Superman Returns in IMAX

[GQgeek]

I just saw it on Friday at the montreal Imax. The movie was ok, but not great. I never liked Christopher Reeve much so the new guy didn't create any problems for me. I had mixed feelings on the 3D special effects. I don't know if it was just me, but the fast-motion scenes didn't render too well in 3D. They didn't make me nautious but they were a bit painful to watch, especially the first one where he was running through the corn fields. It's difficult to explain the exact feeling they caused other than to say that they caused a strain on my eyes that ruined the effect for me. Some of the low-motion and close-up scenes were really great though. All in all I'd say that it was an interesting experiment, but one that wasn't completely well executed.

Edit: Oh, I saw X-Men:The Last Stand this weekend as well. Now THAT was a fun movie!

 

[acidboy]

finally saw it last night. the movie is on the average scale, but i love how bryan singer gave tribute to the original chris reeves movie- the movie intro, the faithful copy of the kents' farm, the flying sequence with lois lane, and the ending sequence.

 

[DocHolliday]

Originally Posted by acidicboy

finally saw it last night. the movie is on the average scale, but i love how bryan singer gave tribute to the original chris reeves movie- the movie intro, the faithful copy of the kents' farm, the flying sequence with lois lane, and the ending sequence.

Too bad all the good stuff in the movie was lifted from the Reeves' films. (Or were special effects.)

 

[Tokyo Slim]

This post contains spoilers.

I just illegally downloaded a copy yesterday. Watched it... decent, but nothing special.

I think they really screwed up on Lex Luthor. He got his money by seducing an old lady? WTF was that all about? Everyone knows that he gets his money from exploiting all the evil patents he filed over the years.

Spacey's performance was underwhelming and too inconsistant. I never really buy him as an evil genius. Routh was halfway decent as Superman/Kent, Kate Bosworth (from now on referred to as Forehead Bosworth) looked pretty good as a brunette, and her forehead wasn't as prominent as it usually is. Unfortunately the Lois Lane/Superman/Clark Kent dynamic that was so great in the previous Superman movies was thrown off by the addition of James Marsden, who never really filled out as either a viable love interest or a viable foil. Basically he was a completely throwaway character IMO. He was just a bystander. The effects were pretty good, and the story was meh... so so. I've always been under the impression that Superman, being an alien, with a completely different genetic makeup, not to mention super strength and etc. couldn't really be expected to ******** with a normal human woman without damaging her, let alone procreating! Maybe lois likes it rough, but a kid? I don't know if thats possible.


It gets a D+ from me. Not a failure, but just barely passing.

 

[acidboy]

and so the big question is: should bryan singer stayed on with xmen 3?

 

[Nick M]

WARNING: This post contains nerdity.

I think the problem with Superman movies - and the reason this one ain't doing so well at the box office - is the perception that Superman is boooooring. He can do anything! He can't be harmed except by kryptonite! He's always fighting Lex Luthor, and sometimes Richard Pryor!

Here's the thing: Years and years ago - in fact, almost exactly two decades ago - DC, the publishers of Superman, made some deliberate steps to move away from this perception. Supes got powered down a whole lot, made vulnerable to much more than kryptonite, and got a half-decent rogues' gallery. Luthor was rewritten as a billionaire, genius, pillar-of-the-community type, putting him on equal footing with Supes. And all this stuck - the Superman in the comic books these days is an interesting, dynamic character.

So what do we get in Superman Returns? Superman battling Luthor, again, who is depicted as more-or-less a petty crook, again. Superman can't be harmed except by kryptonite, AGAIN. Luthor is attempting to destroy the United States so he can broker a land deal. A. GAIN.

I thought the movie was okay, but for $250 million, I guess I expected something more fantastic - I wanted a crime spree from Intergang, an invasion of Bizarros from the cube Earth. I wanted Brainiac and his skull spaceship, Mr. Mxyzptlk and his magic, Metallo and his kryptonite heart. I wanted a journey through the 5th dimension, the bottle city of Kandor, and the Phantom Zone. I wanted Superman battling a space armada and a shot of him flying across the surface of the sun. Or something, I dunno. Instead we got another airplane save and Superman lifting a big heavy thing. Yawn. The whole movie felt a bit dreary and downbeat for me.

On the plus side, it was waaaaaaay better than Fantastic 4. What a waste.

As a side note, here's my favorite true Hollywood story ever, Kevin Smith telling the story of him writing a draft of the new Superman movie for Warner Brothers:

http://bamkapow.com/kevin-smith-on-h...ipt-192-p.html

 

[Get Smart]

Originally Posted by Nick M

As a side note, here's my favorite true Hollywood story ever, Kevin Smith telling the story of him writing a draft of the new Superman movie for Warner Brothers:

http://bamkapow.com/kevin-smith-on-h...ipt-192-p.html


haha that was great. Worth sitting thru all 19:25

 

[acidboy]

Originally Posted by Nick M

WARNING: This post contains nerdity.
He's always fighting Lex Luthor, and sometimes Richard Pryor!


don't forget that evil, evil NUCLEAR MAN

 

[Tokyo Slim]

It could be worse, Heath Ledger could play the Joker in the next Batman movie.

wait...

Heath Ledger IS going to be the Joker in the next Batman movie.

Crap.

 

[DocHolliday]

The colorized picture of Heath at Dark Horizons almost made me think he could pull it off.

 

[Tokyo Slim]

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

The colorized picture of Heath at Dark Horizons almost made me think he could pull it off.

What, you mean THIS ONE?

You were kidding right?

 

[DocHolliday]

Originally Posted by Tokyo Slim

What, you mean THIS ONE?

You were kidding right?

No, really! When I first heard, I couldn't imagine it. But picture him breaking into a huge, creepy smile. An improvement on Jack Nicholson, in my book. Never liked Jack as the Joker, for some reason.

(Christopher Eccleston might have been a better choice than Heath, though.)

 

[Rome]

I can see the plot now: Heath's Joker luring Bale's Batman into the woods so they can eat pudding and spoon in the Bat Tent.

 

[funk_soul_brother]

I literally JUST walked in the door from seeing it in IMAX 3D. It was absolutely breathtaking! I loved this movie so much!

First, from all the promo pics I've seen of Brandon Routh, I had pre-concluded that he was made of plastic, and was set for disappointment in regards to him. However, he defied me and was absolutely 100% likeable and I dare say quite perfect for the role. In fact, part of me fell completely in love with Superman, so I'd say he played the role well. haha.

Spacey as Lex Luthor was a brilliant choice. He had all the darkness that a villain ought to have, but there was still a definite human quality about him. He was evil, but perhaps just mislead or deluded, rather than being a simple form of pure evil. I liked that about him.

Kate Bosworth was great. Again, I don't really like her so I wasn't expecting much, but she turned her pretty little face into that perfect sarcastic attitudy Lois Lane and I loved it. I find she doesn't have much spark onscreen, but she made up for that with some really solid acting.

The graffics were stellar and the 3D effect was used sparingly enough that it wasn't overdone, but just often enough that it really made a difference. I have never been a fan of the Superman comics (always more of an X-Men fan), but the story was clear and simple and easy to follow and believable -- all the qualities that a good summer blockbuster/superhero movie ought to have.

There were even parts where I teared up a bit, and when I left I couldn't help but have the hugest smile on my face. It put me in the best mood!

Loved it. Can't wait to see it again!
8/10.