2006 Movie News Archives

Superman Returns Poster

July 1, 2006: More Celebrities Comment on “Superman Returns”

Here are some more comments from celebrities and Superman personalities after seeing "Superman Returns"...

    "The movie gets high marks on everything but the plot itself. The movie misses the boat on Luthor as his scheme was more apt for Brainiac, and a golden opportunity was missed to present an epic double threat of a Luthor-Brainiac team." - Glenn Whitmore (Comic book artist/colorist)

Here's what actor Gerard Christopher, who starred as Superboy in seasons 2-4 of the "Superboy" TV series of the late 80s/early 90s:

    "I was interviewed for the documentary Look Up in the Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman a few months ago and went to the premiere at WB recently which is where I met Brandon Routh.

    A few weeks later I was invited to the Superman Returns movie premiere by Bryan Singer and I have to say that Bryan is a wonderful, smart person, altogether too nice for the movie business and an amazingly talented director.

    Brandon is a very likable and sincere young guy with genuine mid-western charm. His Clark is amusing and fun, his Superman is powerful and complex and he looks great in the suit. I hope he has a great career.

    When I was a child who dreamed of being like Superman, so much of the dream was created in my head because movie making was still relatively primitive. But Superman Returns was made at a fortunate time for fans because now the technology of movie making has caught up to the fantasy of Superman's abilities and brought the flying and special effects to a state of near perfection. Superman looks real and so does everything he does.

    I just loved this movie. It is expertly directed, superbly acted and full of technical mastery, bravo!. Everyone should see it, even people who are not Superman fans, if such weirdos really exist."

Here are the detailed thoughts of comic book artist Jon Bogdanove...

    "I saw Superman Returns at a preview in Boston last week, but it has taken me a while to sort out my feelings about it. This is clearly more than a thumbs up/thumbs down equation for me, and I can't sum up my thoughts in only one or two sentences (could I ever?).

    Like most of us, I am very happy to see Superman finally get the serious treatment in film that Batman, Spiderman and the X-Men have enjoyed. The movie itself is brilliantly done, with action and special effects that surpass any superhero movie to date, and outstanding performances by Hollywood superstars and newcomers alike. Brandon Routh's elegant Superman eerily matches the late Christopher Reeve's characterisation, and Kevin Spacey's Luthor is more believably wicked than Gene Hackman's campy portrayal. This movie never makes fun of its subject material. For once Superman is treated reverently, --too reverently, perhaps.

    With a very smart script and expert directing, Bryan Singer has molded Superman into the framework of the New Testament more comprehensively than anyone since the controversial "Gospel of Superman" trend began. Unfortunately for me, I just don't share this interpretation of the character.

    The whole "Superman as Christ" spin on The Man of Steel is not new. It played a central role in the Superman movies starring Christopher Reeve almost 30 years ago. In the comics, I am guilty of contributing to it with The Death of Superman and even more when we resurrected him in The Return of Superman. The makers of WB's Smallville series deliberately chose to exploit the theme thoroughly. Then, as now, it must have been a no-brainer to combine two of the world's most popular, powerful cultural icons. Since Singer's stated objective was to make a sequel to the first two Chris Reeve movies specifically, the religious angle is a legitimate theme to explore.

    I've been aware of the controversy surrounding the movie dubbed by some critics as "Passion of the Clark", or "The Second Coming of Superman" since the earliest buzz. Some religious Christians may feel it exploits and trivializes their sacred story, while some non-Christians may feel the movie is an attempt by Christians to co-opt the appeal of Superman. People on both sides have speculated about the marketing ethics of Hollywood pandering to Christian audiences. But to me it's just a matter of personal opinion about how to honor the integrity of both stories and respect the intentions of each original's creator.

    The Superman I grew up with was not the Messiah, as he is today. He was just a man with extraordinary abilities, who used them to help people and fight injustice as best he could. He was not angelically beautiful like TomWelling and Brandon Routh. He was more rough-and-tumble, even a bit blocky. "Barrel chest, thick but trim waist" said the old DC model sheet.

    Instead of emphasizing his alien "otherness", as Superman Returns does, the original comics, radio, cartoons and T.V. show concentrated on Superman's earthly, solid, American roots. The "man" mattered more than the "super".

    He didn't have to awe you. He was never exalted, different and remote, the way he seems now. He was familiar and comfortable, --more Dad-like than God-like.

    Most important, he wasn't someone you felt you should worship. He was someone you wanted to be.

    He gave you the feeling he could be emulated on a real-life scale, in a real-life way. Even when you finally realized that jumping off the carport with a towel around your neck was never going to make you fly, Superman made you want to be heroically kind, forbearing and protective, --like he was.

    I wish I could endorse Superman Returns whole-heartedly, but I can't. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's original, classic concept still works best for me, just as the Bible's version of Jesus does for the Christ story. Superman is a great myth. He doesn't need to become a religion.

    In spite of my personal misgivings about it, there is still a lot for Superman fans to love about this big, lush, exciting summer blockbuster The rescue of the airplane has the best sense of superhero physics and kinesthetics I've ever seen in a live action movie. There are promising moments where we get a glimpse or two of the Superman that could be, (perhaps in ten years when the young Mr. Routh has had a chance to mature into his role) such as the look he gives the hapless bad guy who tries to shoot him at point blank range. It will be interesting to see where the movie makers will take the Super-franchise now that they have resurrected it.



2006 Movie News

Listed below are all the Movie News items archived for 2006 organized into various categories:

“Superman Returns” Movie News:

Christopher Reeve Movie News: Hollywoodland (George Reeves) Movie News: Direct-to-DVD Animated Movie News: Other Movie News:

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