Chuck Mayer
Senior HTF Member
I imagine the movie will be receiving enough reviews to warrant a thread Hope the mods don't mind me kicking one off.
I, uhhhh, found a lot to like in the 2.5 hour runtime. Like a kid, I marveled at Superman doing what he does best, and modern filmmaking shows that in a whole new light. But the movie only sporadically worked for me.
In the pre-release discussion, I basically called it my "guarded optimism". I was right to be optimistic...and right to be guarded about it. It's a movie with it's heart on it's sleeve. As it should be. It's Superman
Speaking of, my main worry was regarding the star. Mostly channeling Reeve (with quite a few of the same lines), Routh still brought something special to the role, and I believed him as Clark (too infrequent) and as Superman. He isn't going to win Oscars, but I liked him.
There's a pretty decent-sized list of what didn't work for me, and I'm sure I'll discuss it ad nauseum in the appropriate thread. I'll summarize:
Spacey as Luthor - none of the charm of Hackman. Some funny lines (blackly delivered), but nothing beyond that. Lex should really be a lot more than a bully.
Bosworth as Lane (with special mention for the writers) - straight up, she's a callous, selfish bitch through much of the film. The performance is whats on the page, so maybe Kate isn't to blame. But I didn't like Lois. I didn't see why Superman likes her. I didn't see why her fiance liked her. The biggest misstep of the film for me. The movie died when she was on-screen, minus a nice moment or two. That doesn't help when she gets most of the screen-time. She might look better than Kidder, but that's it. Kidder was far superior as Lois.
The tone had a few outliers...the opening scene (which should have been the second scene, as the actual second scene was set up with the brilliant credits - in Smallville) with Lex was good for a laugh. But way out of place. As was the sadism from Lex and goons. I know the movie is PG-13, but it felt out of place. Lastly on my grief list (which I've spent too much time on), it's clear Singer loved Donner's film. Too clear :frowning: I haven't seen it in a few years, and I still noticed double-digit references (or outright lines, beats).
I loved the score, I liked the direction, I liked the scope, and I loved the Superman action scenes. I loved them. I still recommend the film, and will be at the earliest showing of 2. With a logo shirt and everything. I'm glad he's back on the big-screen. Everyone labored to make a great film, and made a decent one with the efforts.
Superman is hard to get right. Maybe the next time will be the charm.
7.5/10,
Chuck
EDIT: I love, love, LOVE the opening shot right before the credits. Just awesome.
I, uhhhh, found a lot to like in the 2.5 hour runtime. Like a kid, I marveled at Superman doing what he does best, and modern filmmaking shows that in a whole new light. But the movie only sporadically worked for me.
In the pre-release discussion, I basically called it my "guarded optimism". I was right to be optimistic...and right to be guarded about it. It's a movie with it's heart on it's sleeve. As it should be. It's Superman
Speaking of, my main worry was regarding the star. Mostly channeling Reeve (with quite a few of the same lines), Routh still brought something special to the role, and I believed him as Clark (too infrequent) and as Superman. He isn't going to win Oscars, but I liked him.
There's a pretty decent-sized list of what didn't work for me, and I'm sure I'll discuss it ad nauseum in the appropriate thread. I'll summarize:
Spacey as Luthor - none of the charm of Hackman. Some funny lines (blackly delivered), but nothing beyond that. Lex should really be a lot more than a bully.
Bosworth as Lane (with special mention for the writers) - straight up, she's a callous, selfish bitch through much of the film. The performance is whats on the page, so maybe Kate isn't to blame. But I didn't like Lois. I didn't see why Superman likes her. I didn't see why her fiance liked her. The biggest misstep of the film for me. The movie died when she was on-screen, minus a nice moment or two. That doesn't help when she gets most of the screen-time. She might look better than Kidder, but that's it. Kidder was far superior as Lois.
The tone had a few outliers...the opening scene (which should have been the second scene, as the actual second scene was set up with the brilliant credits - in Smallville) with Lex was good for a laugh. But way out of place. As was the sadism from Lex and goons. I know the movie is PG-13, but it felt out of place. Lastly on my grief list (which I've spent too much time on), it's clear Singer loved Donner's film. Too clear :frowning: I haven't seen it in a few years, and I still noticed double-digit references (or outright lines, beats).
I loved the score, I liked the direction, I liked the scope, and I loved the Superman action scenes. I loved them. I still recommend the film, and will be at the earliest showing of 2. With a logo shirt and everything. I'm glad he's back on the big-screen. Everyone labored to make a great film, and made a decent one with the efforts.
Superman is hard to get right. Maybe the next time will be the charm.
7.5/10,
Chuck
EDIT: I love, love, LOVE the opening shot right before the credits. Just awesome.