Superman Returns; the most underated superhero movie in a while?

[Deak Starkiller]

Pros
Routh, great Superman with nothing to do
Perry White, Langella was cool
Cyclops but he also shouldn't be more sympathetic than Supes
music

Cons
Kate Bosworth (eat a sammich) no chemistry with Clark and she had a wig
the Kid breaks the character
Cyclops being too likable and well rounded as a character
Lex LUTHOR it's not pronounced LUTHER thanks Smallville
rehash of Donner's Superman
Lex all about land (see rehash remark)
Superman doesn't fight anyone but a plane
the costume, low rise tights? Sheesh!

And I know people hate on Hancock but he got to do more in his movie than Supes did in his. Hancock is IMO a better Superhero movie, by far. Superman Returns gets a C- in my book, Singer is a great director but this film is anchored both positively and negatively by Donner's film.

 

[Cap'n Cook]

Hancock is IMO a better Superhero movie, by far.

You serious?!? I thought Hancock was an absolute crapper of a film. Convoluted plot, confusing mismash of genres. Just plain awful.

I really enjoyed Superman Returns after a few viewings. Routh was excellent.

 

[Nocturne]

I found Hancock a damn site more entertaining than Superman Returns.

Which is a shame as I really wanted to enjoy the movie, absolutely loved the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, been watching them since I was 3 (am 25 now) so have even been able to enjoy 3 & 4 when you're too young to realise that they could've been a lot better.

The movie just dragged so much, as important as character development etc is It's Superman I want to see him be Super! The movie peaked far too early with the Plane save and then seemed to spend the rest of the film trying to catch up.

What would you rather have seen Superman take or Darkseid or lift a huge Rock!

And I think enough has been said about the kid and Kate Bosworth already.

Did like Spacey's Luthor there, easily played with more Menace and less camp than Gene Hackman's. Routh was easily the best thing in the movie though.

 

[pixletwin]

There is no embarassing moment in SR.... I wish I could say the same for the original Superman.. That scene of Lois Lane flying with Superman and that dumb voiceover she does of the lyrics to John Williams Can You Read My Mind stands out to me as one of the worst superhero movie moments of all time.

SR > Superman

 

[OSCORP]

There is no embarassing moment in SR.... I wish I could say the same for the original Superman.. That scene of Lois Lane flying with Superman and that dumb voiceover she does of the lyrics to John Williams Can You Read My Mind stands out to me as one of the worst superhero movie moments of all time.

SR > Superman

You're dead to me.

 

[pixletwin]

Oh come on. You're telling me that you like that scene?

 

[Deckard]

I voted yes, I do think it's underrated.

My thing is, it's great flick, but not really a great Superman flick.

Superhero movies are too common now, and Lex Luthor just can't hold up in a realistic, physicaly threatening way to some of the other baddies we've got. Like Doc Ock or Ras Al Ghul.

 

[OSCORP]

Oh come on. You're telling me that you like that scene?

It's not my favorite. But if i put myself in clarks(or lois's) shoes i think it's very nice yeah. I only wish Routh and Bosworth had that kinda chemistry.

 

[pixletwin]

Well I'll be.

 

[RJMacReady16]

It's underrated but it isn't great. In fact it's extremely flawed but....

Spoiler

It's better than the originals....

 

[OSCORP]

STM is my favorite Superhero movie of any comic or superhero movie.(but then again i think TDK was overrated)

 

[Deak Starkiller]

You serious?!? I thought Hancock was an absolute crapper of a film. Convoluted plot, confusing mismash of genres. Just plain awful.

I really enjoyed Superman Returns after a few viewings. Routh was excellent.

It is IMO. Look he is way more interesting than Supes, has more to do, and is well rounded where as Supes is the creepy ex-boyfriend stalking that skinny chick and Cyclops who again is more engaging than Kal/Clark. Effects, pace, story, shots, are all superior in Hancock than Superman Returns. Speaking from a technical standpoint Hancock is a better film. Again this is just my opinion.

 

[Deckard]

It sort of set a bar for itself with that saving the airplane scene, and then nothing else lived up to that.

And the ending couldn't have been more boring. And of course, giving him a kid was downright retarded. You just rebooted the character for the first time in a while, you went out of your way to get this guy that does a great Clark Kent, then you set him up to be replaced by some little asthma kid? Bleh.

 

[CristiMAN]

Just catching up with this thread. Nice topic. The main problem is the lack of situations in wich Superman can show his powers with todays special effects. I did enjoy the movie to a certain level. But the biggest disapointment was the way Luthor was portraited. It should mirror todays corporate mega villains with political powers. I would love to see Luthor in the white house with unlimited resources to get rid of Superman and convince the world that Kal-El is the bad guy. Luthor is an amazing bad guy. But not this way: a clown that had to have sex with an old lady to get money. Pure crap. So crappy it's scary.

 

[Khev]

The whole climax with the earth on pins and needles while Supes was in the hospital caused one of my friends to refer to the movie as "Man of Steel Magnolias."

 

[OSCORP]

Another movie not as bad as the internetwebs want ya to believe.

SR 7.5/10
STM 10/10
Superman 2 8.5(lester cut) (donner cut)9/10


Superman 3 4/10
Superman 4 4/10

 

[The Drizzle]

I found Hancock a damn site more entertaining than Superman Returns.

Which is a shame as I really wanted to enjoy the movie, absolutely loved the Christopher Reeve Superman movies

My experience exactly. Hancock was not a perfect film by a long shot, but I was entertained. Good effects shots, and good interpersonal dialog, etc. It was mostly fun.
Superman Returns was a confusing mishmash that never should have referenced the Donner films, (too much time had passed), added a totally character-destroying child subplot, and Brandon Routh was a wussy, unconvincing Superman. The last word I would use to describe Routh is "manly". He seems too boyish to be Superman. Superman is THE "real man" of comics. The casting of that film in general was just rotten.

 

[Batty]

It wasn't perfect (for reasons already mentioned), but I enjoyed it. The positives outweigh the negatives for me. And it allowed us to have excellent HT figures.

 

[TheObsoleteMan]

It wasn't perfect (for reasons already mentioned), but I enjoyed it. The positives outweigh the negatives for me. And it allowed us to have excellent HT figures.

HT Jor-El was definitely the best thing to come out of the movie.

 

[The Drizzle]

Superhero movies are too common now, and Lex Luthor just can't hold up in a realistic, physicaly threatening way to some of the other baddies we've got. Like Doc Ock or Ras Al Ghul.

Lex Luthor needed to have operated on a whole other level then what Spacey did in SR. Luthor needs to be a totally political/businesslike animal. He needs tendrils sunk into secret government projects, Wall Street, and Government offices. Spacey's Luthor was still based in thuggery like Hackman. The best portrayal of Luthor in entertainment so far has been the Luthor of the last couple seasons of the Justice League cartoons- a Luthor that hides his evil under a veneer of public goodness and political connections that makes it hard for Supes to strike out at him without looking like a bad guy. He has to outthink him rather than beat him down, which is a tougher villain for a man of steel. He has all the brawn in the world, but that doesn't stop one such as Luthor.