Well, as SuperDickery.com has illustrated, the Man of Steel is freakin' dick to everyone, and the closer he is to someone he's being a dick to, the more he seems to enjoy it. So, going to see Superman Returns on Wednesday we couldn't help but keep noticing the little telling moments where, given the choice between doing nothing and seeming rude or abusing his powers and being a dick, he always erred on the side of dicketry. I mean, look at the guy! His buddy "The Flash" comes up to say 'hi' and...
What a dick. Anyway, Superman Returns. Yeah, good movie. I was particularly pleased with how they eased it right back in with the original two Christopher Reeve Superman movies. From their use of the old footage of Marlon Brando as Jor-El to the streeking 70's style in which they did the credits to even the mimicing of Reeve's Clark Kent mannerisms, Returns fits right into the Superman movie continuity as if there had been no break at all. This is also evident in Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor portrayal wich is almost exactly like Gene Hackman's version, but here, alas, I had hoped Luthor's ingenuity and intelligence would be played up as much as his cold determination and cruelty. I will also admit my dissappointment in the super action scenes. They were awesome, don't get me wrong, but after the thing with the plane, every time Superman did something amazing it just kind of seemed like the same scene over and over again...
I'm pretty sure this comes from him not having an opponent anywhere near his power level in this movie. We saw him handling emergencies he was well above and all his super powered act were against innanimate objects. I was probably ruined when I saw screenshots of the video game where it looked like he was fighting a giant robot. It could be that I got my hopes up for something that would be able to smack him around a little bit. I really just wanted to see Superman haul off and slug something with current day special effects behind him. All there were, however, were natural phenomenon and human opposition. Though, I like to imagine that when the camera cut away from that guy who tried to shoot him in the face Supes turned around and 'slapped that guy skinny', Panther-Style:
So, it was a good movie, I guess I just had my hopes too high on the 'super hero' side. Maybe by the next one we'll bring in somebody like Brainiac or Darkseid to mess with (I'm pretty sure Bizarro, much like Venom, is going to require at least one more sequel before we're willing to accept the comic logic). On the dramatic side, this story was a real winner. Asking how Superman, the aforementioned dick, can deal with coming back after a five year absence to find the woman he loves is engaged to someone else and already has a child is a challenge that super strength and invulnerability weren't meant to handle. Again, the use of Marlon Brando's old role as Jor-El really helps to paint an image of solitude for Supes.
Well, lets hear it for the summer of sequel blockbusters! Next up: Pirates!
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