People often say, "They're making this AGAIN? How many times are they going to do the same story?" It's a valid question, but we have to remember that there is always a new crop of movie goers that didn't see the "other one" or maybe they were too young to identify with previous attempts at the story. Whatever the case, I have no problem with remakes or sequels as long as they are done well, entertain and are AT LEAST as good as their predecessors. Superman is a timeless story that can be done a thousand times and STILL be solid and captivating. I go all the way back to Kirk Alyn, when Superman was a weekly serial ( yep, I'm old!) in movie theatres. One chapter per week and we couldn't wait! Then there was the guy who will always be "Superman" to me. George Reeves! For five years he WAS Superman on the small screen and his Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen were perfectly cast. Then there was the 70's and Christopher Reeve convinced us that HE was Superman. That era Superman brought us state of the art special effects the likes that we had never seen and made that version spectacular. Ok, it's 2006 and we have a new Superman and we expect a HUGE picture, a great story, superb casting and the best special effects yet. We got one of the four and THAT was all. Sad. Superman is back from a five year sudden disappearance. After a quick visit with mom, he immediately starts fighting for truth, justice and the American way but quickly learns that things have changed in his absence. Lois Lane is no longer unattached AND she has a son and a baby's daddy in the picture. Lex Luthor is back and has a plot to, shall we say, change the landscape. In the process he has a plan, for the umpteenth time, to destroy the Man of Steel (yeah, right!) and be unopposed in his quest for world domination (yawn). Sound familiar? This version, with all it's millions of dollars in special effects is BY FAR the WORST one yet! It really sucked! The story was flat and typical. It was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long. Having said that, the real problem with this picture was the casting, the casting and the other casting. Brandon Routh as Superman??? WHO!? This guy was horrible. He had no emotion, no charisma and ZERO acting skills. Did I mention that he was HORRIBLE? Kevin Spacey was the absolute WORST Lex Luthor in history! Totally unbelievable! Kate Bosworth (cute) was pretty good as Lois Lane and Frank Langella was a perfect Perry White but the two main guys RUINED the picture. It was very nice to see Jack Larson (tv's Jimmy Olsen) and Noel Neill (tv's Lois Lane) in cameos. Also, the lovely Eva Marie Saint was there as Martha Kent. Very nice. The special effects? They were amazing and spectacular. Sorry, that is NOT enough to make a great picture. This was a huge let down and I hope that if some producer, some day decides to do it again, he (or she) will make this turkey required viewing before the first dollar is spent. RECOMMENDATION: If you want to be dazzled with special effects and a huge budget, this is your picture. If a story and decent acting matters............RUN AWAY...FASTER THAN A SPEEDING BULLET! TWO SHAMEFUL AND OVER-HYPED THUMBS DOWN.......WAY DOWN!!! (Wishing he would have stayed away!) Movie Review © 2006 by Terry Anderson |
