You know that James Marsden got lured away from X-Men 3 thinking he was gonna play Superman. And that's the irony - you have James Marsden and Parker Posey, a wonderful Superman and Lois, right there! And yet...
I think he would have been a better Superman and I think Kate Bosworth makes a terrible Lois. Maybe Courtney Cox or Jennifer Connelly should have gotten the role.
I thought James Marsden was better as Richard White than Cyclops, Kate Bosworth and Parker Posey probably should have switched roles. Brandon seemed to have more chemistry with Parker in their short scenes together.
I thought Brandon Routh is great in the role, but yeah, Kate and Posey should’ve probably switched roles. And Marsten’s character didn’t need to be in the movie at all.
Blaming Routh is really a chicken shit thing to do. He's a decent actor, and I like the guy. Like the reviewer says, there is a lot wrong with it. I own the movie, and still enjoy the plane sequence, and the New Krypton lift, but it's really hard sitting through the rest of the movie, waiting for those scenes to happen.
Allan Rivera You are right, blaming Routh was wrong. Blame the director, the editor, the producer and the blind fool who cast this turkey. Routh was miscast and no one can deny that huge mistake and giving him a bad script and a misguided director didn't help him much. He has been cast as The Atom on the CW series THE FLASH and he is just fine in that smaller and controlled role that is not demanding.
***** He looks like Superboy, not Superman. He does not have the build...the physical presence that being Superman demands. It was a sad movie all the way around.
Jeffrey Marx He wasn't miscast. It was wrong for that role to even exist but routh did fine in it. He got the dorky charm down just fine. It's not about liking him but he did what they wanted. The whole acting like the 70s movie was the greatest thing ever was the problem.
Allan Rivera I never blamed Routh. Being miscast has nothing to do with the actor. If you know about the industry, someone is hired to cast and the one for this film screwed up plenty. Routh will be a great actor, but he is un-seasoned, besides being to slim for the part. I like him on The Flash as The Atom (the vAtom I know can get a lot smaller if need be, so lets keep our eyes open). Got it? Ok.
Another reason I think blaming Brandon Routh is wrong is also because when he returned as Superman in crisis on infinite earths, he was great in the role and had a much better suit, so that proves that he can be a good superman if he has a decent script, and also him being older helps too because I do admit, when I saw superman returns, I thought Brandon Routh was too young for the role but when I saw him in crisis, I thought he looked the right age for the role because he was.
This is another case of a filmmaker changing things or deleting things and having it backfire. Routh did just fine. I totally agree with you on the dialogue being bland and Kate Bosworth being terrible.
90% of the time I am disappointed in movie reviews and then proceed to troll.. but this critique is just spot on excellence. Thank you sir for this. This review should be the standard by which reviews are done.
New Rule Media Parker Posey is too obnoxious and irritating to be a sympathetic heroine. That said, if she swapped roles with Bosworth in this film, it would surely have been better than what we got.
Absolutely. Lois Lane was a snappy dame; Bosworth had none of that sparkle. Parker would have been perfect. She's much closer to Margot Kidder's wacky, slightly awkward sexiness.
Bryan Singer has some balls to put any blame on Brandon Routh. While I have to say that I did not like Routh in this movie (though he has been splendid in other films), I agree with Mr. Harper that much of the blame lies with the script. However, I believe that some of the blame lies with Mr. Singer as well, who wanted Routh to channel Reeves version of the character which Routh does well. A better approach would have been to allow Routh to use Reeves take as a jumping off point and allow for some more development, especially in portraying Clark Kent.
This film seemed to go against everything Clark learned by the end of Superman 2 - He has to be selfless and cannot put his own personal needs against those of Earth and its people. Yet in Returns he abandons Earth to pursue a selfish goal. More so, he seems surprised that Lois has moved on. Did he think she'd wait for him? What an egotistical dick!
Common, he kinda could. I mean Lois Lane wasnt interested in him as Clark anyway... so he thought he could do that. maybe he didnt understand how many years that should pass on earth. So didnt really think that through.
I'm very glad that you acknowledge soundtracks... it's something that I think is too often overlooked in reviews. Just don't get me started on the damn video game for this one. Broke my heart, that one.
I do have a little problem with the soundtracks track to Superman Returns though. And it ment to be John williams in sense, but with no jazzy chords. Sometimes some chords in the scores end up flat because they misses the coloring that John Williams used in the music. But its up to date one of the better tries from any composer to write music for a Superman movie. John Williams is still the best.
Yeah man. Differences of opinion make life fun. :) Last night I got to watching your reviews like popping candies - just one after the next after the next for a couple of hours.
The Superman Returns bashing started on opening night, when myself and all my friends saw it and we're bored to tears. Bryan Singer may be the most boring director in Hollywood, and while he may be a fan of Richard Donner's films, he can't recapture their magic. The climax of the film was the opening credits, then it was all downhill from there.
And then Man of Steel made the frustrating and easy mistake of grossly overcompensating that flaw.. Man of Steel sacrificed slower moments and often heart for shit tons of kryptonians punching things.. And the mass destruction caused in Man of Steel was also ridiculous..
Parker Posey should have played Lois Lane and Kate Bosworth should have played Luthor's henchwoman, (which could've been Ms. Tesmacher, who I think Bosworth strongly resembles, and not the random "Kitty Kowalski" character). It would have been perfect casting if those roles had been switched.
Kate did not fit the role of Lois her Lois Lane came off as a total bitch especially when her son tells Clark that she never mentions him after Clark remarks that he was a friend of his mom's. And Clark looked hurt by it she immediately jumps into a relationship the moment she finds out she's pregnant. I can see why she did it she didn't want people getting suspicious considering everyone knows she has the hots for the man of steel. If people knew she had Superman's kid she would never be left alone she would have to go into hiding.
I have such mixed emotions about this movie. On the one hand I admire what Singer was trying to do and the spirit in which it was carried out, but the storyline drags, the lack of a physical adversary for Superman to overcome dulls the otherwise good action, and the reason for Superman leaving just doesn't work. They could have come up with any number of better reasons for him to have disappeared. And once again, the lack of any fight scene just doesn't work. Luthor couldn't have made some weapons to go along with the useless island? I'm not asking for Supes to level a city just to get a fight scene but something more exciting than lifting progressively heavier things would have been nice. The one thing I'll always love about this film, however, is the gorgeous cinematography.
And with this opinion, you are leveling the first Superman movie to the same level of this one... It also doesn't have a single punch and yet everyone says it is the best movie. How can I understand the critics?
I shot all the behind the scenes scoring sessions footage you used in this video. I've been watching a lot of your retrospectives lately, which are fantastic btw, and it was a trip to see something I shot waaaay back in 2006 included in one of your videos. Standing in the middle of the once famous- now dismantled Todd AO scoring stage and hearing the Hollywood orchestra play the Superman theme is definitely one of the greatest experiences of my life.
Bryan Singer in 2011 he did take responsibility for Superman Return's failure. He said more action should've been in the film. He keeps coming up with different excuses all the time. Also I think its the only film of his where he didn't provide a commentary for the DVD release.
He had to be embarrassed by the whole thing.. Superman Returns was his dream project and he seemed to have a great time making it from the behind the scenes footage. Had to be devastating for the movie to come out, make far less at the BO then it was supposed to and get hammered so badly by fans and some critics. Even WB came out and publicly stated their disappointment with it..
I personally think the film was photographed well on set but something has happened during the grading stage and someone has made an error creatively and made the image look very unappealing. I was working as a projectionist when it came out and the 35mm prints looked weak. Superman Returns is probably the weakest looking movie to be filmed on the Panavision Genesis camera.
Despite all the problems, the music to this movie was truely epic. They built on the original score and added a lot more to it than I felt Hans Zimmer did with Man of Steel.
The packages you edit for the beginning/end of your reviews make every film look incredible (even when they're not) - especially Batman and Robin. Holy Cow.
a very good genius retrospect view actually you made me agree on many issues that i hadnt thought about, maybe you could retrospect on why the universe began, id really love to hear that and much respect to you again , i really enjoyed that one. all the best for the future.
Honestly this movie just bored me to tears. I GET that it is a sequel to the Richard Donner Superman films but, that doesn't necessarily mean it's entertaining. Superman/Clark feels like he doesn't have enough dialogue in the film giving him very little character. Yes I will be that guy that complains about the action. For all the faults Man of Steel had it did do something right, the action. I want to see Superman FIGHT something. Superman has a vast rogues gallery yet these movies never used any of them even Man of Steel. Darkseid, Toyman, The Parasite, Doomsday, Metallo..come on guys. There are more villains out there than Lex Luthor and General Zod.
Jarrecko During the scene where Superman and Lois meet on the Daily Planet rooftop and night I actually almost went to sleep. The thing is that's never happened to me when I've watched a movie before. It's quite an accomplishment.
Jarrecko well it's debatable whether darkseid is a superman villain at all. But the fact is most superman villains aren't established as huge threats on his level. Luthor and Brainiac are about the only ones(and brainiac is just luthor as an alien). Atomic skull, metallo, ect their mostly known for muscle. Parasite is not a mastermind. Even new ones like manchester black and silver banshee are not big. In the early comics, superman mostly handled random events much more often than fighting a villain. Since the reboot, he.... still does, and there was a bunch of new ones. Maxima became a good guy and was never considered at his level or had a plan. Cyborg superman is just...stupid. No matter what they do with that character, his villain name is either henry henkshaw or cyborg superman.. Doomsday is just mindless and thats the incarnation that's known. Really, It's only Luthor, Brainiac, and a kryptonian that's usually Zod. Superman does not have great villains. In fact the big ones really don't except for flash and batman. No body remembers most wonder woman villains and she has like thre decent ones, who are kinda redundant(they're all scientist, and one doesn't even use science). Martian manhunters has one. Green arrows are all underpowered unless their green lantern like.. ect. In general good villains are hard to come by
Dialogue isn't always nessecary to give off character. Second i loved the action in Man of Steel at first but then you reach the half way point- 3rd act and realized their just destroying things stupidly and its turned into a Micheal Bay film. Not to mention the depth of character i couldn't feel from Henry. I never thought Superman Returns was perfect however after watching man of steel i began to see why it was so underappreciated.
That's ironic for Brian Singer. His X-men movies not much based on the source material but he made a good job and even influenced comic books but his Superman movie much closer the comic books but not really made well. I think his mistake is he played too safe in Superman , in X-men he made so many bold decisions. The guy is still best X-men director, he knows how to make a good X-men film and I'm happy for his return. Great retrospective by the way, I checked other videos (especially comic book related) and they are really good, your knowledge impressed me. You won a subscriber :D.
Superman Returns, with Brandon Routh was a great ending to the era of Christopher Reeve's legacy. The movie made everyone believe in Christopher Reeve as his was during his prime !
I liked Brandon Routh in the film and, with the unfortunate exception of Kate Bosworth, I thought the cast was pretty great. The plane sequence is incredible.
I do like _Returns_ for being a tribute to the Richard Donner original, but I just find its focusing on a love triangle aspect to be questionable. I can understand Singer might've done it to show that Superman is just as flawed as us humans, but the love triangle doesn't seem like the right thing to focus a _Superman_ film on. It also should've been more action-packed, maybe even use Brainiac as its villain.
Lois Lane, shame on you for writing that article because of your selfish romantic attachment. On second thought, that's not Lois Lane. Margot Kidder is Lois Lane.
I saw this in the theater back in 2006. I was thoroughly unimpressed. The story arc of Superman having a son was just stupid and pointless. I've never given this movie a second viewing nor do I plan to. BTW, I love your channel, Oliver. Its refreshing to see honest, sober movie reviews without all the gimmickry.
I'm with you, as a whole I only saw the movie once...but for some reason, I can't get over the plane scene, the plane scene was excellent...if the movie kept that momentum it would have been a classic.
Bryan Singer still feels Superman Returns was made for a female audience. He still shifts the blame onto others. www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/JoshWildingNewsAndReviews/news/?a=93794
Charles Jannuzi Superman Returns certainly made more money at the box office than BB. But the cost of the film and paying the Brando estate to use his likeness reduced its profit margins. So in the end Batman Begins was more profitable.
Charles Jannuzi I'm going to step back and try to answer your original post question: "What blame does he have to accept?" I think the fact that he feels the need is the point. Regardless of whether or not anybody really needs to blame him, he still apparently finds it necessary to pass it. Generally speaking, SR got good word of mouth but it also got bad; mostlly from people who focused more on the lack of anything new or original. Also, in using the example of comparison, Batman Begins has stood the test of time; many analysts of blockbusters and comic films consider it the best genre movie to this day. I don't see many fans considering SR in the same light. I'm not saying SR is not a good film, but it didn't really "wow" audiences in the way it appears Singer had hoped it would, or that other films such as the Nolan franchise wound up doing.
All films get bad reviews, and most get at least some good ones. I don't think that's what set Singer off. I think people who really like the mythos of Superman probably found more to enjoy in that film than others, and Singer probably "spoke to them" more directly, if that makes any sense. SR and MoS are actually really alike in one way. Many were initially impressed with the film but on repeat viewings discovered there were things they really didn't like. That's a credit to Singer and Snyder, IMO, for being able to direct competently enough that the details get lost. Not sure how they do it. In any regard, I wish you many years of enjoyment with repeat viewings of SR and hope you get future Superman films that meet your expectations.
Charles Jannuzi The reviews were hardly good; in fact most reviewers mocked it. Singer was miscast, the directing sucked and the story line was a joke. Wasn't there one thing in the movie that was actually good? Kevin Spacey was wonderful.
Jeffrey Marx That's interesting. At the time all the reviews I read gave it 4 or 5 stars out of 5. I saw the movie and couldn't see what was so special about it. One of the annoying things about the movie is Bryan Singer's snobbish fanboy approach to the Superman films. He wanted Returns to follow the Christopher Reeves movies but ignore the events of 3 and 4 because he knows people enjoy 1 and 2 the best. For someone who was all for continuity regardless of how much he didn't like the later sequels he should have fit them within Returns continuity. Picking and choosing want you want to remake or sequel rather than embracing what's been done before shows a lack of integrity as a supposed fan of the Chris Reeves movies.
I don't think people REALLY understand that ‘Superman Returns’ (2006) was a direct sequel to ‘Superman 2.’ That's why Luthor knows where the Fortress of Solitude is and how Superman knocked up Lois. Most people I hear say that they just didn’t really like how Brandon Routh portrayed Superman, but Brandon Routh captured the spirit of Chris Reeves perfectly. He looks just like him at that age (Reeves was also in his late 20s during the filming of the first 2 movies) and totally sold me on this being the same boy scout/awkward dork character from those films. I agree Kate Bosworth was miscast being too young to play Lois (she was 23, while Margot Kidder was older than Reeves during the earlier movies), but as far as acting goes she, much like Routh, captured old Lois very well. Luthor seducing a rich old lady to get him out of jail and inherit her money sounds like something he'd do in the past movies. It's absurd comedy! A staple of the old films. And most people complain that the ending was quick and convenient when that was the case with the earlier films as well (time reversal, anyone?). Overall, I love this movie and it gets more shit than it deserves. ….
Lois Lane is never been my favorite character I've always thought of her selfish, but Superman Returns I can't stand her. I do miss the Superman theme makes you want to Puff your chest out
I never got the Christopher Reeves similarities. They don’t look anything alike, other than the hair. Brandon Routh had his own interpretation and I thought it was unfair to model him after Reeves.
Problem with this film, It was too long! after the rescue at sea, The film seem to drag on... Some poor casting choices and plot choices, But there is so many good plus points with the film... And the poor choice for the superman costume, The darker colours reminded me of the bad superman costume in the third film
With bad casting, terrible directing and a script laced with pot holes, what "good plus points" are there (OK, Ken Spacey was awesome, but everything around him was dried shrubs ready to ignite)?
The song at the end is a mix of two songs from the album correct?. Well done it works so well with the edit. So happy i found your channel. Amazing retrospecs
I absolutely loved it in theaters and on Blu-Ray. You make great points that I never thought of, so I may understand better why some didn’t like it. I have always been a story guy more than action, so maybe that’s why I didn’t mind less fighting. Great video!
I ABSOLUTELY loved "Superman Returns", warts & all, it still is the BEST Post Donner Superman film EVER mae, PERIOD. I apprecciate your Opinion, but "Superman Returns" DELIVERS. Sure, things here and there could've been improved, but overall it as a superior film when compared to Ricahrd Lester's version. Brandon Routh was spot on as Superman. I wish I could see him in more movies.
I unapologetically love this movie. Reeves superman movies were my childhood and the fact that at least to me he captured alot of the feeling of those films was amazing to me. I even remember tearing up several times. I'm not naive to its flaws but I think for what he set out to do he came through.
I really enjoyed the actor doing Supes, but there was no chemistry between him & the Lois Actress. And having her character shack up with another guy with Supes' son is just disturbing.
I appreciate that Bryan Singer didn't take the revisionist approach like Snyder did and make a dark, gritty, angst-ridden film that is more typical today. But that doesn't mean it works. Even 20 years after Reeves last work, Routh suffers from comparison. (And I'm not so certain that the fact he resembles Reeves a little bit doesn't actually hurt the situation rather than help it.) Plus, he comes across less mature than I think I like for the character, especially given that some years have passed. Spacey gives the role energy, but he seems awfully angry and not terribly fun. Spacey and Singer were wrong not to make his villainy a bit more tongue-in-cheek. Yes, Bosworth is awful, both casting and performance. And the whole "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman" Pulitzer editorial not only seems totally contrived as a plot device, but it's put out there like a thing and then just ignored. A few quotes here and there would have been helpful. As it is, we here about this significant "thing", but it has little to no impact on the stories or characters. John Williams' music is, of course, a classic, and I appreciate the effort here to use it. The opening credits really brought me hope, but its use in this film just comes across more like a desperate effort to save a lessor project. I love Parker Posey as an actress, but she's wasted here, just more angry than Lex and very two-dimensional. The suggestion has been made that she would have been a better Lois than Kate Bosworth. And while that is very likely, she's still not the right person for this film. Basically, while the supporting cast was fine if uninspiring, I didn't believe any of the major characters, and the story is uninteresting. The plane rescue is very well executed, but still doesn't stand up to Reeve's 40-year old Lois Lane helicopter rescue in the original, a scene that had my 5-year old daughter leaping in excitement and laughter when Lois exlaims: "You've got me? Who's got you?!" Ultimately, there's just no magic in the film. And that would be more forgivable if it were not a $200 million film featuring such a beloved character. Marvel figured out years ago that, above all, comic book movies should be FUN. They tried to put a fantastical character in a modern, realistic world. The two don't mix. Our world today is not "fun", and Superman does not fit within it. Unfortunately, despite whatever strengths it may have, Superman Returns just isn't a fun movie.
I don't think the film is completely shit, but I just found it incredibly boring. Like Jesus it was so boring and dull. And it doesn't help that the opening of the film and Lex's plot was so confusing, it failed to grip me from the start.
+Kieran Holmes There should never have been any sequels to PoC. The first movie was excellent and they should simply have left it at that and not try to milk more money out of it by creating a franchise.
+Quotenwagnerianer Always the way: first film gets massive success and the film company in question absolutely insists on sequels simply because they are pretty much guaranteed success just because of the name!
Lex idea was to get land again. Instead of removing land on west coast of usa, he will add land on east coast. Overall, a boring plot where superman falls prey to kryptonite again. Hey didnt we see all those plot points in the first movie? Yes we did.
+Oliver Harper, I did look online to try to find the Superman Returns DVD or BluRay containing the deleted "Return to Krypton" Apparently it's only available on the Superman Anthology. I didn't think to look there first.
Superman Returns is the reason I'm a bigger fan of Man of Steel. Regardless of the polarized opinions at least it was trying something new with the franchise. Both this film and Smallville were fine but they were constant love letters to the original movie - which while great is very cheesy now. Man of Steel just went for it: new suit design; new Krypton; new music; new style; more action. It was new and quite refreshing to see a new take on the material.
brandon did a terrific job as kal or superman aka clark kent. it was the aweful story that ruined the movie. there should have been a super villain brainiac who is freed from the phantom zone by lex during his visit to the fortress. then it would have been better instead of repeating the same real state thing. superman returns right in time to save the world from brainiac who was once created and sentenced by jor-el freed from the phantom zone. theen this movie would have rocked and the new supermania had started perhaps. may b by now we would have gotten our second justice league movie
I personally love returns. It's my favourite Chris reeve superman film.. Even tho he doesn't star in it. It's a perfect conclusion to the superman original films, excluding 3 and 4 cos they don't exist. Man of Steel is still my favourite superman film
This film is just art compared with the latest. And personaly I believe that on its own it should stand proudly. When I watched this film I wasn't looking for action or otherwise, I was just looking for a good film, and I really think it delievered.
Man of Steel made me believe Superman Returned. Of course not Richard Donnerverse but a brand new one. I equate the Christopher Reeve/Brandon Routh Superman films, 1978-2006, to be the Silver/Bronze Age version of Superman. Man of Steel is the more Current Age Superman which takes its sources from All-Star Superman, Superman: Birthright, Superman: Origins, etc.
I prefer Man of Steel over Superman Returns since it's a whole reboot and finally get to see Superman use his powers of punchy time the same way he does in Superman: TAS.
For me Superman was rebirth with Superaman Returns, and they he died again. MoS and SvB was such bad movies. DOnt like a dark superman like that. Sure Justice Leage did make Superman better, but its not like he is reborn yet. If that should happen. John Williams music must come back, and he has to wear his red shorts again. lol
Great review as always. There is a lot to love about this film, and I have fond memories of the style and look and especially Brandon as Clark Kent. However, the movie is basically two films; a good one and a bad one. Sure Lois was miscast and the colors were off, but the real issues came in two fold. One: As you mentioned, Superman having a son is the worst possible plot they could have ever come up with. It's legendarily impossible in the source material, and serves only for them to either write themselves into a corner... or somehow create superboy in the sequel. Bad bad decision making. Two: But just as bad was the completely ill-conceived choice to remake the laughably absurd real estate plot of the original movie... to even Worse effect here. In Superman The Movie, his goal is simple: money. He bombs California, buys up the new coastline, step 4 profit! In Superman Returns, Luthor bizarrely yet confidently claims the new continent he creates will have "superior technology" and that if he waits there playing cards with Kumar and his minions, the all the Governments of the world will...what...bow down and pay him monies to use it? It baffles the mind that this was agreed upon by the studio, writers and executives as a plausible plot device. That's not even mentioning Superman somehow lifting an island out of the ocean MADE OF the one substance in the universe that kills him. An amulet of Kryptonite around his neck = drowns from weakness. A continent of Kryptonite = "I got this".
Yeah, I remember reading somewhere that this was Singer's love letter to Donner's Superman. The problem was, he had X-Men style visuals on the brain, hence all the muted, darker tones, as the early X-Men films he directed were also darker and muted (all dark leather suits, etc), so when we see Superman's new suit in many shots, the color tones are dialed way down ... presumably to avoid the critical concept that the original "long underwear" suit "looks so fake" there was this theme during all new Superhero movies (that somewhat extends to this day" that copying the comic character's original bright colors and schemes is just "too unrealistic" to be filmed...
Final Superman films verdict: Superman: 9/10 Superman 2: 8/10 Superman 3: 4/10 Superman 4 Quest for peace: 2/10 Superman 2 Richard Donner Cut: 7/10 Man of Steel: 6/10
Superman movie grades Superman: The Movie (1978)8.5/10 Superman II (1980) 8/10 Superman III (1983) 4/10 Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) 1/10 Superman Returns (2006) 6/10 Man of Steel (2013) 9/10
While they were considering various directions for the film, they should've given serious thought to killing off superman in order to make brandon routh fit. Now before you all blow a gasket at such a crazy notion, please allow me to elaborate... Firstly, the fact Singer set the movie 5 years after the events of Superman II tells us he's using Superman I and II as established back story, and carrying on with the story from there. Now... this immediately throws up what IMO is a Biblically huge brick wall of a problem... and that's replacing Christopher Reeve. I'm sorry but it can't be done. Anymore than you could replace Michael Jackson in the Jackson 5. Some things just can't be done. I know I'm right when I say this because it's clearly something the studio figured out fairly quickly from the train wreck that was Superman Returns. By the time Man of Steel rolled around, they understood that in order to ever move this franchise forward, it would have to be completely and utterly dismantled and started over again from scratch. That said, I believe if Singer really wanted to preserve and work within that original [Donner] timeline, then why not consider setting the movie in 2006 where it belonged instead of telling us Superman fucked off to have tea with Buddha for five years on a planet that had long been established as gone. THEN... open the movie with the death of Superman (ie Reeve) even using Chris himself if they'd thought to do it early enough so we SEE the gaunt dying reeve on screen, grievously ill from some unknown freak radiation or whatever- doesn't matter-- point is... before he dies, he must reveal himself to his blissfully unaware SON (Brandon Routh) in a movie that would LITERALLY SHOW... the son becomes the father, the father becomes the son. Then following his father's death, and while the world mourns his loss, HE must embark on a journey to find out who he is, and grow into what he's destined to become.... they could've had so much fun with this, not least because Routh would've been half human and probably that much more vulnerable than his father Superman. but by whatever means, the movie would end with Brandon Routh finally inheriting his Father's cape... and then que sequels II, III and IV, and all with an actor who the world would have absolutely and unequivocally accepted as Superman/Reeve's son. Anyway, sorry if I offended anyone, they're just my thoughts. Although it's interesting to note that by totally starting over with Man of Steel, they finally seem to have got themselves an actor who, for the most part, has escaped the cursed comparison to Reeve that every single other actor who's tried since has. Shame they fucked up Superman Returns before the eventually woke up to this.
Thanks for the detailed review. You make some very good points here. As a Superman fan it's hard to hate any Superman movie but there is so much about this movie that frustrates me.
That's a good question. One of my friends was on the colour team at SPI. What happens is that, while the photography style may change, there is a team that will do colour correction on the frames before the movie gets shipped out. So if there is a colour issue you see, it may be because of something in the colour correction process and not the actual shots.
Couldn't have said it better. You nailed this. This video is the 1st of yours i saw. Idc if the rest suck. This made me subscribe because you are 100% accurate.
Oh wow thats fantastic. Were you personally happy with the effects on the picture or did you feel they relied too heavily on CGI especially for the close ups of Superman?.
Yes thats very true, the cape did look very good. Was there any mention of why they removed the yellow 'S' from the cape?. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I saw this when it first came out and didn’t like it. I just watched it for the second time ever today and I enjoyed it. The plane scene was great and put a tear in my eye for many reasons. Superman getting whooped by Alex and his boys was genuinely upsetting and well played, I genuinely felt for Superman. It was a nice reimagining of the first movie with reused lines and nods to the originals. It at the same time spinning it so that it is clearly a sequel to earlier stories. Lois was rubbish but I didn’t like the character in the 70s/80s movies that much either.
I saw this in the theater and remember being very underwhelmed. Brandon Routh may have looked like Christopher Reeve, but didn't have an iota of his screen presence or charisma, and just seemed like a stiff to me. Kate Bosworth was, as you put it, just terrible casting, and the film lacked spectacle. Overall, I found Superman Returns very dull.
I think people were too hard on this film. I was 6 years old when I saw this in theaters and fell in love with it. I had already been a lil superman fan due to loving the animated shows and super freinds. The soundtrack is so emotional. While I love the music in the other pictures this is just so romantic, sad and beautiful. Superman is friendly and not nearly as dower as people claim. He is shown in this film while in public having quips to say after saving the plane for example. On the inside he is an alien and is not "one of them" and I think thats intresting and relatable. The relationship between father's and sons is also well pronounced like the donner films. People would love this film had it come out now, but back in like 2008 (when people started bashing this film) people just were really hungry for gritty action films. I also appreciate the art deco Daily Planet, and reminds me of the 1940s cartoon. I do agree with your complaints about the color grading and the design of the suit. There should have been a larger "S" and brighter colors.
Review was pretty much spot on except for Routh as Superman. He is just too boring and lacked a lot of charisma. Doesn't matter if he wasn't written properly, he just doesn't have the screen presence required to star is such a pivotal role.
Hey buddy, thanks for subscribing. Yeah I've done a podcast review on Man of Steel with my friend Richard and took part in a 2 hour discussion with Captain Logan at Geekvolution. I may do a retrospective style video in a year maybe. :)
This movie was so boring...I can't remember even one thing that happened 'ceptin that plane scene. It's a movie that's trying to be like another movie - think of it like a person...if they're trying to be somebody else, they're an uninteresting person. However, most movies made today have the problem of trying too hard to impress you - and again, it's like a person...someone who's trying too hard to impress seems like a dork. And Hollywood is merely unimpressive BioDigital dorks. It partly comes from the incessant greed of the BioDigital mind, perhaps. It's like the movies have to be their own advertisments and constantly try to impress you. They have no ability to be 'cool' and HOW COULD THEY? They are made by mindless meat puppets of an 'All Seeing Eye' and they have no freewill and no talent. Instead, they march in step and make North Koreans look organic and individuated. So sad.
PROVEN FACT VIDEOS Yeah this movie had so many good things going for it, but it was just tooooo slow paced. Only the plane and maybe the metropolis scene was fun but thats five minutes out of 2 hours.😴
Brenn Tantor "Man of Steel had senseless destruction" - So... like most Superman comics and cartoons then. You realise Man of Steel is a direct adaptation of Superman: Earth One, right?
Somewhere in Metropolis there's an elevator service guy who keeps marveling at his luck at finding brand new suits every week.
lol
😂
AHhhh! I get it. Pretty good. I like it. I like it 😊
Lol, yessir!!
You know that James Marsden got lured away from X-Men 3 thinking he was gonna play Superman. And that's the irony - you have James Marsden and Parker Posey, a wonderful Superman and Lois, right there! And yet...
I think he would have been a better Superman and I think Kate Bosworth makes a terrible Lois. Maybe Courtney Cox or Jennifer Connelly should have gotten the role.
I thought James Marsden was better as Richard White than Cyclops, Kate Bosworth and Parker Posey probably should have switched roles. Brandon seemed to have more chemistry with Parker in their short scenes together.
I thought Brandon Routh is great in the role, but yeah, Kate and Posey should’ve probably switched roles. And Marsten’s character didn’t need to be in the movie at all.
@@biguy617Brandon Roith looks like Christopher Reeves
Blaming Routh is really a chicken shit thing to do. He's a decent actor, and I like the guy. Like the reviewer says, there is a lot wrong with it. I own the movie, and still enjoy the plane sequence, and the New Krypton lift, but it's really hard sitting through the rest of the movie, waiting for those scenes to happen.
Allan Rivera You are right, blaming Routh was wrong. Blame the director, the editor, the producer and the blind fool who cast this turkey. Routh was miscast and no one can deny that huge mistake and giving him a bad script and a misguided director didn't help him much. He has been cast as The Atom on the CW series THE FLASH and he is just fine in that smaller and controlled role that is not demanding.
***** He looks like Superboy, not Superman. He does not have the build...the physical presence that being Superman demands. It was a sad movie all the way around.
Jeffrey Marx He wasn't miscast. It was wrong for that role to even exist but routh did fine in it. He got the dorky charm down just fine. It's not about liking him but he did what they wanted. The whole acting like the 70s movie was the greatest thing ever was the problem.
Allan Rivera I never blamed Routh. Being miscast has nothing to do with the actor. If you know about the industry, someone is hired to cast and the one for this film screwed up plenty. Routh will be a great actor, but he is un-seasoned, besides being to slim for the part. I like him on The Flash as The Atom (the vAtom I know can get a lot smaller if need be, so lets keep our eyes open). Got it? Ok.
Another reason I think blaming Brandon Routh is wrong is also because when he returned as Superman in crisis on infinite earths, he was great in the role and had a much better suit, so that proves that he can be a good superman if he has a decent script, and also him being older helps too because I do admit, when I saw superman returns, I thought Brandon Routh was too young for the role but when I saw him in crisis, I thought he looked the right age for the role because he was.
This is another case of a filmmaker changing things or deleting things and having it backfire. Routh did just fine. I totally agree with you on the dialogue being bland and Kate Bosworth being terrible.
90% of the time I am disappointed in movie reviews and then proceed to troll.. but this critique is just spot on excellence. Thank you sir for this. This review should be the standard by which reviews are done.
Totally agree. I've always felt Parker Posey would've made a much better Lois Lane than Kate Bosworth...
New Rule Media Parker Posey is too obnoxious and irritating to be a sympathetic heroine. That said, if she swapped roles with Bosworth in this film, it would surely have been better than what we got.
Absolutely. Lois Lane was a snappy dame; Bosworth had none of that sparkle. Parker would have been perfect. She's much closer to Margot Kidder's wacky, slightly awkward sexiness.
@@burntvirtue if you watched any Christopher Guest movie you would see that Parker Posey can play any role, anytime
bosworth was the proto-plank
Kate Bosworth is terrible in everything she's in
Bryan Singer has some balls to put any blame on Brandon Routh. While I have to say that I did not like Routh in this movie (though he has been splendid in other films), I agree with Mr. Harper that much of the blame lies with the script. However, I believe that some of the blame lies with Mr. Singer as well, who wanted Routh to channel Reeves version of the character which Routh does well. A better approach would have been to allow Routh to use Reeves take as a jumping off point and allow for some more development, especially in portraying Clark Kent.
Singer loves little boys also he’s protected.
This film seemed to go against everything Clark learned by the end of Superman 2 - He has to be selfless and cannot put his own personal needs against those of Earth and its people. Yet in Returns he abandons Earth to pursue a selfish goal. More so, he seems surprised that Lois has moved on. Did he think she'd wait for him? What an egotistical dick!
Common, he kinda could. I mean Lois Lane wasnt interested in him as Clark anyway... so he thought he could do that. maybe he didnt understand how many years that should pass on earth. So didnt really think that through.
Yeah I really don’t think that Mr. Singer took that previously established story arc into account when he made this film.
I'm very glad that you acknowledge soundtracks... it's something that I think is too often overlooked in reviews.
Just don't get me started on the damn video game for this one. Broke my heart, that one.
I do have a little problem with the soundtracks track to Superman Returns though. And it ment to be John williams in sense, but with no jazzy chords. Sometimes some chords in the scores end up flat because they misses the coloring that John Williams used in the music. But its up to date one of the better tries from any composer to write music for a Superman movie. John Williams is still the best.
Yeah man. Differences of opinion make life fun. :)
Last night I got to watching your reviews like popping candies - just one after the next after the next for a couple of hours.
The Superman Returns bashing started on opening night, when myself and all my friends saw it and we're bored to tears.
Bryan Singer may be the most boring director in Hollywood, and while he may be a fan of Richard Donner's films, he can't recapture their magic.
The climax of the film was the opening credits, then it was all downhill from there.
John Ottman's score for this film seems to sound like parts of his score for X2 and Days of Future Past.
"There's no fighting! Superman doesn't even throw a single punch!"
Yeah, that's _Superman: The Movie,_ too.
Yeah, but that movie came out in 1976 and just to see superman fly was pretty amazing for the time.
@@blake112x So what? My comment still stands.
And then Man of Steel made the frustrating and easy mistake of grossly overcompensating that flaw.. Man of Steel sacrificed slower moments and often heart for shit tons of kryptonians punching things.. And the mass destruction caused in Man of Steel was also ridiculous..
@r0bw00d he fights in superman 2 1981 though, against zod
Get the Superman Anthology Blu-ray set here goo.gl/Vb5kUm
Get the Superman Returns soundtrack here goo.gl/fN0h59
Parker Posey should have played Lois Lane and Kate Bosworth should have played Luthor's henchwoman, (which could've been Ms. Tesmacher, who I think Bosworth strongly resembles, and not the random "Kitty Kowalski" character). It would have been perfect casting if those roles had been switched.
Kate did not fit the role of Lois her Lois Lane came off as a total bitch especially when her son tells Clark that she never mentions him after Clark remarks that he was a friend of his mom's. And Clark looked hurt by it she immediately jumps into a relationship the moment she finds out she's pregnant. I can see why she did it she didn't want people getting suspicious considering everyone knows she has the hots for the man of steel. If people knew she had Superman's kid she would never be left alone she would have to go into hiding.
My thoughts exactly
Definitely agree. But also the character would’ve needed a rewrite to make her less condescending and selfish as she’s depicted in the film.
She could have played Lex's niece(nasthalthia) Nasty Luthor.
It's disappointing that the return to krypton deleted scene is not on the standard blu ray
I have such mixed emotions about this movie. On the one hand I admire what Singer was trying to do and the spirit in which it was carried out, but the storyline drags, the lack of a physical adversary for Superman to overcome dulls the otherwise good action, and the reason for Superman leaving just doesn't work. They could have come up with any number of better reasons for him to have disappeared. And once again, the lack of any fight scene just doesn't work. Luthor couldn't have made some weapons to go along with the useless island? I'm not asking for Supes to level a city just to get a fight scene but something more exciting than lifting progressively heavier things would have been nice. The one thing I'll always love about this film, however, is the gorgeous cinematography.
That looks like it was shot in the dark and dried with piss of any being.
And with this opinion, you are leveling the first Superman movie to the same level of this one... It also doesn't have a single punch and yet everyone says it is the best movie. How can I understand the critics?
I shot all the behind the scenes scoring sessions footage you used in this video. I've been watching a lot of your retrospectives lately, which are fantastic btw, and it was a trip to see something I shot waaaay back in 2006 included in one of your videos. Standing in the middle of the once famous- now dismantled Todd AO scoring stage and hearing the Hollywood orchestra play the Superman theme is definitely one of the greatest experiences of my life.
Bryan Singer in 2011 he did take responsibility for Superman Return's failure. He said more action should've been in the film. He keeps coming up with different excuses all the time. Also I think its the only film of his where he didn't provide a commentary for the DVD release.
He had to be embarrassed by the whole thing.. Superman Returns was his dream project and he seemed to have a great time making it from the behind the scenes footage. Had to be devastating for the movie to come out, make far less at the BO then it was supposed to and get hammered so badly by fans and some critics. Even WB came out and publicly stated their disappointment with it..
I personally think the film was photographed well on set but something has happened during the grading stage and someone has made an error creatively and made the image look very unappealing. I was working as a projectionist when it came out and the 35mm prints looked weak. Superman Returns is probably the weakest looking movie to be filmed on the Panavision Genesis camera.
Despite all the problems, the music to this movie was truely epic. They built on the original score and added a lot more to it than I felt Hans Zimmer did with Man of Steel.
It us an underrated masterpiece
- saving the airplane and the outcome in the stadium
- saving rhe Yatch...
- lifting rhe island
It is pure epicness...
The packages you edit for the beginning/end of your reviews make every film look incredible (even when they're not) - especially Batman and Robin. Holy Cow.
I find your retrospectives so well done and entertaining...Thank you
a very good genius retrospect view actually you made me agree on many issues that i hadnt thought about, maybe you could retrospect on why the universe began, id really love to hear that and much respect to you again , i really enjoyed that one. all the best for the future.
Honestly this movie just bored me to tears. I GET that it is a sequel to the Richard Donner Superman films but, that doesn't necessarily mean it's entertaining. Superman/Clark feels like he doesn't have enough dialogue in the film giving him very little character.
Yes I will be that guy that complains about the action. For all the faults Man of Steel had it did do something right, the action. I want to see Superman FIGHT something. Superman has a vast rogues gallery yet these movies never used any of them even Man of Steel. Darkseid, Toyman, The Parasite, Doomsday, Metallo..come on guys. There are more villains out there than Lex Luthor and General Zod.
Jarrecko During the scene where Superman and Lois meet on the Daily Planet rooftop and night I actually almost went to sleep. The thing is that's never happened to me when I've watched a movie before. It's quite an accomplishment.
Jarrecko well it's debatable whether darkseid is a superman villain at all. But the fact is most superman villains aren't established as huge threats on his level. Luthor and Brainiac are about the only ones(and brainiac is just luthor as an alien).
Atomic skull, metallo, ect their mostly known for muscle. Parasite is not a mastermind. Even new ones like manchester black and silver banshee are not big. In the early comics, superman mostly handled random events much more often than fighting a villain.
Since the reboot, he.... still does, and there was a bunch of new ones. Maxima became a good guy and was never considered at his level or had a plan. Cyborg superman is just...stupid. No matter what they do with that character, his villain name is either henry henkshaw or cyborg superman.. Doomsday is just mindless and thats the incarnation that's known.
Really, It's only Luthor, Brainiac, and a kryptonian that's usually Zod. Superman does not have great villains. In fact the big ones really don't except for flash and batman. No body remembers most wonder woman villains and she has like thre decent ones, who are kinda redundant(they're all scientist, and one doesn't even use science). Martian manhunters has one. Green arrows are all underpowered unless their green lantern like.. ect.
In general good villains are hard to come by
D. San I mean green lantern, not arrow.
Dialogue isn't always nessecary to give off character. Second i loved the action in Man of Steel at first but then you reach the half way point- 3rd act and realized their just destroying things stupidly and its turned into a Micheal Bay film. Not to mention the depth of character i couldn't feel from Henry. I never thought Superman Returns was perfect however after watching man of steel i began to see why it was so underappreciated.
@@DSan-kl2yc All of Superman's best stories feature obstacles he can't overcome purely through muscle. Peace on Earth is a great example.
was that Jonathan Nolan at 2:44 on the left hand side? That's gotta be him
That's ironic for Brian Singer. His X-men movies not much based on the source material but he made a good job and even influenced comic books but his Superman movie much closer the comic books but not really made well. I think his mistake is he played too safe in Superman , in X-men he made so many bold decisions.
The guy is still best X-men director, he knows how to make a good X-men film and I'm happy for his return.
Great retrospective by the way, I checked other videos (especially comic book related) and they are really good, your knowledge impressed me. You won a subscriber :D.
Superman Returns, with Brandon Routh was a great ending to the era of Christopher Reeve's legacy. The movie made everyone believe in Christopher Reeve as his was during his prime !
I liked Brandon Routh in the film and, with the unfortunate exception of Kate Bosworth, I thought the cast was pretty great. The plane sequence is incredible.
I do like _Returns_ for being a tribute to the Richard Donner original, but I just find its focusing on a love triangle aspect to be questionable. I can understand Singer might've done it to show that Superman is just as flawed as us humans, but the love triangle doesn't seem like the right thing to focus a _Superman_ film on. It also should've been more action-packed, maybe even use Brainiac as its villain.
Lois Lane, shame on you for writing that article because of your selfish romantic attachment. On second thought, that's not Lois Lane. Margot Kidder is Lois Lane.
Connor Brennan Teri Hatcher was also amazing.
Kidder was crap from day one. God knows why she was cast.
@@marcelo78 Only Two Lois Lane out there... Margot and Teri....
And she played Lois as a simply horrible human being. You wonder what he ever saw in her.
The Fonz Not sure if your serious or if your just trolling. Bosworth was the worst.
I saw this in the theater back in 2006. I was thoroughly unimpressed. The story arc of Superman having a son was just stupid and pointless. I've never given this movie a second viewing nor do I plan to.
BTW, I love your channel, Oliver. Its refreshing to see honest, sober movie reviews without all the gimmickry.
I'm with you, as a whole I only saw the movie once...but for some reason, I can't get over the plane scene, the plane scene was excellent...if the movie kept that momentum it would have been a classic.
What I love about returns was the music, plane scene, and Brandon's Superman probably.
Link sorted mate!. sorry about that. TH-cam cutting off links when copying and pasting.
Bryan Singer still feels Superman Returns was made for a female audience. He still shifts the blame onto others. www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/JoshWildingNewsAndReviews/news/?a=93794
Charles Jannuzi Superman Returns certainly made more money at the box office than BB. But the cost of the film and paying the Brando estate to use his likeness reduced its profit margins. So in the end Batman Begins was more profitable.
Charles Jannuzi
I'm going to step back and try to answer your original post question: "What blame does he have to accept?" I think the fact that he feels the need is the point. Regardless of whether or not anybody really needs to blame him, he still apparently finds it necessary to pass it. Generally speaking, SR got good word of mouth but it also got bad; mostlly from people who focused more on the lack of anything new or original. Also, in using the example of comparison, Batman Begins has stood the test of time; many analysts of blockbusters and comic films consider it the best genre movie to this day. I don't see many fans considering SR in the same light. I'm not saying SR is not a good film, but it didn't really "wow" audiences in the way it appears Singer had hoped it would, or that other films such as the Nolan franchise wound up doing.
All films get bad reviews, and most get at least some good ones. I don't think that's what set Singer off. I think people who really like the mythos of Superman probably found more to enjoy in that film than others, and Singer probably "spoke to them" more directly, if that makes any sense.
SR and MoS are actually really alike in one way. Many were initially impressed with the film but on repeat viewings discovered there were things they really didn't like. That's a credit to Singer and Snyder, IMO, for being able to direct competently enough that the details get lost. Not sure how they do it. In any regard, I wish you many years of enjoyment with repeat viewings of SR and hope you get future Superman films that meet your expectations.
Charles Jannuzi The reviews were hardly good; in fact most reviewers mocked it. Singer was miscast, the directing sucked and the story line was a joke. Wasn't there one thing in the movie that was actually good? Kevin Spacey was wonderful.
Jeffrey Marx That's interesting. At the time all the reviews I read gave it 4 or 5 stars out of 5. I saw the movie and couldn't see what was so special about it. One of the annoying things about the movie is Bryan Singer's snobbish fanboy approach to the Superman films. He wanted Returns to follow the Christopher Reeves movies but ignore the events of 3 and 4 because he knows people enjoy 1 and 2 the best. For someone who was all for continuity regardless of how much he didn't like the later sequels he should have fit them within Returns continuity. Picking and choosing want you want to remake or sequel rather than embracing what's been done before shows a lack of integrity as a supposed fan of the Chris Reeves movies.
I don't think people REALLY understand that ‘Superman Returns’ (2006) was a direct sequel to ‘Superman 2.’ That's why Luthor knows where the Fortress of Solitude is and how Superman knocked up Lois.
Most people I hear say that they just didn’t really like how Brandon Routh portrayed Superman, but Brandon Routh captured the spirit of Chris Reeves perfectly. He looks just like him at that age (Reeves was also in his late 20s during the filming of the first 2 movies) and totally sold me on this being the same boy scout/awkward dork character from those films.
I agree Kate Bosworth was miscast being too young to play Lois (she was 23, while Margot Kidder was older than Reeves during the earlier movies), but as far as acting goes she, much like Routh, captured old Lois very well.
Luthor seducing a rich old lady to get him out of jail and inherit her money sounds like something he'd do in the past movies. It's absurd comedy! A staple of the old films.
And most people complain that the ending was quick and convenient when that was the case with the earlier films as well (time reversal, anyone?).
Overall, I love this movie and it gets more shit than it deserves.
….
I'll never understand why that bit with superman in the ship flying around was cut out.
Best Superman film. Saving the plane with realism involved, was just epic.
Lois Lane is never been my favorite character I've always thought of her selfish, but Superman Returns I can't stand her. I do miss the Superman theme makes you want to Puff your chest out
I never got the Christopher Reeves similarities. They don’t look anything alike, other than the hair. Brandon Routh had his own interpretation and I thought it was unfair to model him after Reeves.
Problem with this film, It was too long! after the rescue at sea, The film seem to drag on... Some poor casting choices and plot choices, But there is so many good plus points with the film... And the poor choice for the superman costume, The darker colours reminded me of the bad superman costume in the third film
With bad casting, terrible directing and a script laced with pot holes, what "good plus points" are there (OK, Ken Spacey was awesome, but everything around him was dried shrubs ready to ignite)?
The song at the end is a mix of two songs from the album correct?. Well done it works so well with the edit. So happy i found your channel. Amazing retrospecs
I absolutely loved it in theaters and on Blu-Ray. You make great points that I never thought of, so I may understand better why some didn’t like it. I have always been a story guy more than action, so maybe that’s why I didn’t mind less fighting. Great video!
I ABSOLUTELY loved "Superman Returns", warts & all, it still is the BEST Post Donner Superman film EVER mae, PERIOD. I apprecciate your Opinion, but "Superman Returns" DELIVERS. Sure, things here and there could've been improved, but overall it as a superior film when compared to Ricahrd Lester's version. Brandon Routh was spot on as Superman. I wish I could see him in more movies.
I don't care what anyone says I loved this movie and probably watched it twenty times at the theater. Absolutely fell in love with Brandon.
I may not like it as much as you do, but I still like this movie a lot!!!
I unapologetically love this movie. Reeves superman movies were my childhood and the fact that at least to me he captured alot of the feeling of those films was amazing to me. I even remember tearing up several times.
I'm not naive to its flaws but I think for what he set out to do he came through.
I really like Superman Returns. It came along in my life when i was really happy. I recently rewatched it and still enjoy it.
I really enjoyed the actor doing Supes, but there was no chemistry between him & the Lois Actress. And having her character shack up with another guy with Supes' son is just disturbing.
I appreciate that Bryan Singer didn't take the revisionist approach like Snyder did and make a dark, gritty, angst-ridden film that is more typical today. But that doesn't mean it works. Even 20 years after Reeves last work, Routh suffers from comparison. (And I'm not so certain that the fact he resembles Reeves a little bit doesn't actually hurt the situation rather than help it.) Plus, he comes across less mature than I think I like for the character, especially given that some years have passed. Spacey gives the role energy, but he seems awfully angry and not terribly fun. Spacey and Singer were wrong not to make his villainy a bit more tongue-in-cheek. Yes, Bosworth is awful, both casting and performance. And the whole "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman" Pulitzer editorial not only seems totally contrived as a plot device, but it's put out there like a thing and then just ignored. A few quotes here and there would have been helpful. As it is, we here about this significant "thing", but it has little to no impact on the stories or characters. John Williams' music is, of course, a classic, and I appreciate the effort here to use it. The opening credits really brought me hope, but its use in this film just comes across more like a desperate effort to save a lessor project. I love Parker Posey as an actress, but she's wasted here, just more angry than Lex and very two-dimensional. The suggestion has been made that she would have been a better Lois than Kate Bosworth. And while that is very likely, she's still not the right person for this film.
Basically, while the supporting cast was fine if uninspiring, I didn't believe any of the major characters, and the story is uninteresting. The plane rescue is very well executed, but still doesn't stand up to Reeve's 40-year old Lois Lane helicopter rescue in the original, a scene that had my 5-year old daughter leaping in excitement and laughter when Lois exlaims: "You've got me? Who's got you?!"
Ultimately, there's just no magic in the film. And that would be more forgivable if it were not a $200 million film featuring such a beloved character. Marvel figured out years ago that, above all, comic book movies should be FUN. They tried to put a fantastical character in a modern, realistic world. The two don't mix. Our world today is not "fun", and Superman does not fit within it. Unfortunately, despite whatever strengths it may have, Superman Returns just isn't a fun movie.
will forever remain the best Superman film ever made
Richard Donner was the only director to really get this character to tick onscreen.
Love your reviews, have subscribed. Pls keep'em coming!!
I don't think the film is completely shit, but I just found it incredibly boring. Like Jesus it was so boring and dull. And it doesn't help that the opening of the film and Lex's plot was so confusing, it failed to grip me from the start.
Also, you think Dead Man's chest was boring? It's my favourite one.
+Kieran Holmes There should never have been any sequels to PoC. The first movie was excellent and they should simply have left it at that and not try to milk more money out of it by creating a franchise.
+Quotenwagnerianer Always the way: first film gets massive success and the film company in question absolutely insists on sequels simply because they are pretty much guaranteed success just because of the name!
Lex idea was to get land again. Instead of removing land on west coast of usa, he will add land on east coast. Overall, a boring plot where superman falls prey to kryptonite again. Hey didnt we see all those plot points in the first movie? Yes we did.
I think Apocalypto was the first to use the Genesis Camera. :)
By no means does this live up to the first two Superman movies, however, this movie is seriously underrated.
I will always remember to be 2000s meme of lex luthors WROOOOOOONNGGGG quote
Man of steel made me love this movie. At least it tried.
+Oliver Harper, I did look online to try to find the Superman Returns DVD or BluRay containing the deleted "Return to Krypton"
Apparently it's only available on the Superman Anthology. I didn't think to look there first.
Superman Returns is the reason I'm a bigger fan of Man of Steel. Regardless of the polarized opinions at least it was trying something new with the franchise. Both this film and Smallville were fine but they were constant love letters to the original movie - which while great is very cheesy now. Man of Steel just went for it: new suit design; new Krypton; new music; new style; more action. It was new and quite refreshing to see a new take on the material.
Rowan J Coleman Agreed. Even though I liked SR, Man of Steel, on the other hand was a MUCH better movie.
Rowan J Coleman
*Man of Steel just went for it: new suit design; new Krypton; new music; new style; more action*
And it was shit.
***** In your opinion
Rowan J Coleman but man of steel is just a bad version of smallvile condensed. So that's not a fair thing to say.
+Rowan J Coleman I like Returns but Man of Steel is much better.
Thanks, yes i will be seeing Man of Steel tomorrow and expect a review this saturday on my other TH-cam channel where i upload my commentaries. :)
Now I can't stop thinking about Parker Posey as Lois Lane. She would be an outstanding Lois just not in this Superman movie.
same
Thanks pal, its good to hear you had issues with the close ups of CGI, very bad move by Singer and his visual effects supervisor.
brandon did a terrific job as kal or superman aka clark kent. it was the aweful story that ruined the movie. there should have been a super villain brainiac who is freed from the phantom zone by lex during his visit to the fortress. then it would have been better instead of repeating the same real state thing. superman returns right in time to save the world from brainiac who was once created and sentenced by jor-el freed from the phantom zone. theen this movie would have rocked and the new supermania had started perhaps. may b by now we would have gotten our second justice league movie
thank you very much for the supportive words. Its great to hear you're always looking forward to my next video! :D
I personally love returns. It's my favourite Chris reeve superman film.. Even tho he doesn't star in it. It's a perfect conclusion to the superman original films, excluding 3 and 4 cos they don't exist. Man of Steel is still my favourite superman film
I loved Routh in this. It's a shame we don't see him in more movies. He was also great in Scott Pilgrim vs the World. His scene was the best.
you seemed to like it less in the Geekvolution podcast ?
I think you're right!. Me and Logan got pretty annoyed with the film lol. I still stand by what I said in the review though.
Thats great to hear Sean you enjoyed my videos!.Thanks for subscribing buddy.
I still love this movie.... ! best
This film is just art compared with the latest. And personaly I believe that on its own it should stand proudly.
When I watched this film I wasn't looking for action or otherwise, I was just looking for a good film, and I really think it delievered.
***** transformers looks good compared to MOS
Man of Steel made me believe Superman Returned. Of course not Richard Donnerverse but a brand new one. I equate the Christopher Reeve/Brandon Routh Superman films, 1978-2006, to be the Silver/Bronze Age version of Superman.
Man of Steel is the more Current Age Superman which takes its sources from All-Star Superman, Superman: Birthright, Superman: Origins, etc.
I prefer Man of Steel over Superman Returns since it's a whole reboot and finally get to see Superman use his powers of punchy time the same way he does in Superman: TAS.
Man of Steel is nothing like All-Star Superman. All Star is much more based on the Silver and Bronze Age goofy nonsense than the Modern stuff.
For me Superman was rebirth with Superaman Returns, and they he died again. MoS and SvB was such bad movies. DOnt like a dark superman like that. Sure Justice Leage did make Superman better, but its not like he is reborn yet. If that should happen. John Williams music must come back, and he has to wear his red shorts again. lol
Pre-Crisis Superman will always be my favorite.
1:54
Great review as always. There is a lot to love about this film, and I have fond memories of the style and look and especially Brandon as Clark Kent. However, the movie is basically two films; a good one and a bad one. Sure Lois was miscast and the colors were off, but the real issues came in two fold.
One: As you mentioned, Superman having a son is the worst possible plot they could have ever come up with. It's legendarily impossible in the source material, and serves only for them to either write themselves into a corner... or somehow create superboy in the sequel. Bad bad decision making.
Two: But just as bad was the completely ill-conceived choice to remake the laughably absurd real estate plot of the original movie... to even Worse effect here.
In Superman The Movie, his goal is simple: money. He bombs California, buys up the new coastline, step 4 profit!
In Superman Returns, Luthor bizarrely yet confidently claims the new continent he creates will have "superior technology" and that if he waits there playing cards with Kumar and his minions, the all the Governments of the world will...what...bow down and pay him monies to use it? It baffles the mind that this was agreed upon by the studio, writers and executives as a plausible plot device.
That's not even mentioning Superman somehow lifting an island out of the ocean MADE OF the one substance in the universe that kills him. An amulet of Kryptonite around his neck = drowns from weakness. A continent of Kryptonite = "I got this".
Yeah, I remember reading somewhere that this was Singer's love letter to Donner's Superman. The problem was, he had X-Men style visuals on the brain, hence all the muted, darker tones, as the early X-Men films he directed were also darker and muted (all dark leather suits, etc), so when we see Superman's new suit in many shots, the color tones are dialed way down ... presumably to avoid the critical concept that the original "long underwear" suit "looks so fake" there was this theme during all new Superhero movies (that somewhat extends to this day" that copying the comic character's original bright colors and schemes is just "too unrealistic" to be filmed...
Superman movie grades
Superman 10/10
Superman II 8/10
Superman III 4/10
Superman IV 1/10
Superman Returns 5/10
Man of Steel 5/10
Final Superman films verdict:
Superman: 9/10
Superman 2: 8/10
Superman 3: 4/10
Superman 4 Quest for peace: 2/10
Superman 2 Richard Donner Cut: 7/10
Man of Steel: 6/10
Superman movie grades
Superman: The Movie (1978)8.5/10
Superman II (1980) 8/10
Superman III (1983) 4/10
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) 1/10
Superman Returns (2006) 6/10
Man of Steel (2013) 9/10
Superman 2 was slightly better than Superman 1. Less story but better action and Zod and his crew were more of a menacing foe for Soup.
Pirates of the Caribbean dead mans chest is not dull. It is a good and smart story.
While they were considering various directions for the film, they should've given serious thought to killing off superman in order to make brandon routh fit. Now before you all blow a gasket at such a crazy notion, please allow me to elaborate...
Firstly, the fact Singer set the movie 5 years after the events of Superman II tells us he's using Superman I and II as established back story, and carrying on with the story from there. Now... this immediately throws up what IMO is a Biblically huge brick wall of a problem... and that's replacing Christopher Reeve. I'm sorry but it can't be done. Anymore than you could replace Michael Jackson in the Jackson 5. Some things just can't be done. I know I'm right when I say this because it's clearly something the studio figured out fairly quickly from the train wreck that was Superman Returns. By the time Man of Steel rolled around, they understood that in order to ever move this franchise forward, it would have to be completely and utterly dismantled and started over again from scratch.
That said, I believe if Singer really wanted to preserve and work within that original [Donner] timeline, then why not consider setting the movie in 2006 where it belonged instead of telling us Superman fucked off to have tea with Buddha for five years on a planet that had long been established as gone. THEN... open the movie with the death of Superman (ie Reeve) even using Chris himself if they'd thought to do it early enough so we SEE the gaunt dying reeve on screen, grievously ill from some unknown freak radiation or whatever- doesn't matter-- point is... before he dies, he must reveal himself to his blissfully unaware SON (Brandon Routh) in a movie that would LITERALLY SHOW... the son becomes the father, the father becomes the son. Then following his father's death, and while the world mourns his loss, HE must embark on a journey to find out who he is, and grow into what he's destined to become.... they could've had so much fun with this, not least because Routh would've been half human and probably that much more vulnerable than his father Superman. but by whatever means, the movie would end with Brandon Routh finally inheriting his Father's cape... and then que sequels II, III and IV, and all with an actor who the world would have absolutely and unequivocally accepted as Superman/Reeve's son.
Anyway, sorry if I offended anyone, they're just my thoughts. Although it's interesting to note that by totally starting over with Man of Steel, they finally seem to have got themselves an actor who, for the most part, has escaped the cursed comparison to Reeve that every single other actor who's tried since has. Shame they fucked up Superman Returns before the eventually woke up to this.
walka112 i love you so much
yisin3323 why thank you :) it's rare to see positive youtube comments :)
Thanks for the detailed review. You make some very good points here. As a Superman fan it's hard to hate any Superman movie but there is so much about this movie that frustrates me.
This film is dull, repetitive of previous films, does not add anything to the mythos, and does not expand on Superman's story
LAWRENCE WHITEHURST Just "dull"? It was a labor of self destruction from beginning to end. Labeling it "dull" was much too kind; it just plain sucked.
That's a good question. One of my friends was on the colour team at SPI. What happens is that, while the photography style may change, there is a team that will do colour correction on the frames before the movie gets shipped out. So if there is a colour issue you see, it may be because of something in the colour correction process and not the actual shots.
So Singer left his chance to conclude his first two excellent XMen films to make a super lame Superman film. Good job Singer!
Couldn't have said it better. You nailed this. This video is the 1st of yours i saw. Idc if the rest suck. This made me subscribe because you are 100% accurate.
Kevin Spacey Loved Brandon Routh's tights
yikes
Brandon Routh got the part via Brian Singer's casting couch
Oh wow thats fantastic. Were you personally happy with the effects on the picture or did you feel they relied too heavily on CGI especially for the close ups of Superman?.
I liked this one more than MOS.
NOT YOU MOS is the best Superman film made you smokin rocks
@NOT YOU just out of curiosity did your gf like it?
Killmonger 26 Superman is better
Yes thats very true, the cape did look very good. Was there any mention of why they removed the yellow 'S' from the cape?. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Singer and Spacey on the same set...yikes
Why Spacey got cleared
I saw this when it first came out and didn’t like it. I just watched it for the second time ever today and I enjoyed it. The plane scene was great and put a tear in my eye for many reasons. Superman getting whooped by Alex and his boys was genuinely upsetting and well played, I genuinely felt for Superman. It was a nice reimagining of the first movie with reused lines and nods to the originals. It at the same time spinning it so that it is clearly a sequel to earlier stories. Lois was rubbish but I didn’t like the character in the 70s/80s movies that much either.
I saw this in the theater and remember being very underwhelmed. Brandon Routh may have looked like Christopher Reeve, but didn't have an iota of his screen presence or charisma, and just seemed like a stiff to me. Kate Bosworth was, as you put it, just terrible casting, and the film lacked spectacle. Overall, I found Superman Returns very dull.
You have no ioda, would you care to step outside!!!?!?!!!!!!!!!!!!
There is no chemistry because this Lois is with someone else. She sees Superman as a stalker who will not get over her.
I legit love this film, more so than Man of Steel etc.
Me too. I got the DVD when it came out and still actually rewatch it every once and a while.
Superman Returns is a better movie In Man of Steel Superman does more damage than good.
Facts
I think people were too hard on this film. I was 6 years old when I saw this in theaters and fell in love with it. I had already been a lil superman fan due to loving the animated shows and super freinds.
The soundtrack is so emotional. While I love the music in the other pictures this is just so romantic, sad and beautiful. Superman is friendly and not nearly as dower as people claim. He is shown in this film while in public having quips to say after saving the plane for example. On the inside he is an alien and is not "one of them" and I think thats intresting and relatable.
The relationship between father's and sons is also well pronounced like the donner films. People would love this film had it come out now, but back in like 2008 (when people started bashing this film) people just were really hungry for gritty action films.
I also appreciate the art deco Daily Planet, and reminds me of the 1940s cartoon.
I do agree with your complaints about the color grading and the design of the suit. There should have been a larger "S" and brighter colors.
Review was pretty much spot on except for Routh as Superman. He is just too boring and lacked a lot of charisma. Doesn't matter if he wasn't written properly, he just doesn't have the screen presence required to star is such a pivotal role.
Exactly.
I don't know seems on par with reeves saw the flicks around the same time so nostalgia had no sway.
Hey buddy, thanks for subscribing. Yeah I've done a podcast review on Man of Steel with my friend Richard and took part in a 2 hour discussion with Captain Logan at Geekvolution. I may do a retrospective style video in a year maybe. :)
This movie was so boring...I can't remember even one thing that happened 'ceptin that plane scene. It's a movie that's trying to be like another movie - think of it like a person...if they're trying to be somebody else, they're an uninteresting person. However, most movies made today have the problem of trying too hard to impress you - and again, it's like a person...someone who's trying too hard to impress seems like a dork. And Hollywood is merely unimpressive BioDigital dorks. It partly comes from the incessant greed of the BioDigital mind, perhaps. It's like the movies have to be their own advertisments and constantly try to impress you. They have no ability to be 'cool' and HOW COULD THEY? They are made by mindless meat puppets of an 'All Seeing Eye' and they have no freewill and no talent. Instead, they march in step and make North Koreans look organic and individuated. So sad.
PROVEN FACT VIDEOS Yeah this movie had so many good things going for it, but it was just tooooo slow paced. Only the plane and maybe the metropolis scene was fun but thats five minutes out of 2 hours.😴
This actually really felt great up until the end of the film. It really did have a classic feeling.
Definitely better than Man of Steel!
That had more action and was clear it was a reboot
Man of Steel had senseless destruction in place of action and Returns never wanted to be a reboot.
Brenn Tantor "Man of Steel had senseless destruction" - So... like most Superman comics and cartoons then.
You realise Man of Steel is a direct adaptation of Superman: Earth One, right?
Routh deserved s better movie He was fine and the plane rescue was awesome Instead we got Cavill
In my opinion Superman Returns is better than Man of Steel 😌 .