesn't run away with the whole movie the way he very well could have. Instead he is just another link in the chain that works. He is deliciously evil and smart in a way I expect Lex Luthor to be.
The use of the old footage of Brando was just amazing to say the very least. And I was in awe of how they came full circle with his words to his only son in the end. The other shout-outs to the canon and fandom were subtle and very well done I believe. And it was the little things that a non-fan might not even catch that stood out for me as my favorite moments in the movie. Superman soaring threw the clouds towards our yellow sun for power after he is exposed and injured with kryptonite, rising above the earth to listen to the voices of the world to know where he is needed, etc. There are many more, but you get the idea. It's the things that Superman would really do - and they not only take the time and the care to do them, but they let you feel why.
I would say that my only real complaint with the whole movie was that if you didn't KNOW what the time frame was, being about 5 years after the the "Superman II" movie left off that it could be at times very confusing. I knew this and still found myself trying to remember what exactly happened in that movie 25 years ago (I have seen it since, but come on...) and scratching my head a bit. In this way I would think that the casual fan will misspend so much time questioning what is going on they might miss what really works with the movie.
When Singer set out to reinvent the franchise for a new generation as well as satisfy the long term fanboys - it was almost a Catch 22 in the making. It's almost impossible to do both successfully. But not only does he give it a shot - he gives it a kick in the ass that makes you question what this most legendary canon character really means to you and what he could mean to this planet.
Ok, that's about all I can say without making my one spoilery paragraph or so - so stop reading now if you don't want to be spoiled...
The big twist, the thing that has never happened in any Superman canon - the fact that Jason was his son - I simply loved. I love that they had the balls to do it. I love that it will forever change every aspect of this fandom. And I really love how it was done. I was spoiled going into the movie, because I can't help myself that way - but even so, it was pulled off masterfully. To see how this half-kryptonian will develope and how the now 3 central characters of Kal-El/Superman/Clark Kent, Lois Lane and now Jason Lane will be carried forward into the other 2 movies excites the hell out of me to no end.
Anyway - I'm quite sure now I'm babbling. But the point of it all is - I loved the movie, I am a Brandon Routh fan, and most importantly - I have hope for this canon.
Go see it - you will NOT be disappointed. Oh, and I have 120 icon bases made for the movie at home. Only about 90 or so are going to make it and I should be making my first post of about 30 of them tomorrow. Cause yeah - I'm a big ole' freak.
This could become essay length, you've been warned...
I guess I should start my general review by saying that ever since this movie started filming I had vowed not to watch it. And usually when I make a vow that severe I stick to it to the letter. I am a person who has never and WILL never see "While You Were Sleeping" because my ex-husband took another girl to see it on my 21st birthday when we broke up for a spell while we were dating. I usually make a vow, and if I mean it, I stick to it. Call it my stubborn nature.
But this is one of the rare times I have gone back on my word. The only others that come to mind at the moment involve my numerous attempts to quit watching Smallville - you can see more on that here - but I guess it's par for the course that it would be something else in the Superman fandom that would make me into a hypocrite yet again. To be fair, I'd say that I was strong up until about a month or so ago when the buzz for the release really started brewing. Then I started to cave. Of course it didn't help that I KNEW that it was all Jeff (j_mac179) was thinking and geeking about - but it never does.
By the time the release week arrived I was out hustling for a sitter so Ben and I could go see it. It was like a compulsion, I HAD to see this movie in the theater. Alot of the reasons I had been against the movie in the first place really weren't effecting me as much anymore. My biggest problem with the project was that I simply didn't want to see anyone else play the part besides Tom Welling. Childish and stupid I know, but I can be a little insane about my man-crushes. I felt that Bosworth was beyond wrong for the part, and honestly, after the most recent addition of a Lois Lane on SV, I was more convinced than ever that I just didn't even want to think about Clark Kent/Superman's future with her in the canon. But Spacey always intrigued me as Lex, from the very beginning that was about all the project had going for it with me.
If I have ever been more wrong about anything in my life in fandom than I was about Brandon Routh and subsequently Kate Bosworth in this movie, I am hard pressed to remember what.
The long and short of the whole thing is, I simply LOVED the movie. I have read alot of things from alot of people while I have been stewing about my real review and the simple fact is, alot of the only problems some people seemed to have with it was that it was not enough of a "superhero movie". When I infact think it is the absolute perfect superhero movie. I agree that the pacing at the beginning can be a bit frustrating, but I chock that up to the excitement promised to come. But when it does come it comes with a purpose, unlike so many other films in this genre which use the superhero premise for effect - this one used it to make it's point. But I will totally steal this line from Jeff and say that this is much more a drama about a superhero than a superhero action movie that the masses have become so accustomed to. If you can't deal with that concept as a whole - then that is where you might run into problems with the film.
The most surprising thing to me was how very much I did enjoy the script and the performances. Routh is outstanding as Kal-El/Clark/Superman in a way that I didn't even know the role could be played. I thought his portrayal is so much better than even Christopher Reeves in so many ways it will just sound like gushing to count them out. But the long and the short of it is that Clark isn't such a bumbling nerd and Superman isn't the James Bond-suave cookie-cutter as they were portrayed in the first films. You can see the pieces of the whole person that makes up the 3 parts of this man at all times, and for what I feel like is the first time in film, they humanize the character. It goes to the writing, Brian Singer of course, and Routh. I am a fan now, he has earned my respect - and I was dead wrong to think that Tom Welling - as beautiful as he may be - could have done the same job. Routh became the character to me - the whole character in a way I wasn't sure anyone could.
I was a child and actually remember seeing the Superman films when they were new, when that was how the canon was represented. Things about Clark Kent and Lois Lane were ingrained into my subconscious from that. That is probably why I always thought Lois was a bitch and Clark and Superman were just so far apart it at times bordered on the absurd. Actually, I can say that now without feeling all blasphemous - it was done with more than a bit of the ridiculous. I totally blame my utter dislike for all things Lois Lane from that point forward on how she was written and played in those movies. Most of the things I know about the whole canon have stemmed from conversations with Jeff over the years - because Superman has like always been his #1 iconic character. But the thing with this movie is that it transcends all of them - it almost brings it all full circle back to what should have been in the beginning, with the characters and the story. Forget the ridiculous factor that has so often been associated with the canon from onlookers - this is how it was supposed to have been.
Bosworth just worked for me. Her Lois wasn't as brash and hyper - but more a dedicated professional with a woman's feelings and a woman's problems. The "Lois Lane is a Mommy" storyline I totally bought. And I LOVED the kid. Loved him. A lot of movies would have gone for the cute kid as a sidekick - this kid was just alot more real to me. No comic relief button, just a real mild mannered kid. Always observing, ever aware. I liked the love-triangle story also, it was written and played remarkably well and it totally works. James Marsden has kinda made a niche with this type of role but in this movie it works again. You can't not like Richard because he is a good guy who isn't a caricature. None of the characters really are. Unlike the original films and even Smallville, the characters here are all fleshed out and just feel much more 3 dimensional any way you look at it. Which brings me to Spacey.
He was just awesome in the part. But yet, the other non-villain performances are so good he doesn't run away with the whole movie the way he very well could have. Instead he is just another link in the chain that works. He is deliciously evil and smart in a way I expect Lex Luthor to be.
The use of the old footage of Brando was just amazing to say the very least. And I was in awe of how they came full circle with his words to his only son in the end. The other shout-outs to the canon and fandom were subtle and very well done I believe. And it was the little things that a non-fan might not even catch that stood out for me as my favorite moments in the movie. Superman soaring threw the clouds towards our yellow sun for power after he is exposed and injured with kryptonite, rising above the earth to listen to the voices of the world to know where he is needed, etc. There are many more, but you get the idea. It's the things that Superman would really do - and they not only take the time and the care to do them, but they let you feel why.
I would say that my only real complaint with the whole movie was that if you didn't KNOW what the time frame was, being about 5 years after the the "Superman II" movie left off that it could be at times very confusing. I knew this and still found myself trying to remember what exactly happened in that movie 25 years ago (I have seen it since, but come on...) and scratching my head a bit. In this way I would think that the casual fan will misspend so much time questioning what is going on they might miss what really works with the movie.
When Singer set out to reinvent the franchise for a new generation as well as satisfy the long term fanboys - it was almost a Catch 22 in the making. It's almost impossible to do both successfully. But not only does he give it a shot - he gives it a kick in the ass that makes you question what this most legendary canon character really means to you and what he could mean to this planet.
Ok, that's about all I can say without making my one spoilery paragraph or so - so stop reading now if you don't want to be spoiled...
The big twist, the thing that has never happened in any Superman canon - the fact that Jason was his son - I simply loved. I love that they had the balls to do it. I love that it will forever change every aspect of this fandom. And I really love how it was done. I was spoiled going into the movie, because I can't help myself that way - but even so, it was pulled off masterfully. To see how this half-kryptonian will develope and how the now 3 central characters of Kal-El/Superman/Clark Kent, Lois Lane and now Jason Lane will be carried forward into the other 2 movies excites the hell out of me to no end.
Anyway - I'm quite sure now I'm babbling. But the point of it all is - I loved the movie, I am a Brandon Routh fan, and most importantly - I have hope for this canon.
Go see it - you will NOT be disappointed. Oh, and I have 120 icon bases made for the movie at home. Only about 90 or so are going to make it and I should be making my first post of about 30 of them tomorrow. Cause yeah - I'm a big ole' freak.