Change Your Image
victoria-144
Reviews
Superman Returns (2006)
Don't waste your money
The man who used to stand for truth and justice returns in a tormented fashion that does not really take off in the whole movie. It is one dreary scene after another. Routh is HOT to be sure (incredibly so, in fact), and Kevin Spacey simply wonderful as the truly sinister Lex Luthor - but the story is lacking in almost every way...
Superman pursues a (nearly, but for all intents and purposes) married woman with a child. True, she has never really gotten over The Man of Steel, but Superman is flirting with adultery just the same and it does not fit! This is the guy who in Superman the Movie, corrects Lois Lane that his mother is not gray haired, but silver haired. Edgy does not go well with Superman. Internal torment? Yes. But disdain for civility? No. It's not his character. He is THE defender of truth and justice. And what is so comforting about Superman/Clark Kent is that his justice is never hypocritical. He lives it down to the last details of his personal life. he'd never wrong another man like he tries to wrong Richard.
Moreover we see that he has fathered a child before his 5 year hiatus to Krypton. (This is hard for me to believe. Clark Kent, the ultra traditional son of Ma and Pa Kent? The same guy who in Superman 2, has not even KISSED Lois Lane when he chooses mortality so he can be with her?? All of a sudden this guy has had sex with Lois Lane and then ditches her for 5 years?) In any event, the fact about her son is later revealed to Superman who in the end leaves both mother and child to be taken care of by another man - like too many back-boneless men in America already have done. It is just plain wrong, since he pursues Lane when under the impression that the child belongs to another, but when learning the truth, he ditches them both!! Arrrrghh. Just a bad script.
On the whole the movie is dark and tormented, with oddly placed humor. Not nearly enough Clark Kent, though Routh does pull off the character nicely. Kate Bosworth? Well, she's cute. But she's not the fiery Lois Lane I expected. She's a melancholic intellectual, as opposed to the bubbly extrovert she traditionally is (Margot Kidder and Teri Hatcher did the job well, but I had to remind my self "this is Lois Lane" when Kate Bosworth came on screen). Lois Lane is angry with Superman and too much time is spent building up the movie and their feelings, which are never really resolved either way... Sure, she should be angry with him - but show some feist, not blues.
Expectations ran high for me for Superman Jr. to have a more key role - such as giving blood to his wounded father, thus exposing the truth, or by being immune to Kryptonite unlike his 100 percent alien father and helping his dad out of a pinch - but after shoving the grand piano across the room little Jason does little else but look pretty. Oh, but I guess returning to Krypton has made Superman much more resistant to Kryptonite since he manages to move an entire kryptonite ISLAND/small continent into outer space! (What was that all about?? One little shard of Kryptonite is generally sufficient to take him out. Don't tell me will-power...)
No, this is not the way Superman would return. Not at all. We should all revere Superman 1 and 2 as if they were the ONLY Superman movies ever made.
The Work and the Glory II: American Zion (2005)
mediocre at best
Why are people raving about this movie? Because it was lower budget than Hollywood films? Honestly, as a Latter-day Saint I was disappointed with both films in the series to date. I thought the screenplay and acting was mediocre at best - some actors better than others.
I am glad some people liked the portrayal of Joseph Smith, because I had to remind myself the whole time: This is Joseph Smith.Not because he was more down-to-earth (which I actually prefer, and think is more reality-based) but because Jonathan Scarfe did not have the presence on screen I had hoped for.
And WHAT kind of ending was that????
Never-the-less I bought both DVDs for its historical value and so the kids will have something to enjoy.