Superman Returns What could have made Superman Returns better

[elgaz]

I commented on this film in the Smallville forum but the thread in question has now been closed, so I'll repeat myself here

Superman Returns is a film full of climatic moments - Superman returning to Earth, Lex stabbing him, his subsequent fall and near death in the ocean, then lifting New Krypton, then falling to earth, then his near death (again) in the hospital.

There problem is there is no buildup to each moment.

He's returning to Earth? Really? We hardly knew he was gone, and by removing the scenes detailing his visit to New Krypton they effectively removed any kind of understanding the viewer may have had of just why he was gone for 5 years.

Don't get me wrong; I saw the film in the cinema when it was released and really, really liked it. But in hindsight I think I was bowled over by the limited good points (the airplane save, the few 'action' scenes, etc) and the fact that we finally had a new Superman movie with modern effects after a long time waiting. Subsequent viewings have shown up the many flaws in the story, the style and the execution.

One of my major gripes is also the near-complete lack of resolution at the end of the film. New Krypton is still there out in space, growing. Lex is still free, though temporarily trapped on a small island. Superman still has a kid, who still lives with Richard and Lois. And what happened to Metroplis? The entire structure of the city was strongly affected by the continent growing next to it, yet nothing more is mentioned about it in the film.

The only real progression we get is that Superman realises the kid is his and Lois accepts the 'world needs Superman' - which we all knew anyway.

Lex Luthor was also woefully misused in this. Bryan Singer had a great opportunity to portray Lex as a more modern villain, but he instead chose to pursue the 70s-era version of Lex as someone who's primary goal was real estate. Logically speaking, I also found that something of a plot hole; at one point in the film, Lex has advanced Krptonian technology in his possession and access to a wealth of knowledge in the Fortress of Solitude - he could make billions by reverse engineering this technology, using it to develop new Earth technology (a la Lexcorp), selling it to military, etc - but instead he decides to create new land (!!!!).

Indeed, that blatant worship of Donner's universe was really the underlying problem with Superman Returns.

I watched the film again the other night to reacquaint myself with it, and it's a bit bizarre really. A weird tone, a weird colour/hue throughout the film, a very different Perry White, a very different Superman (one who has no problem spying on people), a very bland Lois, a superkid, etc. Jimmy Olsen was about the only thing that felt right. I imagine in years to come, when Smallville has ended and the new Superman movie has come out and perhaps produced a few sequels, Superman Returns will feel like a bit of an enigma, a one-off Superman film which doesn't really fit in anywhere despite trying to be a sequel to the Donner films.

 

[mego joe]

I also liked the son-idea.
And all those unanswered questions your talking about, they would have been answered if Singer/Routh and the rest of the gang would have had a chance to do a sequel.
Imo WB was to soon to put a end to the Singer-Superman, i truly believe that in the second part we would have more action and a more complete explination regarding the kid.
Right now SR is a story without a proper ending, lots of questions we will never get an answer for. Those answers would have come in the sequel but yeah ...

I tought Singer did a good job and he made what he promised: making us a movie in the same style and lines as STM and SII.

I don't think that the potential for an interesting sequel was really there. I think instead of having the audience excited about what would come next it felt unfinished and left the viewer with a sense of I don't really want to know what comes next. Too much Jerry Springer etc....

Superman shouldn't feel like that. I know personally it felt like watching a car accident. A big mess with too much clean up to really be intriguing. If Singer had left out the kid or made Richard the biological father it would have been a much better film, or if Superman had died at the end.

 

[Zack Snyder]

SR=decent superhero film but bad superman film Perhaps if they had given him a different hero name and changed the other character names it would have worked.

Ultimateman

 

[mojo-x]

That FOS you have doesn't have a high tech 41st century cell phone so you can give a call first? And why would Superman just vanish without telling people he was leaving BUT would be back.

Apparently the FOS doesn’t even have a 20th century alarm system.

Bryan Singer had a great opportunity to portray Lex as a more modern villain, but he instead chose to pursue the 70s-era version of Lex as someone who's primary goal was real estate.

The whole they can’t make any more real estate is so out dated these days. I guess Lex never heard of Due by.

 

[mego joe]

SR=decent superhero film but bad superman film Perhaps if they had given him a different hero name and changed the other character names it would have worked.

Ultimateman

I agree entirely with this assessment.

 

[Doc Ock]

I love Superman Returns. But it could of had much much more Krypton stuff. And a sequel.

 

[Superman_]

What would have made Superman Returns better IMO is if they left the movie uncut. Now granted I did love the movie and thought it was great but I think it would have been better if they left in the whole RTK scene as well as the Lex Luthor subplot and some of the reaction they had planned for Lois when her and Superman talked as well as them hinting at her knowing he was listening. Another thing I think that would have been better is that if Lois and Clark had a better relationship before he left as they showed in the prequel comics and I think it would have been a little better if Lois knew Clark was Superman. Would have been more dramatic when both returned I think.

What I said here still stands. I believe this movie would have been better had Singer kept the original opening with the newspapers (as you see in the bonus features) during the titles that bridged the gap between the first two movies to this one. I also think that it would have been better had Singer not removed the RTK scene and the Luthor subplot which showed he didn't really care about the land but more or less wanted to kill Superman and showed just how smart he truly is to trick Superman to fly to Krypton. I also think they should have kept in all the SV stuff and all the Clark stuff in Metropolis leading up to Superman's Return because all that stuff that was cut out plays heavily into the theme of the movie.

As I said before Superman Returns was a great movie and should have gotten a sequel well did have one for a while till things went south. But I think Singer just missed the mark by taking those things out.

 

[marvelrobbins]

I like Superman returns.I see It as last part of trilogy with the expanded cut of SUperman and Donner Cut of Superman II.Having said that I would have changed this

Different actress as lois(Kate Bosworthw as weak link In Superman Returns)

Drop Ricahrd White(If Superman and Lois have child they should be together)

Keep the return to Kryptan sequence In film

Keep subplot of Lex planting the newspaper reports of Kryptan being found so Superman would leave the earth

Lex's plans witht he crystals were Simply to kill Superman

 

[VenomsMom]

It started horribly for me to begin with when they showed Lex hustling the old sick lady out her fortune and revealing his showing her "PLEASURES". That was awful and I knew right away it was Gene Hackface. This was our main villain.

Superman being lonely blah blah blah.

Having sex with Lois and still not revealing himself as Clark and leaving earth was a horrible place to start the story.

We discover the kid is his and he has superpowers.........LAME AS HELL>

As a matter a fact I don't even want to rehash all the horrible plot points in this movie and I am ecstatic a sequel to it died.

 

[Lord Blackbolt]

They basically shot themselves withe a kryptonite bullet when they wrote that script.

I can't see how anyone from WB even let that script get finalized. It's like they thought... Hey Bryan Singer did whatever he wanted with X-men and it was a hit....screw the fanboys, let the director get full control...it's Superman they'll see it no matter what.

 

[HR-PUFF&STUFF]

I would have had Superman leave after he was forced to execute Zod, Non, and Ursa. I would have opened the movie kinda like the first movie with the three of them in the FOS and Zod shouting at Superman about taking his revenge on him and earth. The the movie would cut to superman on warworld where he is a gladiator. after Warworld he comes back to earth to find lois dating the reporter that took his place, John Corben. the two of them are looking into Intergang. when john and lois get to close intergang trys to kill them. superman is able to save lois but john is left in a coma. lex fakes johns death and puts his brain into Metallo. lex shows metallo video of lois and superman together and tells him that superman could have saved them both but wanted him out of the way. lex sends metallo after superman on a revenge mission.

there would be more to it, but thats just off the top of my head

i would have no kid, made up characters, lame sidekicks, or land fraud schemes.

 

[BH/HHH]

I would have had Superman leave after he was forced to execute Zod, Non, and Ursa. I would have opened the movie kinda like the first movie with the three of them in the FOS and Zod shouting at Superman about taking his revenge on him and earth. The the movie would cut to superman on warworld where he is a gladiator. after Warworld he comes back to earth to find lois dating the reporter that took his place, John Corben. the two of them are looking into Intergang. when john and lois get to close intergang trys to kill them. superman is able to save lois but john is left in a coma. lex fakes johns death and puts his brain into Metallo. lex shows metallo video of lois and superman together and tells him that superman could have saved them both but wanted him out of the way. lex sends metallo after superman on a revenge mission.

there would be more to it, but thats just off the top of my head

i would have no kid, made up characters, lame sidekicks, or land fraud schemes.

So pretty much Superman Exile

 

[The Morningstar]

Not try to pander to the Donner films, for one thing.

With the budget that it had, the action scenes were mind numbingly dull. I want to see Superman do more than stop a car with it's brakes cut and catch a plane.

Don't make Superman an unlikable creep. Marsdon's character was more sympathetic and likable.

Don't make Louis Lane look like an anorexic catwalk model who is also unlikable. To the degree that you wonder what Kal-El actually sees in her.

 

[HR-PUFF&STUFF]

So pretty much Superman Exile

yes

 

[kedrell]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/bryan-singer-why-superman-returns-179292

 

[TheDorkKnight]

---

 

[Sakuraba]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/bryan-singer-why-superman-returns-179292

Yes, his laborsome analogies to Jesus Christ were to "heavy" for a summer audience. His high concepts were just too far out of reach for a general audience.

The idea that Returns was a romance movie is a bit of a half-truth. As is that sentence about critics praising the film.

 

[EditNinja]

It was a classy production.

Just needed an epic fistfight...

...and delete 'the kid'

 

[Sabaoth]

1. Opening act was underwhelming...Clark's ship crash lands and Martha runs out to get him and cries out "Clark"....meh.

2. The long winded toy train sequence....too long and boring.

3. After Superman Returns, the montage of his "return" as experienced all over the world seemed like something out of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

4. Superman does not get to come back and kick the three goons asses. The goons are removed via an "act of god".

5. The whole hospital scene seemed like something better suited for a television show, not the big screen. That whole sequence felt out of place in the context of the entire movie.

6. The parting words and lack of resolution with Lois, "I'm always around", was just bad.

7. The HORRIBLE CGI of Brandon as he flies off into space at the end.


I think adding the return to krypton scene and shortening the train set sequence alone would have added much to the movie, and we may have gotten the sequel we'll never see.

 

[the amazing fro]

They should have done four things

They should have gotten rid of the kid. While an interesting idea there is very little room to maneuver afterwards. As an end of a series it works. A start to a new one? Not so much

Better Lex luthor Plan- While I liked the scene with Superman getting the **** kicked out of him, the rest of LL's plan was weak and just repeated the Hackman's land plan.

More action- Give Lex luthor a battlesuit or SOMETHING. Just have a super fist fight and the movie is already a lot better

and the big one- they should have spent more time on how Superman's leaving affected the world and how EVERYONE has moved on or not moved on, not just Lois Lane. It would have made a very interesting study on superman's place in post 9/11 society.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

and the big one- they should have spent more time on how Superman's leaving affected the world and how EVERYONE has moved on or not moved on, not just Lois Lane. It would have made a very interesting study on superman's place in post 9/11 society.

I agree with this.

 

[Man of Steel]

I just re-watched Superman Returns and I can't believe how much believe how much better it seems now. There are still a couple things I would have liked to add, though.
1) Luthor is obsessed with land and uses idiotic henchmen.
You would have thought that "the greatest criminal mastermind in the modern era" would have learned by now. And how come Luthor is a crook instead of a corrupt businessman?
2) Superman is Jason's father.
I would have been fine with the kid. Just don't make it Superman's. Maybe the combination of the Kryptonite and adrenaline gave him temporary super-strength.
3) More lines and public statements from Superman.
I personally thought that Clark had enough lines. Superman, on the other hand, only gave that one interview to Lois.
4) Clark is the real person.
Just make Clark a little less clumsy and a little more confident. How hard can that be?
5) The suit
Brighter colors, an oval buckle, larger shield on the chest, a yellow one on the cape and an open collar never hurt anyone.

And some additional parts that should have been added in:
1) Lex Luthor is walking around his office at Luthor Corp, when suddenly, he thinks out loud:
"For years, I've thought that Superman is the ultimate challenge. But now, I see that even if I can't destroy him, I can still get rid of him."
An off screen scene has Luthor going to S.T.A.R. Labs and bribing Dr. Teng to "do something about it". Professor Hamilton then sends out a signal to a classic suited Superman(with my idea of a modified Superman Returns suit, but with a flat shield and classic boots), who is busy putting out a burning building. Hamilton tells Superman to "get over here quick, I think we found it". Superman says:
"I'm on my way, Professor", then zooms off into the distance. Then the opening credits start.
2) "The Return to Krypton" is included. When Superman returns to Earth, he stands up and walks over to Martha before collapsing in her arms. "It's okay now, Clark. You're home." Martha whispers to him.
3) Just after being shot at( and deflecting the bullets from) the gunman, Superman rushes into the bank just in time to stop a robbery:
"I don't think you should be playing with those knives. You could hurt someone that way.", then, using his X-ray vision through the window, spots Kitty's out-of-control car.
4) After being weakened by the Kryptonite, Superman tries to aim a punch at Luthor, but is too weak. He misses, and Luthor pushes him over the cliff.
5) After returning from being recharged by the son, Superman returns to Earth to destroy New Krypton, but after being notified of Superman's recovery, Luthor uses the crystal to create a Crystal mechanical monster to keep Superman busy. There is a fight scene and Superman eventually takes down the robot, but instead of lifting New Krypton into space, Superman digs deep underground and removes the crystal creating the island. Superman then throws it into Space, the same way young Clark Kent threw the crystal to create the Fortress in STM and Smallville. Without the strain of lifting New Krypton, the hospital scene is eliminated. Superman collects Luthor and brings him to the authorities.
6) A post credits scene has Clark Kent, without his glasses, sitting on the couch of his new Metropolis apartment, watching the news when his phone rings:
"Hi, mom."
"Clark, there's someone coming over to visit you in Metropolis."
"Well, who is it?"
"It's Lana."
Stunned, Clark drops the phone.
"Clark? Clark, are you there? Clark?"
Finally, Martha hangs up.
In space, the Kryptonite crystal Superman throw is still traveling at sonic speed when it crashes into an asteroid. New Krypton starts to regrow on that, paving the way for a sequel with Brainiac. And in jail, Luthor is seen with a piece of Kryptonite with Superman's blood, setting the story up for Bizarro in a sequel.

 

[Smegger56]

The lack of action wasn't a problem for me. It was the lack of Superman/Clark Kent.

I felt this film was more a Lois Lane film than anything else. Superman/Clark Kent was too silent.

I think the inclusion of the return to krypton would have helped establish superman more effectively. That, IMO, was a cock up by Singer.

More emphsis on his absence and return. Seeing the world possiby coming to terms with him leaving and now he's back, people feel rejected. Show more of that instead of 'Oh supes is back. But he buggered off 5 years ago... Oh well. YAY SUPES'.

The kid. That just seemed so out of the blue. I think if they where going to use that plot device, they should have done a better job of building him up.

Overall, I liked this film a lot and think it deserved to get a sequel. And it's a shame we wont see where Singer would have taken it.

 

[Dr.]

What could have made Superman Returns better?

Attempting to answer that question might be a moderately interesting exercise – particularly if one has aspirations to filmmaking, writing, editing or even criticism. But it should probably be constrained by reasonable boundaries. Otherwise, you could just suggest that (for example) Plan 9 From Outer Space could be better by making it something entirely different (say, Citizen Kane).

The existence of Jason (“the kid&#8221 is a fairly crucial element to SR’s central theme of alienation. It’s associated with why Superman leaves Earth and why he still doesn’t feel connected when he returns. So getting rid of Jason is equivalent to saying, “should have made a different movie.” That’s a valid opinion. But it strains the definition of “better.”

 

[Man of Steel]

What could have made Superman Returns better?

Attempting to answer that question might be a moderately interesting exercise – particularly if one has aspirations to film making, writing, editing or even criticism. But it should probably be constrained by reasonable boundaries. Otherwise, you could just suggest that (for example) Plan 9 From Outer Space could be better by making it something entirely different (say, Citizen Kane).

The existence of Jason (“the kid”) is a fairly crucial element to SR’s central theme of alienation. It’s associated with why Superman leaves Earth and why he still doesn’t feel connected when he returns. So getting rid of Jason is equivalent to saying, “should have made a different movie.” That’s a valid opinion. But it strains the definition of “better.”

Well, by better, we mean what could have made Superman Returns into a better movie for us fans.