Superman Returns: Review

Superman Returns! Superman Returns! Superman Returns! Superman Returns!

Oh how I was excited about seeing the new Superman! I remember being a kid and seeing the first 3 Superman movies and liking them a lot. I never saw the 4th movie. So, when Superman Returns hit the theaters went to see it.

I waited until Monday night when the theater would be less crowded and there would be fewer children in the theater. I hoped for a wonderful movie going experience with no distractions so that I could fully participate in the experience. My wife and I found our seats in a fairly uncrowded theater and settled down with our quart of soda and basket of pretzel bites and waited for the movie to begin.

We waited through the 15 minutes of pre-preview commercials and the 15 minutes of upcoming movie previews, none of which excited me (except the new Spiderman). They all seemed to be about God or Football. I found this mildly annoying.

Then, the screen went black and the movie began. A couple had settled in behind us in seats to the left. They too were excited about the movie. I knew this because of their rather loud conversation that never ceased throughout the duration of the movie.

Without giving away the plot, I'll tell you that the first half of the movie dragged on. I found myself increasingly uncomfortable in my seat and had to switch positions many times to try to get comfortable. This was not a promising sign of my enjoyment (or lack) of the movie. Around the mid way point of the movie I wanted to ask my wife if she wanted to leave, but I had paid full price, so I thought I should stick it out.

I was disappointed with the believability of the movie. I understand that it's fiction, and I fully expected to suspend my disbelief in flying men with superpowers, but other aspects of the movie left me thinking, "hey, she would have passed out by now," and "hey, why isn't the kryptonite affecting Superman now?"...

At this point I was also highly annoyed at the behaviour of other movie goers. This is the main reason I seldom go to theaters anymore. I would much prefer to sit in the quiet comfort of my own house and watch them. The couple behind us and the trio on front of us continued their private conversations throughout the movie. This was incredibly annoying. On top of this, the guy behind us did not have his cell phone turned off, so it kept beeping that he had a voice mail. Also, he was restless and kept putting his feel up on the seat in front of him and kicking the back of the seat. This is behaviour I would expect from a child, not from adults. Increasingly, I find that the behaviour of others in movie goers is a detriment to the movie going experience. Also, it seems that the bad behaviour is no longer in children, but that there have been more adults with this behaviour as well. I didn't pay $9 to sit and listen to the conversation of others and be constantly kicked in the back.

By the end of the movie, I was completely disappointed in the whole experience. The audience was ill-behaved; the story was poorly written, predictable, and dull; the action scenes were boring; the movie was rather preachy with strong religious overtones (Superman has always been a little religious, but this was exceedingly so); it was long and boring; and the child actor was a bad actor (not that I expect too much from a child actor).

The basic concept of the movie was true to the Superman style. The actors were good and Kevin Spacey was a wonderful choice for Lex Luthor and the only source of comic relief (apart from the little dog). The movie was cast well and the costuming and makeup was good. The special effects were decent.

Unfortunately, no amount of good casting could save this movie. Not even the best of actors could have made the story exciting, or even marginally so.

Overall, there are very few movies that I am upset that I spent the money to go see... this was one of them.