Superman Rebooted (1 Viewer)

[Greg_S_H]

I know a little about the path to SR. Giant spiders, Banky and Holden, powers from the suit. I still think if they made a great movie without Singer, without retelling the origin and without Superkid, you could enjoy it.

I saw every Superman movie except IV and Returns in their theatrical debut, and don't mind tying into the first two (though, I don't love the idea), but the screenplay whiffed every pitch, IMO.

 

[RobertR]

Of course, those nutty ideas and Singer's approach were hardly the only possibilities.

 

[TerryRL]

Singer's approach (making SR a follow-up instead of a reboot) became the safest route to travel because the first two Superman movies were the biggest hits of the franchise at that time, as well as (still) being considered two of the best films of the genre. Plus, Singer had "name recognition" from his stint with the X-Men franchise and his hiring immediately made SR one of 2006's most anticipated releases.

While I think that Singer delivered a good movie, it wasn't the movie that a lot of fans were hoping for. WB could've lived with the lower-than-expected box office haul had the movie sold a ton of merchandise (it didn't) and went on to become a huge hit on DVD (it didn't). Believe me when I say that the next Superman movie, regardless of who directs it, will be very heavy on the action and much less the "family drama" SR ended up being.

'Man of Steel' is going to be a very epic (as well as expensive) movie that will have Superman showcasing his powers in a huge fist fight with a super powered villain. The only real suspense is who the studio chooses to direct the movie. The studio feels that Superman is one of the three biggest superheroes in history (along with Batman and Spider-Man) and the next film should reflect that at the box office.

Whoever ends up at the helm of the new movie will have a lot of pressure from the studio to deliver a monster hit (i.e. a domestic haul well north of $300 million).

 

[TerryRL]

MSN's take on the next Superman feature...

"Superman: The Man of Steel" (2011?): We've written before about the disappointment of 2006's "Superman Returns," but to recap: Director Bryan Singer just seemed to remake portions of the original "Superman" while adding little that was new, Brandon Routh failed to make a strong... more impression as the Man of Steel, and Lex Luthor has worn out his welcome as a villain. Comics writer Mark Millar ("Wanted," "Kick-Ass") has recently expressed interest in writing a new, ultra-dark "Superman" trilogy, but we've got plenty of brooding already with our pal in Gotham City. So once again, if anyone's listening: Find a new director, find an older, more majestic star, and make a glorious spectacle about a bright, determined Superman battling a cosmic menace. We'll believe a man can fly ... again.

Here's a link to the full article...
Can Comic Book Movies Turn the Page? - MSN Movies

 

[RobertR]

I agree completely with that analysis, and would add that the "Superman has a kid" plot was worthless, and there was no chemistry with Lois.

 

[Will_B]

Brandon Routh is now four or five years older, so, done.

 

[Norm]

My biggest problem with Singer & some of these other directors namely Rami. Is the fact that they try to shy away from things like costumes(Green Goblin2) & in Singers case away from things that come off to fantastic ala strange villains or creatures or even weird events. Things that are the norm in the comic book world. Singer played it real safe in SR by not having a comic book super powered villain. Which in the end hurt the movie & made it too much of a Superman 1 retread.

 

[Will_B]

But he did manage to avoid the cliche of having a super powered villain. It is a difficult one to avoid, and films like Iron Man and the recent Hulk and the previous Hulk resorted to it (as well as the Spidermans). The "spectacular fight in the last act" is one of the most boring elements of comic book films, because it has been done to death. Sometimes it can still be done successfully, but often it is predictable. The recent Batman avoided it, because although the villain was wild and spectacular, there was no "big fight".

 

[RobertR]

Not everyone objects to a super powered villain. As you point out, it can be done well. What I'm reading from people is that they want to see an all out demonstration of Superman's powers, as in kicking ass on a Kryptonian scale.

 

[TerryRL]

I agree with Robert.

It's been more than 20 years since we've seen Superman putting his full powers on display. I would love to see him throwing down using today's technology. Of all the recent good guy/bad guy fights in superhero movies, the best one (imo) was the Spidey/Doc Ock battle on the train in Spidey 2 (which was a major improvement over the final fight with Goblin in the first movie).

I also thought that while "Iron Man" was a really good movie, the fight with Iron Monger at the end was probably the film's weakest action sequence. I firmly believe that Superman showing off his Kryptonian skills in a knockdown/drag-out has the potential (under the right director) to top what Raimi was able to do with Spidey 2's train sequence.

 

[mattCR]

I think part of what makes the "final battle" sequences, which are common in comic book films a let down is that it doesn't seem to have any real consequence. That was something that I did like about "Iron Man" that while the battle at the end was somewhat blah, what it represented really meant something.

It's where I was most dissappointed in XMen3.. I thought that film took on one of the best potential issues out there for X-Men: what if you could stop being an X-Man? It was something the comic books and cartoon series did very well, but the film couldn't really get across and had to fall back on Dark Phoenix.

If you're going to do the bit with Superman and full powers on display, then I think you can involve super-villains, but you're almost better off if they come up with something that he has to battle against that isn't a supervillain by design.

I think doing a Superman movie is going to take a lot of really interesting writing.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The easiest way to make a good Superman film is to create a strong Clark Kent emotional arc to balance the heroics as Superman. Give the two personas equal time, and make sure his battle as Superman has consequences for his life as Clark Kent.

 

[Sam Favate]

Then you haven't read this thread very carefully, because there are several of us who feel exactly that way.

Superman Returns was the best Superman movie since the 1978 original. It was, as I said at the time, a movie finally worthy of the legend.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Wow, intense debate abounds in this thread now. I especially liked Terry's posts, I never really fully understood what a mess Singer was walking into with SR and the astronomical expectations that were weighing on him and the film.

I am a big fan of SR, I really loved the fact that we had a Superman movie that gave us some insight on what it's like to be Superman, the loneliness involved and the thought that maybe we didn't need him anymore. Sure there could have been a huge balls to the wall fight with a super villain but I also believe in being patient, the film taking it's time and being a quieter Superman film is one of it's charms.

I assumed that there would be plenty of time in the next film for a big super fight and so I never sweated it, besides I really enjoyed Kevin Spacey as Lex, not as multi-faceted and complex as, say, Michael Rosenbaum's take but much better than Hackman's which I never liked.

I seriously hope they axe the reboot idea...been there, done that, and for shits sake drop this uber dark-toned Superman idea!!!! If I want dark and brooding i'll visit Gotham City, I want Supes as bright and bold as that 'S' on his chest! Yes SR was a darker film than the others but from what i've been hearing they plan to go even darker than that which is insanely inappropriate for Supes and they would be nuts to do that.

Bring back Singer and Routh and give them the chance to make a bigger film which i'm sure they were planning to do in the next installment anyway.

 

[MattFini]

Well said, John.

I couldn't agree more. I loved SR and have viewed it many times since it's release two years ago. For my money there aren't many better comic book adaptations out there.

I want to see a sequel to that movie but, if they want to go the reboot route, I'll definitely have less anticipation.

 

[RobertR]

Comments made on a message board don't contradict the idea of not having "met" someone who thought SR was great. The film did "ok" boxoffice, not great, which is the best indication of how most people felt about it.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

One thing I meant to mention about why I love SR is that it's almost as if they took that song 'Superman' by Five For Fighting and turned it into a movie.

Always liked that song.

 

[TerryRL]

A dark Superman is a bad idea because the character is supposed to be the opposite of DC's other big gun, Batman. Superman is considered a boy scout while Batman earned the moniker of 'Dark Knight'. As evidenced by the first two movies, you can make a great Superman film without going the dark route. Dark works for Batman, but would be out of place with Superman.

One of the things I dig about "Smallville" is that the show does deal with some dark elements, but Clark essentially remains everyone's moral compass (i.e. a boy scout). I understand WB has trouble making the character more "of the time" for today's movie-going audiences, but it can be done. Despite the show's sillier elements, I think "Smallville" has done a good job at making the character accessible for audiences today.

 

[todd s]

I so wanted to like SR. I didn't. I disliked the whole sequel to a 30yr old movie. Having superkid and Lex as the same plot as the original. I thought Routh was ok. I love...Absolutely loved the plane rescue. If they ever did a reboot that scene would have been the PERFECT way to introduce Superman. From the first glimpse of him through the window to the stadium filled of gawking witnesses.

The movie did something that hurt it. It split the fans. If I would have liked it. I would have seen it more than once.

Also, I spoke to my nephew who was 20 and in college when the movie came out. He and a bunch of friends saw it. While they knew that Reeve was once Superman. They barely remember seeing the first one on tv/dvd, etc. And while they could figure out certain story plots. They were turned off by it at the same time. She has a kid thats Supes. Yet, doesn't know who he is. (Yes, I and you know about the superkiss from II). But, most of the general public doesn't.

I hope they go with the reboot. Even if they keep Routh. But, recast Lois. Get rid of the kid and that he disappeared for 5 yrs after telling the Pres in Supes 2 that he wouldn't leave them again. Also, have Lex as corporate exec who is behind the plots against Supes. For example have him create Metallo or be the one that somehow contacts Brainiac. He should be just far enough from the plot that Supes knows he is behind it. Yet, far enough to be "legally" clear.

 

[Jason Seaver]

And even with those, it's not hard to accept that they are outliers; those pop up online all the time (heck, dig through this thread and you'll probably find me saying that X-Men 3 is one of the more clever superhero movies to come out recently, what with it being a metaphor for the abortion controversy and all). I think even fans of Superman Returns will acknowledge that the general reaction is "indifference tilting slightly toward the negative". That's not the sort of movie that gets a sequel, especially one likely to cost $200M.

I really do find myself amazed that Warner can't find a Superman proposal that they like, though. Not completely surprised - for a character that's been around 70 years, it's tough to think of with a great story from the comics to adapt or use as an influence, especially one that doesn't involve the larger DC universe - but, geez, it's Superman we're talking about. There should be enough people interested in it that one of them comes up with a filmable idea.