Watched Superman Returns this week in Palm Springs with a gaggle of friends. Pretty solid flick, appreciated some of the nods to the classic films and it definitely takes off on it’s own as well. The short version? Solid, I give it an A.

Some observations:

  • This is a movie about Superman, yet it spins out almost like the journey of Lois Lane.
  • The airplane crash has some of the best effects I’ve ever seen. This is why the budget crossed 200M. Love it! I would see it again just for this sequence.
  • You REALLY get a sense of Superman’s super-human strength. From the airplane to the gatling gun to the finale, we REALLY see how strong he is. Modern-day effects are in full force here.
  • The trailers didn’t give it all away! There’s a few surprises I won’t spoil all of them here.
  • The movie plays a bit slow, would have love to have seen another action sequence in there and/or some edits to get it to the 2-hour mark. There’s some really quiet scenes that could be considered poingnant or boring.
  • Casting an unknown as Superman was great. Brandon is pretty good, though a bit wooden in the first couple of scenes I thought.
  • Only a few times did the special effects drop below absolutely amazing.
  • Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor was great, though I did want to see a stronger ending with his character. Did anyone else feel let down at all?
  • Did you notice there’s 2 small pieces of Kryptonite left on earth? The small shard in the doctor’s office, and the blade that Lois tosses into the ocean. The camera is very intentional about these two pieces, which could be artistic, or sequel-promising. Wait a minute, isn’t there a big chunk in space, and isn’t there tons of it still at the bottom of the ocean? And how come kryptonite affects him so much in one scene, and not in any other. Hold on, OK, OK … I think I’m thinking about this too much.
  • I want to see this in IMAX 3-D, too! Did you hear that whole “when Clark takes off his glasses, put yours on” deal? LOVE it.
  • Does Routh sound exactly like Tom Cruise or is it just me?
  • Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane was good. The press seems to be identifying her as the weak point, but she was just fine in my opinion.

Enjoyed Cars, avoiding Click, and bring on Pirates 2. This is a good summer.

JG