Aliens and expectations
In 1978 I went to see the movie Superman, starring a then-relative unknown named Christopher Reeve. Going into the film, I had low expectations; in fact, I expected to hate it. I'm not a big fan of the character Superman, and at that point in time, comics fans didn't really have any good experiences to look back on as far as movie versions of comics characters were concerned. I emerged from the theatre having really liked the movie a lot. It was totally not what I expected. They treated the character with respect and crafted a darn fine movie storyline.
This afternoon, I went to see Superman Returns, the new film starring Brandon Routh as the man of steel. My expectations were quite a bit higher today. We've seen some great comic book-based super-hero movies in recent years (think X-Men, Batman and Spider-man, not The Hulk). Hype among comics fandom has been really high, and director Bryan Singer was well known for the first two X-Men films (he opted out of the recent third X-Men movie in favor of Superman). Previews looked good. Though I'm still not really much of a fan of the character. I was pretty disappointed in this movie.
Spoilers may follow. You've been warned.
Brandon Routh does a fine job as Superman, and probably even better as Clark Kent, the harder part of that role. Kate Bosworth is an adequate Lois Lane. I didn't like Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, despite the fact I think he's a great actor (Kevin Spacey, not Lex Luthor). Luthor is a genius, albeit an evil genius, and shouldn't be portrayed as a campy stumblebum. Parker Posey's character was both completely unbelievable and completely unnecessary. The Jimmy Olsen character is a complete caricature. The storyline was pointlessly -- I almost said "complicated" but it's not complicated. It's a sequel to -- what? Certainly not the last Christopher Reeve-Superman movie, but to something. Supes has been gone for five years, and everyone's gone on with their lives. Lois is engaged and has a son. Why? It complicates (there's that word again) characters in needless ways. Supes becomes almost a super-stalker where Lois Lane is concerned. My biggest complaint is probably the campiness of the characters and story. After the greatness of Batman Begins, we may be a little spoiled. But I think comics fans (and movie fans) deserve better than this.
This afternoon, I went to see Superman Returns, the new film starring Brandon Routh as the man of steel. My expectations were quite a bit higher today. We've seen some great comic book-based super-hero movies in recent years (think X-Men, Batman and Spider-man, not The Hulk). Hype among comics fandom has been really high, and director Bryan Singer was well known for the first two X-Men films (he opted out of the recent third X-Men movie in favor of Superman). Previews looked good. Though I'm still not really much of a fan of the character. I was pretty disappointed in this movie.
Spoilers may follow. You've been warned.
Brandon Routh does a fine job as Superman, and probably even better as Clark Kent, the harder part of that role. Kate Bosworth is an adequate Lois Lane. I didn't like Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, despite the fact I think he's a great actor (Kevin Spacey, not Lex Luthor). Luthor is a genius, albeit an evil genius, and shouldn't be portrayed as a campy stumblebum. Parker Posey's character was both completely unbelievable and completely unnecessary. The Jimmy Olsen character is a complete caricature. The storyline was pointlessly -- I almost said "complicated" but it's not complicated. It's a sequel to -- what? Certainly not the last Christopher Reeve-Superman movie, but to something. Supes has been gone for five years, and everyone's gone on with their lives. Lois is engaged and has a son. Why? It complicates (there's that word again) characters in needless ways. Supes becomes almost a super-stalker where Lois Lane is concerned. My biggest complaint is probably the campiness of the characters and story. After the greatness of Batman Begins, we may be a little spoiled. But I think comics fans (and movie fans) deserve better than this.
posted by Kootch | 8:15 PM
5 Comments:
I haven't been to see Superman, nor am I going to. Supes was always too much of a Boy Scout for my tastes, and I've never cared for superheros who get their powers from a freak accident (Supes, Spidey, etc) instead of earning them (Batman, the old Green Arrow).
That being said, it's interesting to live in an era where superhero movies are prolific. Some of the movies are outstanding, but some of them have been downright garbage. I just wish some of the best characters, especially Daredevil, would get the movie treatment they deserve.
Wyl: Three things: 1) I was going to include Daredevil, along with The Hulk, in my examples of bad comic book movies. I take it the Ben Affleck version didn't do much for you either.
2) Not only are superhero movies prolific, some of my favorite comic book-based movies aren't even about super-heroes: Ghost World, Road to Perdition, Men in Black -- all based on comics.
3) "the old Green Arrow"? Not sure what you mean by that. GA hasn't changed.
Kootch: I mean the Ollie Queen GA vice the Connor Hawke incarnation. I haven't kept up on my comics in a few years, so I don't know if Hawke is still around, or if he's using his old man's handle.
Ben Affleck shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a movie even attempting to be meaningful.
You could add a few more movies to the comic-book based list: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (disappointing), Sin City (great) and V for Vendetta (pass the Tums).
Oliver Queen is back as Green Arrow. Although Connor is still around, and still going by the name Green Arrow, as well. Kind of confusing, I know. But, by your definition, Connor came by his "powers" by earning them, too.
I thought V For Vendetta was great (and very true to the original source material), and I know I'm in the minority here, but I really liked A League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (though I didn't care for the comic it was based on).
I like LXG, too, though I wish it was a bit more serious. I'd love to see a sequel to it, maybe working in a few more characters.
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