'SUPERMAN RETURNS': THE CREATORS REACT
Learn what your favorite creators thought of the 'Super'-sequel
By Robert Taylor
Posted July 11, 2006 1:15 PM
Bryan Singer's epic has raked in nearly $142 million since debuting and has been greeted by audiences and critics with cheers, but what do your favorite industry pros think about "Superman Returns"? Does the sequel live up to the years of anticipation and hype? Wizard Universe asked. The creators answered.
Be forewarned, spoilers lie ahead!
"Like most comics fans, I have strong memories about seeing 'Superman' for the first time. My dad took me to the film, a bit nervous, I'm sure, to see if his excitable seven-year-old would be capable of sitting through a two-hour plus movie. Dad's nerves were for naught. I ended up dragging my parents to the movie six more times.
"Needless to say, my expectations were high for 'Superman Returns'.
"Full-disclosure time: I did get to read the script and see some rough footage because I wrote two of the DC prequel comics for the film. After reading and seeing what I saw, I was excited and hopeful but who knew? Movies have been known to derail at the last minute.
"So, as the Warner Bros. logo came up on screen at 10 p.m. on Tuesday the 27th of June at the famous Chinese Theatre, my heart was in my throat. And guess what? From the 'whooshing' opening credits until the dedication to Chris and Dana Reeve, 'Superman Returns' made me feel like that awestruck seven-year-old in Ohio so many years ago.
"I might just see it six more times."
Marc Andreyko (writer, Manhunter)
"Because I'm such a fan of 'Superman' and 'Superman II', I was prepared to really dislike this movie...but I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. Brandon Routh grew on me as the movie went along, the effects were terrific, and the 'feel' was right.
"My only complaint was the Superman/Luthor relationship, which seemed a bit off to me; almost like they hadn't met before. I wanted more of a sense that the two characters had a history that really created all this animosity."
Adam Beechen (writer, Robin)
"I loved it. It was emotionally pure. It made me care about Superman. Yes, Lois was too young and Superman was Jesus and Lex wasn't acting as smart as he is, but I still liked it very much. Superman's kid should get himself a costume and throw pianos and kill people in every movie. He could call himself The Tuner."
Brian Michael Bendis (writer, New Avengers)
"I sat there the whole time with a big, stupid grin on my face. There was plenty to like: Spacey made a great Luthor, Routh was good as Superman and great as Clark, the plane-saving scene was just stunning. But, for me, it wasn't any individual bits, it was the whole thing. Plus, beyond the adventure, beyond Superman's heroics, seeing Superman's very existence inspire people: Richard turning the plane around, Kitty dumping the crystals without even understanding why...man, that's Superman! I'm ready for more already!"
Kurt Busiek (writer, Superman)
"I have to say, 'Superman Returns' leaves its predecessor in the dust. Contrast the absence of someone as over-the-top as Otis with the presence of Richard White, whom Singer wisely chooses to portray, not as a schmuck, but a heroic individual whom Lois could easily fall in love with. Yes, he's not Superman...but he doesn't have to be.
"Then there's the matter of Lois' son. I mean, let's face it, with all his physical frailty, the writers tried too hard. They went overboard trying to convince us that Jason's father isn't who we all knew he was before seeing a single frame of the film. (Although it sets up an interesting conundrum: Presuming he was conceived during Clark and Lois' assignation in the Fortress-an involvement that Lois would now have no recollection of-basically his presence is the equivalent of an immaculate conception from Lois' point of view.) Nevertheless, the young actor does a marvelous job, the timing of the reveal is nicely done, and the scene toward the end with Superman and the sleeping Jason is, quite simply, the best Superman scene ever committed to film."
Peter David (writer, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man)
"'Superman Returns' was a faithful recreation of the better character elements of the now-classic 'Superman' and 'Superman II' films. Those elements are what gave those films their longevity in the hearts and minds of Superman fans everywhere, and for them I say well done. While I was disappointed that plot-wise, 'Returns' went over largely the same familiar ground as the first two films, there was still a lot to enjoy. Yes, the plane rescue was fun, but that weird and wonderful scene where Jason and Luthor's henchman played the piano together in a moment of truce was a delicious bit of nail-biting suspense."
Paul Dini (writer, Detective Comics)
"For me, 'Superman Returns' should have been called 'Superman Runs Away,' as that was the true theme of the movie.
"Superman ran away from his responsibility to keep Luthor in prison by not testifying at his parole hearing.
"Superman ran away from his responsibility as a father, essentially becoming a deadbeat dad.
"Superman tried desperately to crawl away from Luthor and his minions as they were kicking the stuffing out of him. Not once did he stand up to fight. Was the kryptonite affecting him? Sure. But he still looked like a coward.
"Superman ran away from his responsibility to apprehend Luthor at the end of the film, depriving the audience of the needed reconciliation between the hero and protagonist. Since Luthor stuck a kryptonite shiv in his side, I needed to see some payback.
"Superman ran away from his responsibility to lock the door. In other words, he knew Luthor knew where the Fortress was, yet left it in such a way that anyone could enter. Luthor did so and attained the means to destroy a world. That's like me leaving a few nuclear bombs on Osama's front steps. Who gets blame in the end?
"There were things that made no sense. Superman's kid has superpowers, yet needs an inhaler? Asthma? Allergies? Or maybe he's just a dweeb? Or maybe it was a 'mask' like Clark's glasses? Fine idea, if true, but the director needs it in the film.
"Superman couldn't stand up to Luthor because there was kryptonite on the island? Yet he later lifted the entire island into space, even though he had a shard of kryptonite in his side and there was kryptonite within inches of his face? Huh?
"I thought the psuedo-death scene was a 10-minute throwaway bit that could have been so much more.
"There were some very nice sequences and I thought Brandon Routh made a great Superman, but Lois was wildly miscast. Too many things didn't make sense and the film dragged in spots. Frank Langella lacked the charm Jackie Cooper brought to Perry White.
"Worst of all, it wasn't Superman I saw on the screen. He was more a shadow of what Superman should be."
Dan Jurgens (writer/artist, History of the DC Universe)
"I loved 'Superman Returns.' I loved the young Clark flashback sequence and you can't tell me you didn't get chills the first time you see Superman swoop in to save the day. The visuals alone are worth the price of admission and I am a sucker for Parker Posey.
"Sure, you could nitpick little things here and there, but there are very few movies that you can't do that to.
"Also, I think Brandon Routh was a terrific choice: His portrayal of Clark is eerily close to Christopher Reeve and he is even more imposing than Reeve was as Superman. I hope this movie does well and they make many sequels because I love me some Superman!"
Howard Porter (artist, Trials of Shazam!
"I can remember the evening of June 18, 1981 very well. I took one of the worst beatings of my life, and it was all Superman's fault. For those of you who don't immediately recognize that date, it's the eve of the U.S. bow of 'Superman II.' The film was showing at midnight at some theaters in my hometown, Philadelphia. But, as I wandered into my mother's house after playing softball across the street (bath time!), we heard on the radio that downtown, at the Sam Eric Theater, lucky filmgoers could see 'Superman II' at 10 p.m. if they paid to see the original 'Superman' at 7:30.
"Well, I wanted to do that. Possibly...probably...more than I'd ever wanted to do anything in my entire life. And so I started to fight. And my mom fought back. I got beat up in the hallway. I got beat up in the bathroom. I got beat up and stripped. I got beat up in the bathtub. My head was throbbing from screaming so much as I nearly drowned. I got beat up in the hallway after the bath, and then my mom put my PJs on me while I was still wet. I got beat up in my bed, and then left in the dark.
"But then that fantastic John Williams score rose up inside me, and, like Maya Angelou, still I rose. I limped out into the hallway, hyperventilating, crying...I remember having to check to see if my ear was still attached. Soaking wet, wearing my PJs (Superman Underoos, natch), I limped toward my mom's door as the theme song crescendoed in my mind. People, I was born to see this movie that night. With fists of steel, I banged on her door...
"...and that's where the story ends, true believer, because I was beat so bad I passed out. But I saw 'Superman II' five times on Saturday: all five shows from the theater's door opening to close, despite the ringing in my ear. It was magical and awesome, and worth getting beaten up over.
"I don't know if 'Superman Returns' is the right Superman movie for 2006, when it feels like America should be apologizing to a world that doesn't want its protection. It's slow and romantic, character driven and operatic. It feels, at times, haunted by the ghost of Christopher Reeve. Kate Bosworth is too young. Lex's plan doesn't make much sense. It doesn't revel in the majesty of flight enough. It has a slow first 45 minutes. And it doesn't seem like Superman should be able to do what he does in the climax.
"And yet, I don't care at all. From the opening percussion to the final eye-wink, 'Superman Returns' is a love letter to the kid inside me who spent half his childhood running at top speed with his fists thrust in front of him, believing in flight. It's a return to a beloved character, crafted by a filmmaker confident enough to embrace the strengths of his predecessor instead of raging against them or hiding from them.
"This time, I was there at midnight. I'm too big for anyone to stop me now. But even if someone had tried, this film, like the first two 'Superman' films, was worth getting beaten up over. I can't wait to see more."
Hugh Sterbakov (writer, Freshmen)
