Tuesday, July 04, 2006
SUPERMAN RETURNS review (7/06)
(This is my most recent piece, July'06)
Hollywood long ago witnessed the emergence of the fanboy director, whose chief motivation seemed to be to honor their favorite precedessors by faithfully echoing their framing, lighting, and acting styles.
Some succeed because they are able to incorporate film tradition into the service of current stories. Many fail because they only capture the surface effects of the past and not the storytelling that gave them their power.
I’m well familiar with this phenomenon in my own pop culture arena of choice, comic books, where the fanboys and fangirls have been in charge for over two decades. I remember well when Neal Adams began to draw his renowned run of Green Lantern comics. In his first issue he purposefully incorporated Green Lantern poses popularized by the originating artist Gil Kane. As a reader I applauded how he established a continuity between the tradition and the new visual trail he was blazing.
Thus what impresses me about SUPERMAN RETURNS is how much of a fanboy movie it is. Not for the Superman comics references it incorporates (Luthor’s yacht and his long white coat, both taken from John Byrne’s mid-80’s Superman revival series), but rather the reincorporation of the 1978 Richard Donner Superman film.
Some of director Bryan Singer’s swipes are obvious, such as the use of Marlon Brando’s voice-over, the title credits, and John Williams’ theme music.
But Singer’s choices are much deeper than that. Brandon Routh seems to have been cast because he could faithfully affect the voice and mannerisms of Christopher Reeves’ version of the character. However this direction continues into the performance of Kevin Spacey, who frequently incorporates Gene Hackman’s interpretation. That veteran Spacey would be more successful than newcomer Routh is not a surprise, but what is interesting is that Singer is obviously insisting on these approaches.
Where Singer’s obsession is best utilized is during the Superman/Lois flying scene. Every Superman fan groaned painfully in the Donner film when Reeve soared for the first time with Margot Kidder, accompanied by a jarring sappy song-poem. Singer takes advantage of his power to re-do that scene “right”. And how he does it is with a small, but incredibly evocative shot of Kate Bosworth’s Lois stepping up on to Superman’s boots in order to be supported. That small scene perfectly captures the intimacy of the characters that no syrupy voiceover could achieve.
Sadly Bosworth’s Lois isn’t directed to have the spark and spunk of Kidder, or even of their joint ancestor, tv’s Noel Neill. In one critical scene when Lois suddenly discovers she’s on Luthor’s yacht, the moment calls for a feisty attitude that the screenwriters and director fail to deliver. Sadly this lack of even basic dimensionality mushes up one of the story’s key characters.
Where Singer shines is in how he incorporates a more subtle influence from superhero comic books, the effective juxtapositioning of extreme changes in perspective. Singer is especially effective in how he cuts to close-ups to help provide emotional weight to a scene, the abovementioned toe-stepping scene being the best example.
Credit must also be given to Singer and his screenwriting colleagues Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris for creating a love triangle I’ve never seen in this genre, and without spoiling it, the resolution admirably avoids generic cliches and successfully achieves a contemporary emotional resonance.
All in all, 3 stars. Well worth a Saturday afternoon matinee with popcorn.
Hollywood long ago witnessed the emergence of the fanboy director, whose chief motivation seemed to be to honor their favorite precedessors by faithfully echoing their framing, lighting, and acting styles.
Some succeed because they are able to incorporate film tradition into the service of current stories. Many fail because they only capture the surface effects of the past and not the storytelling that gave them their power.
I’m well familiar with this phenomenon in my own pop culture arena of choice, comic books, where the fanboys and fangirls have been in charge for over two decades. I remember well when Neal Adams began to draw his renowned run of Green Lantern comics. In his first issue he purposefully incorporated Green Lantern poses popularized by the originating artist Gil Kane. As a reader I applauded how he established a continuity between the tradition and the new visual trail he was blazing.
Thus what impresses me about SUPERMAN RETURNS is how much of a fanboy movie it is. Not for the Superman comics references it incorporates (Luthor’s yacht and his long white coat, both taken from John Byrne’s mid-80’s Superman revival series), but rather the reincorporation of the 1978 Richard Donner Superman film.
Some of director Bryan Singer’s swipes are obvious, such as the use of Marlon Brando’s voice-over, the title credits, and John Williams’ theme music.
But Singer’s choices are much deeper than that. Brandon Routh seems to have been cast because he could faithfully affect the voice and mannerisms of Christopher Reeves’ version of the character. However this direction continues into the performance of Kevin Spacey, who frequently incorporates Gene Hackman’s interpretation. That veteran Spacey would be more successful than newcomer Routh is not a surprise, but what is interesting is that Singer is obviously insisting on these approaches.
Where Singer’s obsession is best utilized is during the Superman/Lois flying scene. Every Superman fan groaned painfully in the Donner film when Reeve soared for the first time with Margot Kidder, accompanied by a jarring sappy song-poem. Singer takes advantage of his power to re-do that scene “right”. And how he does it is with a small, but incredibly evocative shot of Kate Bosworth’s Lois stepping up on to Superman’s boots in order to be supported. That small scene perfectly captures the intimacy of the characters that no syrupy voiceover could achieve.
Sadly Bosworth’s Lois isn’t directed to have the spark and spunk of Kidder, or even of their joint ancestor, tv’s Noel Neill. In one critical scene when Lois suddenly discovers she’s on Luthor’s yacht, the moment calls for a feisty attitude that the screenwriters and director fail to deliver. Sadly this lack of even basic dimensionality mushes up one of the story’s key characters.
Where Singer shines is in how he incorporates a more subtle influence from superhero comic books, the effective juxtapositioning of extreme changes in perspective. Singer is especially effective in how he cuts to close-ups to help provide emotional weight to a scene, the abovementioned toe-stepping scene being the best example.
Credit must also be given to Singer and his screenwriting colleagues Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris for creating a love triangle I’ve never seen in this genre, and without spoiling it, the resolution admirably avoids generic cliches and successfully achieves a contemporary emotional resonance.
All in all, 3 stars. Well worth a Saturday afternoon matinee with popcorn.
# posted by Mike Friedrich @ 5:33 PM 
