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Review: Superman Returns - no spoilers
Not bad, not good. Superman Returns was okay, casting was somewhat strange - Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor is matter-of-fact, not at all the maniacal character of the comics. Frank Langella as Perry White is a bit different casting, too. Brandon Routh is a boring Clark Kent and an equally boring Superman. Kate Bosworth makes an adequate Lois Lane. Sam Huntington is a truly lame Jimmy Olson, and not even a real redhead. The obligatory child actor was totally unsympathetic for me. They did not give him a lot of lines, though.
The Big Thrill for me is that Noel Neill opens the show - she was the original TV Lois Lane, and told us at WonderCon she would be in this film, but could not say anything about her character. I won't say anything specific except that her voice is almost the same as it was 50 years ago, and they made her up to look even older than she is, if that's possible to believe. She was born in 1920...
Lots of special effects, mostly uninspired, not at all artistic and they did the bare minimum they could to get by. Much of Superman's flying was so on-a-harness it was awful to watch. They did manage a few scenes where they replicated the TV full-figure against blue sky effect. Continuity just plain sucked. Editing was shoddy. Audio was mostly good. Mediocre writing. Cinematography was B-quality. The opening credits made me dizzy, all expenses were spared for the closing credits. Makeup was pretty good except for Lex's bald head, which was obviously shaved (less thoroughly than it needed to be) and not truly bald like the comic book history requires.
The plot has holes in it you can drive a blimp through. Several at once, in some cases. Timing issues, many of them. Some of the events could not possibly have taken place in the time frame the movie claims they did. They never lay a foundation for the whole premise behind Lex's latest evil plot. Lex Luthor looks too old, Superman too young.
If you haven't already shelled out the $8 for a matinee, wait till it comes out on DVD. And don't move it to the top of your Netflix queue.
The Big Thrill for me is that Noel Neill opens the show - she was the original TV Lois Lane, and told us at WonderCon she would be in this film, but could not say anything about her character. I won't say anything specific except that her voice is almost the same as it was 50 years ago, and they made her up to look even older than she is, if that's possible to believe. She was born in 1920...
Lots of special effects, mostly uninspired, not at all artistic and they did the bare minimum they could to get by. Much of Superman's flying was so on-a-harness it was awful to watch. They did manage a few scenes where they replicated the TV full-figure against blue sky effect. Continuity just plain sucked. Editing was shoddy. Audio was mostly good. Mediocre writing. Cinematography was B-quality. The opening credits made me dizzy, all expenses were spared for the closing credits. Makeup was pretty good except for Lex's bald head, which was obviously shaved (less thoroughly than it needed to be) and not truly bald like the comic book history requires.
The plot has holes in it you can drive a blimp through. Several at once, in some cases. Timing issues, many of them. Some of the events could not possibly have taken place in the time frame the movie claims they did. They never lay a foundation for the whole premise behind Lex's latest evil plot. Lex Luthor looks too old, Superman too young.
If you haven't already shelled out the $8 for a matinee, wait till it comes out on DVD. And don't move it to the top of your Netflix queue.