[Dean's World] Dean: Superman Does Indeed Return

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Posted by Dean:
Superman Does Indeed Return
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1151971264.shtml


   Because they were sold out we didn't wind up seeing it until today.
   [1]We saw it in the Imax experience, and that's exactly the right word
   for it: experience.

   As I have mentioned, I'm not much of a Superman fan. I like him but
   don't love him. Also, while some may think it rude to speak poorly of
   the late Christopher Reeve, in truth I never cared that much for his
   portrayal of the character. He did Clark Kent exceedingly well, but as
   Supes himself he was just okay. I also thought he was far too skinny
   for the role. Superman in the original comics was always
   barrel-chested big, and I always thought Christopher Reeve was far too
   slender for the role. Superman's supposed to have a heavyweight
   boxer's body, not a swimmer's body.

   And so, predictably, I feel much the same about Brandon Routh, since
   his body type is virtually identical to Christopher Reeve's. A willowy
   Superman just doesn't work for me.

   That said, I think the script, the direction, and the portrayal by
   Routh is probably the best treatment of the Superman franchise put to
   film to date. Routh is excellent. So is Kevin Spacey. And, while I've
   heard some snarky comments about Kate Bosworth's Lois Lane, I really
   liked her a lot. I thought she was pitch perfect in fact.

   The movie also illustrates something that I've said many times in
   recent years: comic book movies should be made by people who loved
   comics growing up and still have a fondness for them today, and
   therefore understand why people who like them want to see these
   movies. Until very recently--the late 1990s at the earliest--almost no
   comic book movies were made that way. In recent years, we've seen a
   spate of them, including The Matrix, the X-Men movies, the Spider-Man
   movies, the new Batman movie (forget the earlier ones), and now,
   Superman Returns. These have all been movies made by comic book fans,
   and by artists who appreciate what's good about comic books and who
   really want to translate that experience to the big screen.

   Sure, the special effects help. But the scripts, the direction, and
   the acting are far more important. And this film really does manage to
   deliver dramatically, entirely aside from the gorgeous cinematography
   and effects.

   Indeed, I was very skeptical that these movies were made as a sequel
   to the first two Superman movies, but ignoring all the later ones. Now
   I have to say it's an inspired choice. They did it very well, not only
   managing to capture what was great about the comic books, but to also
   pull out what was good about the first two Superman movies with
   Christopher Reeve... and to pull out what wasn't good about them, and
   to ignore the worthless movies beyond those two.

   So. This is almost entirely wholsome family entertainment, and loads
   of fun. I took my 8 year old son and one of his best friends, and they
   absolutely loved it. Jake thought it may have been the coolest movie
   he ever saw. And hey, if I can share that with my son, that's worth
   ten times the price of admission.

   Okay, all that said:

   If you see this thing, find your nearest Imax theater, and go to it.
   It was simply stunning in Imax. The 3-D sections were easily the best
   3-D I've ever seen--in any venue, under any circumsdtances. But even
   without those sections, it was so eye-poppingly beautiful and
   edge-of-your-seat nailbiting I really can't put words to it. I'll just
   say that I cannot possibly imagine bothering to see it on a regular
   70mm film screen. What would the point be? Find your local Imax
   theater, take your kids, your niecers and nephews, and pay the extra
   two or three bucks a ticket, and just go. It will absolutely be worth
   every penny, and every second.

   It was truly wonderful.

References

   1. http://www.imax.com/ImaxWeb/filmDetail.do?type=nowPlaying&movieID=code__.__53303