Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Superman Returns
I'm an old DC Comics partisan from 'way back. So it was a little strange that I waited until the end of the summer before going to Superman Returns. I think I was just afraid of being disappointed. On the whole, I wasn't.
Superman is a tricky character to do. As everyone knows these days, he is cursed. The movie star curse is only part of the story. The comic book has gone through a few roller-coaster periods when it has become a serious money-sink for Warner Brothers. After all, no matter how much money the comic loses, they can never cancel it, because it's freakin' Superman. All of this flows from fundamental flaws that developed in the character after DC arrogantly and unceremoniously gave creators Siegel and Schuster the boot.
The long and the short is that there are a lot of ways to screw up the Superman character and not many ways to get him right. Fortunately, this movie was one of the better renditions of him.
The main thing of note about this movie is the effects. I mean, a movie that starts with a planet blowing up, c'mon, what else do you want? Since I waited so long to see the movie, the last place in town showing it was the IMAX, which made the visuals that much better.
The CGI flying effects I found particularly stunning. The original 1970s movie series used the slogan "You'll believe a man can fly", but really all they had to work with then was green screens and cranes. The scenes in this movie really make you think "wow, so that's what it would look like if a guy flew overhead."
So much for the effects. The acting was .... competent. Nothing wrong with it. Nothing right with it either. I completely agree with the critics who noted that there was no magic, no electricity between the characters. That's the whole problem with this movie in a nutshell.
The big exception was, of course, Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor. Has Spacey ever put in a bad performance? My favourite scene was a small one. Lois Lane stumbles across Lex Luthor in his bathrobe brushing his teeth. They both babble incoherently and look embarassed. It was perhaps the only moment in the movie when these larger-than-life characters seemed human.
While the acting was flat, the movie redeems itself by making an honest effort to deliver a slightly brainy message. The whole story turns into a commentary on man's relationship with God and the true nature of heroism. Without hitting the audience over the head with it too much, the movie makes a statement that comic afficianados have been saying for ages: Most of the time, Superman is not really a hero. He's freaking invulnerable! You can't really be courageous if you are freakin' invulnerable.
The story shows that we poor mortals, when we risk our lives for those we love, are the real heroes. Superman becomes a hero only when he loses his powers.
Not as deeply meaningful as Batman, the greatest comic book hero ever, but it's a reasonably smart premise for a superhero movie.
The verdict: Well worth seeing, but only on the big screen and the bigger the better. Do not bother renting it unless you've got a 52" set or a projector.
posted by Mentok @ 7:56 PM,
