He's the man of steel. Easily the most popular comic book character ever created. (I didn't say my favorite, I said most popular.) He's seen numerous incarnations: comic books, radio dramas, movies, television...you name it, Superman has been there. But he was perhaps best portrayed in the Warner Brothers movies in the 70's and 80's. Superman and Superman II set a standard for comic book movies and it's star Christopher Reeve made you believe a man can fly. (Superman III and IV? Well, we don't really talk about those.) So, when it came time for Superman to return to the big screen after a 19 year absence from the movies, expectations were high. This could be one of the greatest comic book movies ever.
Meh.
Superman did indeed return to the theaters this summer. It has action. It has a man in tights flying around a city that looks like metropolis. It has a bald guy chewing up scenary and threatening said man in tights with green crystals. They just seem to have forgotten one thing.
A movie.
Warner Brothers has been trying to bring Superman back for some years. Superman rumors seemed to become jokes on movie websites. Directors and writers came and went. So did actors who were to play the man of steel himself. (At least Nicolas Cage didn't get the role.) At one point, Kevin Smith was hired to come out and write a script. But he too was told his services were no longer needed. In the end, they probably could have used the guy who wrote Mallrats to get this one right.
This movie is missing something. Maybe it's the spirit of the first movies. Maybe it's the fun the director of the first movie, and most of the second movie (Richard Donner), managed to infuse into it. Maybe they just shouldn't have tried to make a sequel for a movie that many people hold to be religion in movie making.
Whatever this movie was missing, it left me feeling, well, nothing. No passion, no fun. Just plain, nothing.
Warner Brothers had originally planned to do a remake of Superman. Start him again from scratch. Then Batman Begins came out, and they decided to go another way. Maybe they thought that they didn't want to do the same thing Batman did. Maybe they didn't want this to be a Smallville movie. Regardless of the reason, they decided to make this a sequel to the first two Superman movies (ignoring III and IV, which I do have to say, was a rather good idea).
The problem with this is that when you make a sequel, and change the actors (which they obviously had to do here), the new actors really aren't able to put their own touch on the role. Instead of recreating Superman/Clark Kent, Brandon Routh is trying to do his very best Christopher Reeve impersonation. And as it turns out, that's not all that interesting to watch.
Kate Bosworth went a different route with her portrayel of Lois Lane: sleep-walking through the role. Her "hard-hitting, gritty reporter" act came off as bored in most situations she was in. She lacked the fire and attitude Margot Kidder brought to the role. And when you take that away from Lois Lane, you're left with pretty much nothing.
Kevin Spacey was the one bright spot in the cast. He's deliciously evil, and out for revenge, as well as a buck. Perfect Lex Luthor. I just wish he had played him in a better movie.
The rest of the supporting cast is left with little to do. Sam Huntington who played Jimmy Olsen was, well, there. Kal Penn was woefully underused as one of Luthor's thugs. Parker Posey was annoying. Not in a fun way, just plain annoying.
There were some parts of this movie I liked. The entire scene where Superman saves the plane from crashing is great. Pure Superman. Unfortunately it comes far too early in the movie, leaving nothing left for the movie but to go downhill.
In the end, I'm giving Superman Returns 2 out of 5 kryptonite crystals. It had a couple of kinda fun scenes, but it could have been so much more. I left the theater thinking that they didn't try all that hard. They seemed kind of impressed with themselves that they were finally getting to make a Superman movie at all. Overall feeling from me was a simple meh.
Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
I have to admit that I didn’t want to see the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie.I mean, it was a movie based on a ride at Disney.What would be next?It’s A Small World?Teacups?I had to be dragged to see it.
And damn was I ever wrong with that one.The movie was fun, exciting, funny…pretty much everything a summer blockbuster should be.And watching Johnny Depp in that first movie was to see a legend being created.He took what could have been a token character and made it…well, made Captain Jack Sparrow.
But what about it’s sequel?I heard that they were filming the next two pirate movies back to back.A movie that changes the way movies are looked at having two sequels made at the same time?Sound a bit like the Matrix trilogy to anyone else?Yeah, I was worried.
Luckily, my worries were completely unfounded.This movie rocks.
This is the movie we’ve been waiting for this summer.It’s funny, has great characters who go through real arcs as the story progressed, has amazing visual effects, incredible action scenes, and is easily the most fun I’ve had at the movies this year.
The movie starts with the arrest of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swan for their help in the escape of Captain Jack Sparrow.They’re told that Will has to find Jack and acquire his compass, or else Elizabeth will be executed for her crimes.Will, being the lovesick puppy that we all know him to be, leaves for his journey without question.He has no idea where to find Jack, or how he’ll get the compass when he does find him, but none of that matters now.It has to be done.
Jack, meanwhile, is having problems of his own.After his entrance in the movie (which I actually loved more than his entrance in the first movie), he learns that Davy Jones is looking for him.It seems he sold his soul to Jones in order to be Captain of the Black Pearl for thirteen years, and those years are now up.Jack has a plan though that should get Jones off his back for good.
That’s the basic start of the plot.From there, the movie takes you on numerous twists and turns, involving Elizabeth joining with Jack, and Will meeting with someone from his past in the crew of Davy Jones.Also popping back up in this movie is former Commodore Norrington, whose life has become destroyed by his relentless search for Jack Sparrow.He’s lost his title, his standing, and everything that was once important to him, left only with his quest for vengeance.His character is an incredible addition to this movie and I loved him.The actor has so much more to do in this movie than the last, and he relishes the chance.Brilliant performance.
At no point does this movie stop being just plain fun.Sure, the cannibal scene was kind of pointless in the overall plot of the movie, but it was so much fun, no one really cares.
And the visual effects are amazing.The crew of Davy Jones are the best creature effects I have ever seen in a movie.With most of the shots, it’s hard to tell where the make-up ends and the CGI begins.Perfect.And the Kraken is unbelievable.When it attacks the ships, you start to feel real terror.As in, “Whoa, some of these guys might actually not make it through this.”These scenes blew me away.
And I feel I should also say something about the fight between Will, Jack, and Norrington on the giant wheel.Great stuff.Some people said it went on so long that it became unrealistic.The movie is about sea monsters attacking pirates.Let’s leave our ideas about realism at the door, shall we?
I’m giving Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest 5 bottles of rum out of 5.I almost feel like I should take a bit away for the cliffhanger at the end.But I actually loved the way it ended.The audience literally gasped at the final shot of the movie, and then screamed, “NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!” when the credits came, realizing that they would have to wait until May of 2007 to see the rest.The ending guaranteed I will be there for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, and if these past two movies are any indication, I’ll have a hell of a good time with it too.
