Screenplay written by: Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris, Bryan
Singer
Actors: Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, Eva Marie
Saint, Frank Langella, Sam Huntington
Directed by: Bryan Singer
Rated: PG-13 (Intense action violence)
Screenplay written by: Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris, Bryan Singer
Actors: Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, Eva Marie Saint, Frank Langella, Sam Huntington
Directed by: Bryan Singer
Rated: PG-13 (Intense action violence)
Superman (Brandon Routh) had been away from thwarting crime or performing incredible feats of heroism in Metropolis for over five years while he searched the galaxy for any survivors from his planet of Krypton. When he returned and crashed back to earth in the Kansas cornfield of the mother that had adopted him (Eva Marie Saint), her eyes were full of joy since she and rest of Metropolis were fearful that they would never see him again. Soon, he re-assumed the identity of reporter par excellance, Clark Kent, at the Daily Planet, only to find that Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth), the woman he loved, had finally learned to live without him and had become engaged. Almost as disturbing is the fact that his diabolical nemesis from years past, Lex Luther (Kevin Spacey), is out of prison because Superman did not show up for the parole hearing and that Luther has another sinister plan for the entire world.
He Said:
Every form of media imaginable is shouting, “it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Superman!” But a Superman that is as vulnerable as a common man is as unthinkable as “there’s no crying in baseball,” but there it was, on the big screen. We all know that kryptonite renders him powerless. By now, how could Superman not know what was coming? Moreover, what happened to the feisty hardened reporter that we once knew as Lois Lane? You know, the woman who would be no one’s victim who would even take on criminals by herself in a dark alley if she had to. Either Brandon Routh and Kate Bosworth couldn’t carry on the Superman saga as effectively from where it left off, or the many writers’ continuations of the decades old story simply confounded the director and therefore, the audience.
On the R&R Scale (1-10):
7 for Script: For a sequel, things didn’t develop authentically enough.
7 for Direction: Special effects good, not great.
7 for Acting: Routh is no Christopher Reeves and Bosworth is no Margot Kidder, but they were good.
6 for Plot: No creative twists and turns.
6 for Entertainment Value: For an action-adventure comic book character hero movie.
6.6 Overall
She Said:
The lights finally went down and my arms tingled as the very recognizable Superman theme blasted through the theater with all the glorious power that technology could make possible while two stories of block lettering announced what was about to happen and by whom. By virtue of cinema history alone, a crescendo of applause and “awes” rang out in expectation of multi-dimensional performances giving authenticity to all the outlandish characters with clever lines, magnificent stunts of heroism and admirable feats that would win over human hearts. Then, scene after scene for the next 2 hours and 34 minutes, I watched with only moderate interest instead of being pulled into the riveting adventures and misadventures of our driven iconic action-hero with a soft side that could only be revealed by the love of a woman. Remember the fumbling self-deprecating Clark Kent, with funny double entendre lines that were made even more entertaining by the audience being in on Kent actually being the amazing Superman? Do you remember the story-weary Lois Lane’s grit and romantic denial that was only softened by her growing realization that she actually was falling in love with the Man of Steel? What happened with the continuation of that? And then, sadly, one of my favorite actors, Kevin Spacey, was no substitute for past Superman archrivals and certainly was not a very convincing Lex Luther. If Lois and Superman had a wonderful love affair that he would only abandon for the important purpose of finding out if he was the only surviving being from the planet Krypton, why wasn’t he the slightest bit curious about the possibility that Lois’ son might be his?
On the R&R Scale (1-10)
5 for Script: Not a sequel in terms of character continuity, but perhaps planted seeds enough to be a prequel.
6 for Direction: Some scenes and special effects made it above average.
6 for Acting: Everyone just above average, with the possible exception of Eva Marie Saint’s great brief appearance as Superman’s mother.
5 for Plot: Not “very” . . . anything, like a comic book-action hero adventure should be.
5 for Entertainment Value: For a widely anticipated Superman movie.
5.4 Overall
