Superman Returns, directed by Bryan Singer
Enjoying a big blockbuster like other filmgoers, I wanted mine even bigger. So I trotted off with my son to the local IMAX cinema to see, “Superman Returns,” the latest film from Bryan Singer (X Men I and II). Anything you see in this format is impressive. This one also promised three dimensions. I will get into that aspect later.
The film is very reminiscent of the Donner pictures. Singer uses John Williams famous score liberally throughout, and even many of the same camera moves around the flying figure, are repeated in this film as well, from the jubilant boy romping through the cornfields to the dashing young man flying over Metropolis in his red boots and blue tights. Even villain Lex Luthor has the same gags with the wigs covering his ‘chrome dome.’ Singer also directed Kevin Spacey in “The Usual Suspects.” His banal underplayed performance belies his extraordinary talent, creating the villain you love to hate. You’ll love the dog joke.
Singer has breathed a little fresh air into the performances of newcomers Brandon Routh (Superman) and Kate Bosworth (Lois Lane). The lovers reunite under a cloud of ‘where have you been?’ suspicion. In fact, the film stumbles in the beginning with the same awkwardness Kent feels when returning after five years. Jimmy Olsen is no longer a trim kid with a necktie, but a bumbling pudgy idiot. He’s so bad with a camera, that his blurred picture of Superman re-creates the old joke: “What is it? A bird? A plane? No, its…”
Frank Langella’s Perry White is also toned down, filled with dead pan in all the right places, played more for comedy than White’s trademark irascibility. The mother, played by time honored (and Brando co-star) Eva Marie Saint as the kindly Mrs. Kent, still there for Clark, though she must be getting up there in age. Jack Larson, the original Jimmy from television, even shows up in a clever cameo. Brando is re-created from his appearance in the first film. Though, had he been around, I’m certain he would have sued Warner Brothers (it kept him out of the sequels, if you recall. Superman saw his mother, instead.)
The film has the same beautiful sweeping vistas. Cinemaphotographer Newton Sigel (worked with Singer on Apt Pupil and Xmen) creates a rich deep film with an incredible palate of dark colors. Even the Super-suit is toned down.
The film has a few surprises, and a very good weepy ending. If you really like Superman, I highly recommend the IMAX experience. It beats the old 70mm format by a mile. Each scene is rich with detail and the three dimensions in at least one scene is definitely worth the increase price in ticket.
Now here’s the bad news. The incredible opening with its zooming titles and phenomenal CGI moves through the galaxy is not, repeat IS NOT in 3-D! My biggest question to WB would be, WHY? Of all the sequences in the film, this should be the one to WOW the audience from the start. Instead, the first 3-D comes at the farmhouse. Where? You might ask. That’s right, the farmhouse. D-U-L-L ! However, because of the large screen format and the next two 3-D sequences, I will forgive you Warner Brothers for not entirely ruining the IMAX experience. There are four five-minute sequences. That’s all folks!
I give “Superman Returns” high marks for bringing quality to the second DC film this year (the first being the stinker X-III). Singer knows how to deliver this kind of film and does not disappoint.
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