Superman Returns! Two days early!

June 27, 2006

Last night I saw a pre-release screening of Superman Returns. Here are my thoughts. (No significant spoilers ahead.)

Short review: the movie was well worth paying for. Go see it tomorrow.

Longer review:
Going into it, I was worried about this movie. Parts of the trailer seemed really cool, and Brian Singer (the director) did a great job with the X-Men franchise—you know, the one Brett Ratner just butchered? But, generally speaking, I find Superman to be an incredibly boring superhero. I mean, he’s basically invincible, except for some random substance they just made up so he could be put in peril. I enjoyed the first two Superman movies (with Christopher Reeve), but more for the depiction of Clark Kent than for Superman’s heroics. And Singer cast a no-name (Brandon Routh) in the lead role, a decision that would either make or break the film.

Without going into the plot at all, I’ll just say this: Brandon Routh did a very good job, although in some ways he didn’t do very much at all. He looks the part and can act both awkward (Kent) and self-assured (Superman), and that’s all you really need. Kevin Spacey (as Luthor) was very good, although I wish he had been given a little more to do. And his best line is completely ruined by its presence in the trailer. It completely died in the theater, and only because everyone had already heard it a hundred times. I hate when they do that, especially for movies that they know everyone will see no matter what’s in the trailer.

The action scenes varied from incredible (the first one, in which Superman Returns) to very good (the finale), and really only suffered from one flaw: sometimes the CGI was a bit… conspicuous. Not because it was terrible—even at its worst it’s very good—but because it was noticeable. It occasionally reminded me of the Matrix: Reloaded scene where billions of agents dog-pile Neo. In other words, fun to watch but difficult to accept as realish. But I think Singer did a very good job with the action scenes, because he limited their scope and he amped up the intensity. What I mean is, Superman didn’t spin the world around to reverse time—he saved a guy falling from a building. I mean, he did a lot more than that, but the scale was personal rather than colossal. While the conflict has global implications, it’s conducted on a relatively small stage. And unlike in previous Superman flicks, the action was at times quite visceral. People thumped into solid objects. Other solid objects fell onto other people. Basically, it didn’t feel like a series of no-risk pillow-fight stunts, and that makes a big difference.

Surprising minor role players: Who knew Parker Posey was in this movie? Not me, until the opening credits. She was good and funny, as she always is. James Marsden, better known to some as Cyclops, plays Lois’s boyfriend (sort of boyfriend, sort of fiancé, sort of pseudo-husband—it’s complicated). He was, in my opinion, very good at making a difficult role sympathetic. You’ll see what I mean. My favorite bizarre casting choice, though, is Kal Penn (you know, Van Wilder’s Indian assistant? Or maybe you remember him better as the Indian guy who wants to go to White Castle really bad?), who has, at most, two lines in the entire movie and is completely wasted in the role. Except that he got to be in the opening credits of a Superman movie, which I’m sure is good enough for him and his agent.

I won’t really comment in detail on the plot, except to say that it worked for me. It’s not complicated, but it’s intricate. It revisits prior films (Clark wants to tell Lois who he is; Lois tries to separate her professional relationship with Superman from her personal relationships, with Superman and others; Lex Luthor has global domination on the brain, etc.) and adds some new material, including a significant twist that I think most of the audience saw coming a mile away.

In sum: If I had to make one enormous blockbuster comic book movie, I would have Brian Singer direct it. The man knows what to do with enormous piles of money and cheesy dialogue. Superman Returns might have been a little bit too long, and some of the lines might have been a little bit heavy-handed, and perhaps the camera lingered on a few things too often (someone’s apparently very proud of their rendition of Superman’s boots, for example); but the movie really delivered everything we’ve come to expect from the franchise: state-of-the-art set action pieces, a bumbling Clark Kent struggling with his dual persona, Lois’s spunk and vim getting her in and out of trouble, and Lex Luthor’s sinister business plans. Oh, and Marlon Brando.

Four out of five red codpieces.

Posted in Movies