Superman Returns Superman Returns review on Youtube

[mego joe]

1. I beg to differ. The action very much compliments the story. It is because of the choice he makes to leave is what led to the events of the blackouts caused by Luther. The airplane sequence, the runaway car, and of course the series of destruction at the end. It is his technology stolen from the fortress that is to blame. And is a result of his negligent actions to leave the planet.

From my perspective these action sequences for the most part are as boring as the rest of the movie and in that sense they do compliment the story. Luthor's plot is about as boring as any supervillain plot in any comic book film. None of them really capture the imagination or make you go wow. It's so derivitive of the Donner films it just doesn't feel new or interesting. So whatever comes out of a slow boring villain plot will most likely be boring and feel meaningless.

As far as negligence- you bring up a good point. Superman doesn't do negligence. That's not accurate to his characterization and a great example of what Singer got wrong.

2. I can accept him not being able to say goodbye to Lois. Should he have told her, of course he should have. That was the biggest mistake on his part and he knows that now.

See that's what so wrong. He knew it before hand and he chickened out. But really, is that a lesson that Superman would have to learn? Superboy? Yes. Clark Kent growing up? Yes. But Superman? No. Never. That's ground he's already covered. That's the whole point of his upbringing by the Kents. He's already a good caring person that's not going to make a common mistake like that. I just don't understand how it could possibly be in character, especially considering the fact that he was in a sexual relationship with Lois.

The news of survivors overwhelmed him and he felt a responsibilty to seek them. Leaving his adoptive world was hard enough but having to face the woman he loved and tell her he was leaving and may never come back was extremely difficuly as he explained.

But Superman doesn't chicken out from 'extremely difficult.' Maybe an adolescent character who hasn't learned life lesson yet, but that's not Superman. THis is SUperman, not teenage Clark Kent.

He understood the consequences and decided to allow her to move on with her life as if he no longer existed. At that point he just felt Lois would come to grips with it just move on with her life as she did.

But he didn't. The first half of the film shows that he hasn't come to grips with it. He tries to woo her again, he spies on her and her family- he's shocked that she's moved on at all. He didn't understand the consequences of his actions, the whole film is about him coming to terms with the consequences of his actions. As a matter of fact, that's the whole point of the journey his character takes. "Oops, I screwed up really badly. Wow, I've made a whole lot of people unhappy."

I think it showed that this superpowered godlike being was perone to making a bad decision just like many human beings.

Here's the thing. Superman can make a mistake and he does. It's just that all mistakes are not the same. The mistakes he made in SR are out of character. They don't fit with who he is. They are all based on being selfish, cowardly and a lack of intestinal fortitude. And well, those are all the antithesis of who Superman is.

I think Singer spent too much time and effort to make Superman not just human, but average or even a below average human. The mistakes he makes are ones that someone who is either immature or a jerk would make. He basically does all the wrong things. And that's where the problem lies. While Superman is 'human,' he is not average. As a matter of fact when it comes to morality, intestinal fortitude and bravery- be it physical or emotional- he is supposed to be superior, an example of the best of humanity. That is the whole point of his upbringing by the Kents. Those are the lessons he learned growing up, those are the lessons that make him Superman. That's why he does what he does. His Kryptonian DNA give him his powers and abilities, but it's his upbringing as an exceptional human being that give him the impetus to be Superman.

To have him make the mistakes of an average human is contrary to the very nature of his character- Singer has missed the point and clearly doesn't understand the character. As I said before, it could be interesting as a completely new character, but it just doesn't ring true as Superman.

3. Regardless of whether he said goodbye and she moved with Richard and her child she still would have been bitter because she never would have wanted him to go. She would have tried to talk him out of it and he knows that. She would not have been understanding of his needs despite of everything he has ever done for her. The man returns out of no where and save her from a fiery death and she still is hell bent on giving him the third degree.

But that explanation doesn't fit Superman's character as to why he wouldn't say goodbye. He chickened out plain and simple. He's not emotionally crippled by his relationship to Lois. If you pick up a comic book you'll see that relationship actually gives him strength and is his tether to humanity.

Your last point really illustrates the error made by not giving a fleshed out backstory and picture of the relationship between Superman and Lois before he left. What was going on? Why would Superman not explain to Lois what he's doing? They are in love and in a sexual relationship, there just isn't an explanation that works to explain his cowardice or why 'too difficult' is a believable explanation. 'Too difficult' is never a legitimate explanation for why Superman would not do something. I don't think Singer thought this through. I think he expected the audience to accept it blindly and he didn't realize how much he didn't understand Superman's character.

And really, did she give him the third degree? I felt she was pretty easy on him, the conflict between the two was way underacted and understated. There was almost no emotion when they did talk about it. Poorly acted? Poorly written or both? Any one of those three is possible.

Additionally, once she figures out that Jason is Superman's son and not Richard I would have expected her to have a whole new reason to be upset, but instead it is not even addressed.