The Onion AV Club’s latest inventory runs down “fourteen disastrous revamps” — and while they won’t get any argument from me on New Coke or the “Bionic Woman” reboot, I do have to take exception to the inclusion of “Superman Returns”.
Seriously, what’s the deal? Bryan Singer’s ballsy non-reboot of the big blue cheese isn’t a bad movie at all; I called it one of the best films of 2006 (or, more precisely, the best movie of 1983) and still consider it a daring attempt to slide the universe Richard Donner and Richard Lester created into the present day, and pay tribute to the films that came before it.
Yeah, it’s a little on the grim side, but that’s kind of the point; the emotional core of the picture is the sad understanding — also a key theme in “Hancock” — that as much as Superman might want to be one of us, he fundamentally isn’t, and never will be.
And I know that people have trouble with Kevin Spacey’s Lex Luthor going back to another real-estate deal, but that was always part of Gene Hackman’s charm in the earlier movies; as much as he kept telling everyone how brilliant he was, he wasn’t a super-genius, just a sociopath with a fixation on land rights and a few classified missile-guidance manuals. Spacey’s performance is right in line with that, almost affectionately so.
Okay, I’ll concede that Kate Bosworth makes a poor Lois Lane. But at least she doesn’t recite any poetry.
Anyway, count me in as one of Singer’s impassioned defenders. (Not on “Valkyrie“, though; that shit just don’t fly.) And here’s hoping that “Superman Returns” someday gets the respect it deserves. They’ll totally get it in 2031.
Can’t agree. The movie was tedious. It’s not even a real movie. It’s just a 2 1/2 hour fanboy wank about how in love Bryan Singer was with Superman: The Movie.
The screenplay feels like it was written by Chris Farley in his “Chris Farley Show” persona.
“Hey, do you remember that time when Superman flew Lois Lane around Metropolis? Yeah, that was awesome. Oh hey, do you remember that time when Lex Luthor like found that Kryptonite and tricked Superman with it? Yeah, that was pretty cool too.”
Superman Returns deserves all the derision it’s received.
I thought I was the only one that liked singer’s Superman. Good to see a fine critic like yourself does so as well.
I have a question, what do you think of the new star trek, I loved the trailer? (I realize you have not seen to movie but does the cast and reboot with Abrams excite you?)
Thanks for all the great recommendations over the year when you worked at the star, I still lend out my copy of red rock west to people who want to know how I heard about this cool movie.