tonytr1687
Sidekick
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2005
- Messages
- 1,982
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 31
X-Maniac said:Indeed, the same cannot be said. The details of how the Daily Planet should look, how the fortress should look, etc, are all there - I was looking at Superman Returns: The Visual Guide in a bookshop today - but the problem is that the details of production design are at the expense of the story. The film is straining so hard to be visually impressive that it forgets to make the story match up.
For instance - Superman and Clark are gone the exact same length of time, but no-one suspects anything. Superman just vanishes, telling no one. Lois, despite being a tenacious reporter in the media industry, is unaware of the remains of Krypton being discovered. Lois was heartbroken by Superman's disappearance (driven by bitterness to write a prize-winning article) but had met and had sex with Richard quickly enough for Richard to believe he is Jason's father. Lex creates craggy black rock that no one would ever want to buy. And the opening sequence was dreadful - an old widow who dies within seconds (so no need for any emotional engagement with her, the audience is lured in to a scene which is then slammed shut on them, no need to care about this old woman, she's done her part, she's dead, move on..). And the utterly ridiculous scene with that kid screaming when he throws his wig at her - what child would squeal like that over a hairpiece.
This wasn't Superman, this was Superglance - a film of people doing allegedly meaningful glances and strange staring. Clark sees Lois's article, he sees the picture with Richard, he is told of Lex's freedom because Superman was absent... but no emotional conflict, no drama, just lots of people moving their eyes from side to side.
The irony of Lex winning freedom because of Superman's absence was totally unexplored (never mind the apparent idea that Lex staged the apparent discovery of Krypton's remains as a ploy to gain freedom, a point entirely absent from the movie). The film should surely have opened with Lex's court case and Superman flying away from earth, then flashed forward five years.
So much opportunity squandered and missed. A good story melting away as i watched, the result as barren and lifeless as Lex's new island.
Conversely, X3 sits at the other end of the spectrum, packing in the emotion, the epic scale and comicbook feel... but lacking the attention to detail and subtlety and breathing space in places... These two movies are very different. Neither succeeded entirely. But I can forgive a few details in X3 more than i can forgive the sombre understated dullness of SR. And it seems the box office agrees - they want something epic and emotional with energy and adventure. The behind-the-scenes detail of SR is no good if the end result is lacking.
Superman and Clark being gone the same time and returning the same time: thats like complaining that nobody notices Clark is Superman behind the glasses...suspension of disbelief. And if you'll notice there are two moments in the film where ppl consider the possibility that Clark is Superman. When Jason looks at Supes on the tv and then Clark next to him, he starts wheezing. Then when Jason and Lois are talking in the Daily Planet about Clark being 6'4 and whatnot.
Superman vanishes, telling no one - And how is this a flaw? It was already explained that he didnt know how to say goodbye.
Lois doesnt know about Krypton's remains - ohh woop-dee-doo, and really I didnt even get the impression that she didnt know about it. It wasnt really addressed and is an incredibly minor detail and therefore an incredibly minor nitpick.
Lois going from heartbroken to engaged with child - Lois is the type that hides her feelings. She puts on a brave face even when deep down she's still heartbroken. She forces herself to get over that kind of heartbreak and so I'm sure she got with Jason in order to do that. I'll admit this part takes a little suspension of disbelief but it's still a nitpick. You actually have to dissect the details to find a flaw, so it really aint much of one.
Lex's scheme - It's hinted that Lex is slightly insane. Lex even admits himself that the "craggy black rock" is a little too alien, lacks that human touch etc. Plus the whole scheme was mostly done to lure out Superman and kill him.
The opening scene - wow, you're really grasping now. We're not supposed to be emotionally invested in this old, dying woman. The scene's only purpose was to establish how Lex got his money and his boat, and that is by swindling a dying widow's fortune. Another example of Singer paying attention to detail. He could have easily just showed Lex already rich again but instead went to lengths to show how he got that money.
The wig scene - grasping once again. Nitpicking yet again. You're complaining about the way the little boy squeals? You're kidding right? He's a kid. Little kids do the damndest things and get scared pretty easily. Cant believe you used this as an example of a flaw...
Lex's court appeal - First off it was never even hinted at that Lex staged the news of Krypton's remains. How would he even do that when he was in prison? Now you're just making stuff up. I agree it would have been cool had the movie opened with Lex's court case and Supes flying off to Krypton, but not seeing those things didnt ruin the film. The irony you mention WAS explored. Thats why there were two conversations dedicated to it. Anything more than that would be overkill for what is something that occurred in the past.
X3 epic? X3 emotional? Jean's 5 minute death scene in X2 was more emotional than all of X3 put together. And this epic quality you speak of, I didnt see it anywhere. I saw it all over Superman. And not just in the special effects but in the attention to character development, the fact that the stakes were much higher with over half the country being threatened instead of a mere 6 mutants, who by the way somehow defeated a whole army all by themselves. Right, it's so not obvious how night becomes day in a matter of seconds. It's so not obvious that Magneto had no reason to move that whole bridge just so he could cross to Alcatraz. It's not obvious how ridiculous it is that Rogue gave up her powers just so she could have sex. It's not obvious that Logan has known Jean for a mere few weeks and then confesses his love for her. Or that in the midst of everything happening the X-men somehow managed to stage a grand funeral for Xavier, and ohh! Damn they forgot to include their old friend Cyclops in the ceremony. Or that Logan is able to heal massive amounts of tissue and skin in seconds when its been shown before that something so serious can nearly kill him. Or that instead of using her powers to fight Callisto Storm instead opts for hand-to-hand combat. Real smart of her huh? Or how Angel goes from hating his wings so much that he wants to cut them off to outright rejecting the cure to the point that he jumps out of a window to avoid it? Hmm real attention to character there...I guess he just woke up that day and decided he liked his wings now. X3 managed to be too light-hearted for its subject matter AND dull at the same time. It managed to move too quick and move too slow at the same time.
Oh and you're right, SR was undersated. Singer thanks you for the compliment.