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uperman Returns;
NOTE: I have not seen any of Christopher Reeves acting, nor did I watch Superman 1 or 2 prior to this film. I'm new to the whole thing, except the occasional Smallville (eek) episode here and there.
Oh, Brandon Routh... I'm glad they found you. I was curious at how he would do, being an unknown and only having smaller roles in the past. At first it was obvious his acting was a little shaky, during some lines I remembering feeling "Oh great...", but once the story kicked in that feeling began to fade. He does a superb job at acting as Clark Kent. His appearence, the awkward little things he does - quirky and funny, and his always-smiling, carefree nature. A good man for the job, I'd say.
Kevin Spacey did okay as Lex, nothing as superb as any other role he has done, and I felt his appearence didn't fit Lex's to a T like Brandon Routh's did to Clark. He looked too... kind. Not his expressions, but just the lines in his face. They weren't cold and stern enough. Hard to explain.
The rest of the cast did an equally good job and fit their characters well. (Seem Bryan Singer likes James Marsden) The only other stand-out performance I found was Tristan Lake Leabu - Louis' son. And that leads into a little disagreement I have with Roger Ebert. SPOILER (but not really...) - Tristan Lake Leabu plays Superman's son. Ebert said he was too timid, shy, and didn't do much. He wanted him to be like a Spy Kid. I think if that were to happen, I would have left. It would have just been so flat-out bad. Instead, I found the kid to act the part PERFECTLY. He's Superman's Son, Clark Kent's son. Both of these ego's are very modest, quiet, and not all up in your face and pretending to be overly clever. The kid's personlity suited Superman's son incredibly well. He helped when it was NEEDED, and was suprised by his own powers. He's just a kid, and also half-human. I'm sure he's not up to the level Clark is at the moment. He doesn't know what's going on himself, so why should he feel the need to be the missing piece in the puzzle and solve things himself when he barely understands who he is?
Okay, I lied. One other person, but this isn't so much "acting", but just who she is. PARKER POSEY IS MY HERO. I love all her roles, seriously, and she brought so much entertainment into this movie. How many one linears did she have? 3592?
"Weren't there two of those?"
*pans to dog eating a meaty bone*.
Oh god, I love her so much and I sound like a complete tard right now, but whatever. She brought most of the entertainment to the movie. Which brings up another point. Little splurts of actual HUMOUR here and there helped keep us entertained through some of the more tedious scenes throughout the two and a half hour runtime. And Parker was sort of the key of this.
On to the actual movie. The effects and set-pieces were incredible. Some certain scenes looked very green-screen (mainly near the ending with the plane rescue), but things such as the Daily Planet Globe rendered onto the top of the building looked very realistic.
The plot itself was average. I didn't think Lex's plan was all that great, and he (or his plans) were sort of not the main focus in the actual film. I felt it was more geared toward Superman and Lois's reunion - and that's the way it should have been. In fact, I would have enjoyed it just as much WITHOUT Lex. But without Lex, there would be no Parker and that just equals unfun all around.
Speaking of Lex's plan, he came off as a complete idiot. I thought he was super intelligent? I don't know, but some of his actions and dailogue seemed very, eugh. The only part of his I liked, and highlighted his character, was his very first scene with the dying woman. His plan to create a new world using the crystals was sort of silly too. It's all mountenous, harsh, and un-natured. Could anyone even live there? Doubtful.
An okay movie. One of the better ones this summer, and even further extending that. Not a favourite of mine by all means, but something you shouldn't be dissapointed in if you do go see it. It will win MTV awards next year... :p
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