Movie Title: Superman Returns
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/10)
Year: 2006
Superman Returns official site: http://www.supermanreturns.com/
It’s a bird, no.. it’s a plane, no… it’s Superman. Everyone at least most people I know is waiting impatiently. Yes, the I can’t wait to see a superhero wearing his red undies outside while some was impatient to see the ever popular hairstyle while some psychos were aiming to see how big the size and shape of the bulge in the front of his tights would be.
I was however impatient to see what is the big hoo-hah about the return of Superman is all about. Everyone is talking about it. Every movie review is talking about it. Even the dog next door is barking about it.
From the trailer itself, I find the movie sorta lack of something interesting. The way the movie was even presented seems old. It was as if the movie was being shot 4 years ago, kept a side and then now they decided to launch it sorta feel.
The movie opens up with an bombarding yet irritating opening. It shows the planets, the universe and some ill looking typo effects added with the original superman score which is so loud and in my opinion, is too strong for the opening itself. But the fact, many disagree with me and happily thinks it was cool. I find the *jeng jeng jeng* somehow was overly done and overly irritates my ears.
The start of the movie got me totally lost when they did lots of flashbacks and front and back and front and back and front and back thing without even realizing they actually make the audience gone lost. It first shown how a planet died and turned in to a black hole. Then they suddenly jumps the frame to where an old couple in the farm we talking. The old man then soon leave the house while the old woman was washing dishes. When suddenly everything around her shakes and she saw this sorta looks like meteor things landed down on the field. She then drives to the nearby scene and found Superman (Brandon Routh) lying on the ground half dead. She then shouted “My son!” which actually shocked me!
First thing first, I was unclear.. I thought she just found Superman. How could he be such an adult already? How come she straight away called him “my son”. When I later on only finds out that he actually already lived on earth for like god knows how long and is part of the family. But it makes me wonder too, a big meteor like stuff falls near the field and yet no one on the earth knows about it? What is the astrologist doing? Sleeping? No news coverage and all?
Okay… leave those behind.. they then shot the scene where Superman is standing at the fence looking at the farm and then it shows the younger Clark Kent jumping around the fields and doing all those what not test and try his powers thingy. Which seriously confuse me in the first place. Right.. so it’s the how superman came about now? or is it the superman that came back from visiting the last remaining of his so called hometown?
Right, it actually took Superman like 6 – 7 years away to go back and visit his hometown that he actually leave the fellow people who need his help, his work and obviously his love Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth). When he finally decides he should return, everything changed. Lois is engaged and have a son with Richard (James Marsden).
Clark/Superman was sad to find out the truth. He is even sadden to know that Lois won an award for her famous article “Why the world doesn’t need Superman.”
Yeah.. on the other hand, the story about Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey). He was released from jail after Superman fails to attend to the court to testify. Right, who is Lex Luthor? Which makes me want to spank the director for assuming everyone would remember what happened 20 years ago in the previous Superman or assuming everyone seen the comic and saw the previous 2 Superman movie. This time around, Lex stole some crystals that supposedly belongs to Superman. I myself have no idea how he found the place and how he manage to know the usage and how to turn the thing on. I dun remember what I saw when I was 6 years old and I surely don’t know anything.
Yeah, the crystals will eventually grow when in contact with water thus, will create new grounds which Lex intend to sell and create a country on his own. His experiments causes some electric failure and causes the plane which Lois is on for some reporting gone in to serious problems. A lot of part in this scene makes things so unbelievable and I just think Lois would have died but she didn’t. Many thinks it was an interesting scene but to me it just doesn’t make any sense and gets me yawning. It was exciting alright but it doesn’t make sense and why go all over excited for things that doesn’t make sense? But then again, Superman will always be there to save Lois Lane.
And the movie finally starts moving when Lex created much havoc to divert Superman’s attention not wanting him to know he went to the museum of crystals and stole a crystal that contains kryptonite. Lois Lane who is trying to write a story covering the electricity issue stumbles on to Lex Luthor’s ship and she and her son was taken as hostage. Lex then launches the crystal together with kryptonite in to the sea and soon a big crystal like land emerge. The constantly growing crystal makes a big crack and the city is in great danger.
Right, it is said that billions will die due to this evil plan however the damage and so doesn’t make it seems like billions will die. I seriously could count like hundreds of death only. Forget that… the movie then focus on the ship when Lex suspects that Lois’s son is not Richard’s but is Superman’s.
Cut the drama part in the middle, Superman then stops at the so-called new ground and tries to fight Lex only to found out the foundation of this place is actually a kryptonite land. Right, strong foundations to keep Superman out of the way. Obviously it was no fight and Superman was then stabbed with kryptonite.
To even cut things shorter, Lois manage to take out the kryptonite (some small bits were left in the body) and then god knows what Superman did. He just laser some part of the land beneath the sea and the whole island was taken out by Superman and he takes it out and threw it out to the universe. Lex manage to run away but landed himself to another new land. Oh yeah… paradise~
Superman was then admitted to the hospital and everyone thought he couldn’t survive. There and then Lois decided to visit him and mumbles some secret to his ears. Right, I think it was a rather spoiling ending and I just am disappointed.
Maybe it was the long await. I expect the movie to be more perfect. The story was weak! Too many loop holes, too many assumptions that everyone saw and remember everything front he previous movie. I can’t even remember what I ate or wear last month and they expect us to remember stuffs from movie 10 – 20 years back? The leap and continuation of the movie was totally terrible. Not to even mention the script was totally irritating.
I must say I was amazed how a new comer could do and look so much a like Christopher Reeves. I totally credit his calm and charming looks. However I think the Lois Lane character just didn’t fit well. I think Lex Luthor was the star that shines the brightest in the movie.. at times overpowering Superman’s character.
The CGI’s was okay. It wasn’t that superb but it wasn’t that bad it was just okay. Right… they over budget the movie because of the scene where there is bullets flying here and there and then there’s a bullet that hit Superman’s eyes but nothing happened. It was cool and all but I think over budgeting the movie just for that scene? It was sorta ridiculous as it was not much of a big scene.
I just think they were given a very big room to do something and yet they just didn’t fully put it to good use. But then again, there is always room for improvement since the latest X-Men didn’t do so well too.