Thursday, June 29, 2006
11:05 by FoxTwo As a Superman fan, I went and watched this movie. First, the good news.
Superman is back! The new CGI animation sequences makes his flying sequences fantastic! It actually makes the older Superman movies look amateurish by comparison. I have to applaud the animators for taking painstaking details into account, like papers flying and trees ruffling when Superman zips low past them on the city streets.
There's even Matrix-style sequences of bullet dodging (well, more like "Faster Than A Speeding Bullet" sequence) and slo-mo sequences of bullets squashing themselves on Superman's invulnerable body. Sequences like these could never have been done back in the early 80's when the original Superman films were made.
The only nitpick I have is that they should NOT have removed the yellow S on his cape. Superman NEEDS his yellow S!
I even liked the scene where Superman saved Luthor's "girlfriend" from a "car mechanical failure". Superman lifted the car up and flew over a fountain because the brakes failed. As he was setting the car down, the pose he was in is an exact duplicate of Action Comics #1 cover! In a later scene, Perry White even called this pose "iconic".
Now the bad news - Brandon Routh needs acting lessons from Christopher Reeve. Well technically he can't cos Chris Reeve is dead. But he could do well to learn Clark Kent from Christopher Reeve's version. Slump your shoulders. Be more bumbly. It was these small things that made Christopher Reeve's version of Clark Kent so believable that nobody working in the same office as him will ever connect him to Superman as being the same guy. In fact in Superman 4, the Clark Kent scene in the gym where he was working out in the aerobics class was one of my favourites. Look at the Clark Kent there in that scene. Will you EVER think that Clark Kent is Superman? Him? That big klutzy guy in the aerobic class? Superman?? HAH!
As Superman, Brandon does pretty much OK. But I still think the crooks in Metropolis are still too dumb. Why would they even bother to shoot at Superman anyway? If I were a crook, once I see the big red S I'd just give up. This time around, the bullets bouncing off Superman scene was given a more realistic touch - they don't just bounce off him, but they ricochet off him. The nearby helicopter was hit as a result of all the bullets ricocheting off Superman's chest.
As for the villian, Lex Luthor - Kevin Spacey was incredible! He's cool, calculative, sometimes comical, ruthless, and he's the best Luthor yet! This is how I imagined Luthor should be. Gene Hackman's Luthor was more cartoonish, and slightly clumsy. I hope they decide to keep Kevin Spacey on as Luthor for upcoming Superman movies.
And if you're an old-timer like me... watch out for the opening credits, as well as the closing credits. The familiar Superman theme song would be playing. The credits would come flying in just like they did in the old Superman movies.
In the closing sequence, Superman flew the same exact flight-path as in the old Superman movies - looked at the camera, smiled, and made a left turn and flew off into the sunset. It's better this time around, with the CGI graphics, The flight seems more natural, and doesn't "drift" like in the old movies.
I even liked that they decided to use the same music in the Lois Lane-Superman flight sequence too (Can You Read My Mind). I think they know that these are the music that make people identify with the movie, and Superman. They know that they should not upset loyal fans and alienate them with "new" music.
11:05 by FoxTwo As a Superman fan, I went and watched this movie. First, the good news.
Superman is back! The new CGI animation sequences makes his flying sequences fantastic! It actually makes the older Superman movies look amateurish by comparison. I have to applaud the animators for taking painstaking details into account, like papers flying and trees ruffling when Superman zips low past them on the city streets.
There's even Matrix-style sequences of bullet dodging (well, more like "Faster Than A Speeding Bullet" sequence) and slo-mo sequences of bullets squashing themselves on Superman's invulnerable body. Sequences like these could never have been done back in the early 80's when the original Superman films were made.
The only nitpick I have is that they should NOT have removed the yellow S on his cape. Superman NEEDS his yellow S!
I even liked the scene where Superman saved Luthor's "girlfriend" from a "car mechanical failure". Superman lifted the car up and flew over a fountain because the brakes failed. As he was setting the car down, the pose he was in is an exact duplicate of Action Comics #1 cover! In a later scene, Perry White even called this pose "iconic".
Now the bad news - Brandon Routh needs acting lessons from Christopher Reeve. Well technically he can't cos Chris Reeve is dead. But he could do well to learn Clark Kent from Christopher Reeve's version. Slump your shoulders. Be more bumbly. It was these small things that made Christopher Reeve's version of Clark Kent so believable that nobody working in the same office as him will ever connect him to Superman as being the same guy. In fact in Superman 4, the Clark Kent scene in the gym where he was working out in the aerobics class was one of my favourites. Look at the Clark Kent there in that scene. Will you EVER think that Clark Kent is Superman? Him? That big klutzy guy in the aerobic class? Superman?? HAH!
As Superman, Brandon does pretty much OK. But I still think the crooks in Metropolis are still too dumb. Why would they even bother to shoot at Superman anyway? If I were a crook, once I see the big red S I'd just give up. This time around, the bullets bouncing off Superman scene was given a more realistic touch - they don't just bounce off him, but they ricochet off him. The nearby helicopter was hit as a result of all the bullets ricocheting off Superman's chest.
As for the villian, Lex Luthor - Kevin Spacey was incredible! He's cool, calculative, sometimes comical, ruthless, and he's the best Luthor yet! This is how I imagined Luthor should be. Gene Hackman's Luthor was more cartoonish, and slightly clumsy. I hope they decide to keep Kevin Spacey on as Luthor for upcoming Superman movies.
And if you're an old-timer like me... watch out for the opening credits, as well as the closing credits. The familiar Superman theme song would be playing. The credits would come flying in just like they did in the old Superman movies.
In the closing sequence, Superman flew the same exact flight-path as in the old Superman movies - looked at the camera, smiled, and made a left turn and flew off into the sunset. It's better this time around, with the CGI graphics, The flight seems more natural, and doesn't "drift" like in the old movies.
I even liked that they decided to use the same music in the Lois Lane-Superman flight sequence too (Can You Read My Mind). I think they know that these are the music that make people identify with the movie, and Superman. They know that they should not upset loyal fans and alienate them with "new" music.
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