I suppose I quite enjoyed Superman Returns. The special effects were pretty decent and there's undeniably something thrilling about seeing our man leaping over tall buildings in a single bound, flying faster than a speeding bullet, saving doomed aircraft etc. etc.
The thing is though, that there's only so much you can do with a Superman film, isn't there? He's invulnerable, and ultimately that's pretty boring, so you know that at some point he has to lose his powers and get the crap beaten out of him. Then you know that he will regain his powers and truth, justice and all that other stuff will be restored.
Without going into details, that's pretty much exactly what happens here.
They're talking about a sequel, apparently. Let's hope they bother to think up a decent plot first. I'm guessing that Brandon Routh's Christopher Reeve inpersonation -- good though it is -- will soon wear a bit thin.
And I've seen enough of Kevin Spacey doing Gene Hackman doing Lex Luthor too. What about introducing a proper villain like... um... Nuclear Man? (yeah, Batman did get all of the good villains in the DC Universe didn't he?)
I'm more of a Marvel man really.
Nuclear man???
ReplyDeleteBe gone with you, silly man.
Don't you mean Radioactive Man.
ReplyDeleteAs in Rainier Wolfcastle...
As in The Simpsons.
(Adopts the Schwartznegger type voice: "Up And At Them")
Nuclear Man is NON-CANON, and thus guff, the fourth film is not part of the series but opportunistic exploitation.
ReplyDeleteUP AND LETS GO!
No, its 'up and (Atom)'....
ReplyDeletePoor Rainier, he never did get it
Des
I find it hard to find the appeal of Superman. Batman...yeah, now there's a pretty cool dude. I dunno, Superman just doesn't do it for me. Glad you enjoyed the flick though!
ReplyDeleteYeah, Supes is just too damn nice. A nice bloke doing nice stuff. Dull, dull, dull.
ReplyDeleteAs you say his invulnerability doesn't really add to the interest.
Batman is darker (especially the Miller-esque psychoninja version currently in vogue) and flawed. Much more interesting.
As for the Marvel/DC thing... Never really got into either, superheroes aren't my thing. I either go for the Vertigo-type stuff or manga myself.
I don't even remember Superman 4.
ReplyDeleteIf Superman and Spidey had a rumble, who'd win?
ReplyDeleteSpidey would. He is a science student and so would know all about kryptonite. Supes wouldn't have a chance.
ReplyDeleteAn anorak.
I reckon the same, Pynchon my friend. Besides, a cape is an unnecessary hazard if you ask me. Hero Health & Safety!
ReplyDeletein a straight fight? I reckon that mano a mano, Supes would win hands down. Actually, that's the only kind of fight that Supes would get involved in.
ReplyDeleteSpidey, on the other hand, is both bright and sneaky, and he'd never get himself into a situation where he'd be in a straight fight with the man of steel, would he?
Think Batman in "The Dark Knight Returns" - he kicked superman's arse because Superman always fought fair and bats didn't.
Or we could be taking comics too seriously.
If Superman was real, he'd be working for George W.Bush.
ST
Ohboyohboyohboy comic chat.
ReplyDeleteThere has already been a Spiderman vs Superman battle - http://www.supermantv.net/wallpaperbattles/spiderman.htm - where Spiderman lays a few punches on Superman thanks to some Red Kryptonite but when that wears off Superman has to control his punches when he realises that Spiderman is a good guy and in the end they team up...
The real issue with Superman is that his secret identity is actually Clark Kent, not Superman. He's trying to be more like us and fit in with the every day humdrum people of Earth and on the occasions when this is discovered, it can cause real problems for him because he is trying to be more "normal".
Most other superheroes have their superheroes as their secret identity. I mean, Batman has Bruce Wayne who he tries to keep secret from the world, just as Spiderman has Peter Parker.
As for whether Marvel or DC... I would go for DC - they had Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Legion of Super Heroes "Great Darkness" Saga, heck, even the Swamp Thing Saga, including the bit where ST attacks Gotham City and beats up Batman because they've taken his human lover into custody. There's some great scenes in that issue:
Councilmen: "It's disgusting that she has "affairs" with a plant. It's not natural."
Batman: "Hmm, well in that case, I suggest you start rounding up all the other non-humans who are involved in laisons with human women.. Hawkman, for example, evolved from Hawks.
And then there's what's-his-name.
You know...
in Metropolis."
... Classic!
I thought the film was mostly plop.
ReplyDelete