Superman's real weakness :possible spoilers:

[fatfencer]

I went and saw the movie Superman Returns. For the first time in two and a half decades of avid film watching I felt transported back to childhood.

Then the abominable happened. In the same way that Lex shanks Superman with a shard of Kryptonite, the writers of the film's story destroy our hero. Instead of further immortalizing him he's turned into a pseudo-deadbeat dad.

I say 'pseudo' because he leaves her to search for his home planet not knowing he's fathered a child. When he does return he makes it clear in the film he'll always be around. Its a little weak plot wise for the Man of Steel to not be able to raise his own son because hes out saving the world and because it would be too awkward for Lois to leave her fiance who, actually, is her boss!! It would 'threaten her world'; she makes it clear to Superman what is best. Be a father from a distance.

Worse, Lois lies to her long term fiance' by telling him that he is the father of Superman's baby. She lies further by telling him that she never loved him nor had an affair with him. Fraility thy name is...

The real sad part is that Richard, played by X-Man James Marsden is a stand-up guy thru the whole film. Lois takes advantage by never telling him the truth and using him to be her baby-daddy.
Maybe she knew that he couldn't compete. But by not telling him its clear that in her mind he can't. She stays with Marsden's character but dreams wistfully of the big S.

Ironically, as Clark, he'll be one desk away. How either man can stand to be manipulated by her is beyond me.

To think that the Superman mythos got shanked by the writers with Jerry Springer-ite is beyond disgusting.

In the film the word Superman describes himself as a reluctant 'Savior'; Superman holding the Daily Planet orb like Atlas is powerful god-like imagery worthy of the legend. To have the icon besmirched, soiled with hurtful deceit and lies....icky. Whatever happened to 'Truth, Justice and the American Way'?

Sadly enough, WE happened, I think. We destroy our icons/heroes/legends so that we can relate to them. We infect them with our own misguided ways of living.

Just the ramblings of a truly saddened movie-goer.

Fatfencer

PS: Chris, Dana.. I don't know if you liked the movie, but, as a real large part of the mythos of Superman I'm sadly wondering if you are as disappointed as I am.

[VELISARIOS]

So is it a bad movie?

[Philistine]

{snip}
I say 'pseudo' because he leaves her to search for his home planet not knowing he's fathered a child. {snip}

This made me think of the old Larry Niven essay on Superman's procreative possibilities. Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex



--Philistine

[Gav]

Can we try and remember that not everyone has had the opportunity to see this movie yet - it's not out for another 2 weeks in the UK.

[youngblade]

it sounds like i great backstory filled with drama and decepion, i think that rather than resurecting the man of steal, this movie is more allong the lines of a formal funeral for him, its sad and will be hard to picture by many people who will go and see the movie but in my perspective that is how the great legend may end in film making forever or until he is truely resurected. we are at an age where global unity is our innevitable and unnescabable fate, if superman is not compleetly killed off he may not stand for the american way although truth and justice will always be a virtue in superman, the american way might die with our older "ideal version" of superman.

--josh

[fatfencer]

Can we try and remember that not everyone has had the opportunity to see this movie yet - it's not out for another 2 weeks in the UK.

My apologies... had no clue....but then I was never a big believer that knowing the story ruins the film. In fact knowing the storyline usually makes me want to see it more.

FF

[oso97]

Can we try and remember that not everyone has had the opportunity to see this movie yet - it's not out for another 2 weeks in the UK.

Umm Gav.... you DID read the title of the thread? Possible Spoilers?

Don't read if you don't want to know.

[Phaeton]

I didn't like the movie all that much, but it wasn't by any means bad. Superman in and of himself is a flawed character. Completely invulnerable to all harm except kryptonite and for all the people that actually read his comics a variety of weird mental and magical attacks that DC has managed to pull out of somewhere; he is never in any direct danger. This makes a solid film plot hard to create, and beyond that makes him seem inhuman and hard to identify with. Clark Kent may be praised as a critique of human nature as many people have done, but it's an unimpressive one at that. Of perhaps all super heroes there is the most disconnect between superman and his alter ego Clark Kent. His human identifiable side is just a role he plays to fit in.


Superman Returns fails to solve any of these problems, and presents a very distant cold view of the Man of Steel himself. Set after Superman returns from a quest to find his home planet after Superman II (avoiding the not-so-memorable-sequels) there is a whole new slew of issues for our favorite Kryptonian to handle. His pursuit of Lois Lane is subtly disturbing showing Superman as a voyeur feeling free to use his X-ray vision wherever. The only stand out performance is the role Lex Luthor, which is played with a sense of play and enjoyment, the other roles to varying degrees lack commitment and in a sense people liking being themselves. Beyond mediocre acting and a few slightly unsettling moments the plot is slightly ridiculous which amounts to "Superman vs. Inanimate Objects".

The film is beautifully flashy. CGI isn't enough to make a good movie these days, and although there were some great moments; they don't fully make up for everything else.

I'll give it a 7.5/10, but it's a great way to spend an air-conditioned summer afternoon munching pop corn and drinking your carbonated, high-fructose-laden poison of choice.

I don't think Superman will make the comeback as a hero as the film makers hoped. The attempt to reintroduce superman yielded a dry character, and will leave him down near the bottom of favorite and best selling super heroes, far behind his other major DC companion, Batman, and individuals such as the Green Lantern, and Green Arrow, who became much more interesting after the 80's.

Our iconicaly American and formally extremely racist antigerman character was left with a relatively unsatisfying movie and won't find further glory days, I'd cry but I'm busy day dreaming what I would do with those nifty batarangs and a batmobile, or perhaps webshooters and spidey sense.