Superman Returns
June 28, 2006Caught Superman Returns at one of the late night showings last night. As comic-book-movies go, not quite as good as Batman Returns but better than X-Men III.
Loved the little nostalgic touches, like the opening credits were done in a style very reminiscent of the credits in the first Superman movie. And of course the decision to re-use John William’s theme, though the rest of the movie was scored by somebody else.
Kevin Spacey was good as Lex Luthor, a bit more restrained perhaps than Gene Hackman who was clearly going campy with his performance in the original Superman movie. Spacey’s Luthor gets close to that campy line and crosses it on occasion but not as much as Hackman’s performance.
And I know some critics have complained about Brandon Routh imitating Christopher Reeves’ performance but I thought it was appropriate. The bumbling mid-westerner is exactly what Clark Kent was supposed to be, the geeky doppleganger to Superman’s confidence and charisma.
The special effects were superb, and I really loved the way Singer composed the shots in outer space. How the camera would show Superman’s face, and then slowly pan around behind him so you could see the panorama that he was looking at. Just a reminder, if you needed it, that special effects have gotten to the point where absolutely anything the director imagines can be translated to the screen.
Well worth seeing, thumbs up.