I just got back from seeing Superman Returns, and it was astounding. It was a movie I can even see (upon future viewings) trumping the original. A complete U-turn from the Batman-Begins "reinvent-the-character" fixation, Returns instead revisited the same character from the original, classic film and breathed new life into him. There was no "star-making" moment for Brandon Routh, but he was still very good--surprisingly so, actually. The airplane sequence is the best action sequence I've seen in a long, long time (and maybe the best interior "plane crash" simulation I've ever seen on-screen, although I'd need to check the pilot of Lost again).
As a film score geek, I must mention this: I'm torn by the decision to use John Williams' original themes for Returns. On the one hand, hearing the Main Title March, the Love Theme, and the Planet Krypton theme at work brings chills down my spine. On the other hand, it would have been interesting to hear a new Superman theme from John Ottman, who composed this score--especially after his X2 score improved tenfold on Michael Kamen's original X-Men music. I'll have to give a listen to the soundtrack CD to see how it all works for me, but it functioned well in the movie.
If all is right with the world, this movie will be huge. Then again, this world is a twisted place. The Breakup did not go straight-to-video.
2 comments:
This was the first Superman movie I've ever seen! I know...thats kind of crazy. I grew up loving Batman over Superman because Batman is a regular guy who chose to become Batman, where as Superman is inherently alien and his fake persona is being an average person.
But this movie is amazing, I bought it on dvd the first day it came out and I've already seen it 20+ times, and developed a crush on Brandon Routh although if you notice, he barely talks for a lead actor.
And although I never saw the originals, I know the songs and I just want to cheer when I hear the songs! Haha I love it when he almost dies, but then goes up above the clouds and gets energy from the sun and goes back to save the day. haha oh..and i might've woo-ed in the theater when they tear off the costume in the hospital scene. haha...couldn't help it!
Twenty times? Wow! I was just looking at this post and thinking I should change the title, because my second viewing was significantly worse than my first. There are some pacing problems that become evident with examination. I still enjoyed the thing, but it probably won't be making my DVD shelf (unless I buy that ultimate Superman Box Set).
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