Showing posts with label Michael Dougherty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Dougherty. Show all posts

Movie Review Superman Returns

Superman Returns (2006) 

Directed by Bryan Singer 

Written by Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris 

Starring Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, James Marsden Kevin Spacey, Parker Posey, Frank Langella 

Release Date June 28th, 2006 

Published June 27th, 2006 

The title Superman Returns has more than a single meaning. The title in the literal sense refers to the fact that the man of steel is returning to the big screen for the first time in nearly 20 years. In the movie universe the title refers to Superman having disappeared from earth for five years in search of the remains of his home planet of Krypton.

This search for home is at the heart of the new Superman flick which recasts the legendary superhero, now played by newcomer Brandon Routh, as a lonely hearted romantic with unrequited passion for Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) and an earnest will to protect mankind from all hurt and pain.

Superman Returns is a pseudo sequel to the first two films in the Superman series starring Christopher Reeve. Ignoring the last two installments, a pair of embarrassing failures, Superman Returns takes on the task of reinventing Superman while remaining beholden to the original films.

Five years after leaving without a trace, mild mannered reporter Clark Kent returns to his job at the Daily Planet. Not surprisingly, soon after Clark's return, Superman arrives and is immediately put to the test rescuing a space shuttle mission that nearly causes an airline crash. Intrepid reporter Lois Lane happens to have been on the rescued plane but her reunion with Superman is short-lived.

Back at the newsroom Clark/Superman finds that since he left, Lois has given birth to a son and is engaged to Robert (James Marsden) an editor at the paper and the nephew of the Planet's managing editor Perry White (Frank Langella). Assigned to the return of Superman story Lois is far more interested in investigating how her plane and the space shuttle came to lose power in mid-air just as the power went out across the entire eastern seaboard.

Lois has a hunch that the power outage is linked to the legendary bad guy Lex Luthor who, out on parole because Superman failed to testify against him at trial, has stolen his way to wealth and used it to discover Superman's fortress of solitude. In finding the fortress he plans to harness its power crystals to create a whole new continent for himself even if it means sinking the east coast.

The film takes on an episodic feel early on as director Singer attempts to draw together his varying plot elements.

Episode one, explains how Lex Luthor got out of jail.

Episode two, Superman returns to the Kent family farm and his mother, played by Eva Marie Saint. This episode also attempts a quick recap of young Superman discovering his powers.

Episode three, the plane crash rescue. This is by far the best episode in the film as Singer harnesses a special effects masterpiece in Superman's return to his super good deeds.

And the film continues this stop and start of episodic melodrama and action at the expense of establishing a solid dramatic rhythm over its long runtime of two hours and thirty minutes.

Superman Returns is the height of CGI special effects rendering a believably powerful and compelling Superman. His feats of strength and speed are exciting and eye-catching. Check out the space shuttle and plane crash scenes and also a scene where Superman rescues downtown Metropolis from the falling globe from the top of the daily planet building. Routh's poise in this scene is classically and iconically Superman.

However, when Clark Kent slips out of the Super suit the film comes to a screeching halt. Here Bryan Singer's slavish devotion to the original films becomes burdensome. Richard Donner's version portrayed the Daily Planet as a throwback to the My Gal Friday, fast talking, down and dirty days when female journalists were dames and everyone was out for the big scoop. Singer's vague attempts to recapture that are disastrous.

Singer also tries to evoke those unique qualities of Clark and Lois that Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder made memorable. Thus you have the charismatic but humor challenged Routh attempting Reeve's swift witted nerdy Clark Kent minus the wink and a nod. Then you have Bosworth trying out Margot Kidder's flighty but quick on her feet comprehension, something Bosworth fails miserably at.

Brandon Routh makes a great Superman. He has the physicality, good luck and soulfulness that evokes the best qualities of his predecessor Christopher Reeve. What Routh lacks is the wit that allowed Reeve to play the duality of Superman and Clark Kent. Routh lacks that knowing glint in the eye, that subtle wink and nod that Reeve brought to Clark Kent that helped audiences accept Superman and his nerdy alter ego.

The bigger problem for Routh however is his co-star and love interest Kate Bosworth. Though lovely, Ms. Bosworth is a lightweight dramatic presence. When compared to Margot Kidder's tough and unconventionally sexy Lois Lane, Bosworth is blown away. Where Kidder and Reeve burned up the screen with romance and wit, Routh and Bosworth could barely strike a match. Bosworth is an emotional cypher.

Brandon Routh also gets little help from co-star and arch-nemesis Kevin Spacey. Evincing more petulance than menace, Spacey chews scenery nearly as well as Gene Hackman did back in 1978 but where Hackman brought charm and wit to Lex Luthor, Spacey brings sneering, mustache twirling, buffoonish-ness to the role.

Superman is a god like character, seemingly all knowing, thanks to his super hearing and ability to see through any substance, he is also benevolent and compassionate. The script does not play up Superman's god like qualities, they are inherent in the characters backstory. The problem is the film does not attempt to deconstruct this image. Superman begins the movie as god and though he faces temporary physical setbacks, his character is never challenged thus he does not have a great arc.

In Batman Begins and Spider Man 2, arguably the two greatest superhero films ever made, the main characters had their morality and their personalities challenged and played big dramatic arcs. Superman however is so sure of his place in the world and is so earnestly engaged that he seems bland. He is challenged romantically but because the love interest is so passionless the challenge is not all that dramatic.

Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder brought a goofy sort of charm to the romance of the first two Superman films that managed to flame into a pretty good love story. In Superman Returns the romance is a non-starter because star Kate Bosworth is a limp noodle of muddled romantic interest. We can see love in the eyes of Routh's Superman but Bosworth's Lois Lane is a blank slate.

The film asks us to believe that when Superman left without saying goodbye Lois wrote a Pulitzer prize winning story about why the world does not need Superman. We are to believe that she poured all of her sadness and pain into this essay and that, despite being unable to spell the word catastrophic -a joking nod to the first Superman movie- she was honored with journalism's highest prize. But we are only told these things. Bosworth never demonstrates her heartbreak beyond a simpering anger in her voice.

The real dramatic arc of Superman Returns is only brushed over. It's the search for a home. Superman left earth without a word to the people he loved. He went to find his true home and found only ruins. Back on earth his beloved Lois Lane has moved on with another man and though he has his mother and his purpose, Superman lacks a private place in the world. This character arc is sniffed around and hinted at but, sadly, never fully explored.

A series of intermittently entertaining episodes Superman Returns is at its best when director Bryan Singer presents his big action set pieces. When the film slows down and Brandon Routh is out of his super suit the film bogs down. The movie needed to modernize the newsroom setting, smarten up Lois Lane so we don't find her so dithering, and cut a good 20 minutes out of the non-action scenes. Unfortunately it's far too late for these changes.

As it is Superman Returns is a modestly entertaining, visually impressive action picture that lacks the wit and romance that made the original iconic.

Movie Review: X2 X-Men United

X2: X-Men United (2003) 

Directed by Brian Singer

Written by Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris, David Hayter 

Starring Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellan, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden

Release Date May 2nd, 2003 

Published May 1st, 2003 

The first of 2003's many blockbusters is here. The sequel to the 2000 cash machine, X Men, X Men United once again has Professor Xavier's clan of mutants attempting to prevent a human-mutant war. The twist however in X2 finds our hero's on the same side as archenemy Magneto against an evil army general with a double secret agenda. The familiar story combines with spectacular effects for an enjoyable popcorn entertainment.

The film opens with a sensational effects scene involving a new mutant called Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) and an attack on the White House. Using his mutant ability to turn to smoke and float through walls, Nightcrawler evades the secret service and attacks the President. Through luck, the President's life is saved, but now the tentative peace between humans and mutants that started at the end of the first film is over.

Despite the efforts of Mystique (Rebecca Romijn Stamos who is not bad when she's not saddled with too much dialogue) disguised as the late Senator Kelly (Bruce Davison), an army General named Stryker (Brian Cox) convinces the President that a strike against mutants is necessary. His target, Xavier's School for the Gifted, AKA the X-Men compound.

In the meantime, Professor Xavier has begun searching for Nightcrawler to uncover why he attacked the President. Xavier dispatches Storm (Halle Berry) and Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) to find Nightcrawler, while he and Cyclops visit archenemy Magneto (Ian Mckellen) to determine his involvement. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) returns to the school just in time to take charge of the student while everyone is gone. Of course this is when Stryker and his army attack, forcing Wolverine to empty the school and go on the run.

With Rogue (Anna Paquin), Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) and Pyro (Aaron Stanford), Wolverine heads for safety in the home of Iceman's parents. In one of the films most talked about scenes, Iceman "comes out" to his parents about being a mutant. It's not long though before the cops show and they are on the run again.

Once reunited with Storm and Jean, they find that the Professor and Cyclops are missing and they are being hunted by military jets as they escape in the X jet. After taking a hit the jet nearly crashes, they are saved at the last minute by the unlikely savior, the now free Magneto. With the mutual enemy of General Stryker, they must team with Magneto and Mystique to free Xavier and stop Stryker from launching the war against mutants.

Summer blockbusters aren't about great storytelling, they are about special effects and sly humor and X2 delivers both. Not only is there the awesome White House attack sequence, but also the jet fight with Storm attempting to lose the military jets in a series of tornado's that she creates.

Most of the film’s humor comes, surprisingly from Wolverine in subtle commentary in his surroundings. Thrown in to babysitter mode while the rest of the crew is hunting for Nightcrawler, Wolverine has some fun interaction with the students before the military attacks. Then as witness to Iceman's coming out, Wolverine's annoyance of his conventional surroundings are very funny. Jackman's gruffness is perfectly in tune with his humor.

The effects are strong, but suffer in comparison to the Matrix trailer that precedes it. The Matrix trailer was so good I missed the first couple minutes of X2, still reveling in Reloaded. That is not to say I wasn't impressed by X2 but it is made to look conventional by comparison.

The performances aren't much to be remembered Halle Berry's Storm gets more screen time this second time around but not much insight is made into the character. Jackman as Wolverine gets the most screen time and is undoubtedly the star but the more Wolverine is on the screen the less impressive he becomes. In comparison with Jean and Storm, Wolverine's powers, his adamantium claws and superhuman healing ability seem small. You know when it comes to the major save the world stuff it will be Storm or Jean doing the saving with Wolverine as a spectator.

Director Brian Singer does an efficient job of balancing his large cast and huge effects scenes, and while the story isn't all that impressive it's all very well choreographed and follows a certain logic. To balance all of this big budget stuff and make a film that is semi-coherent is a feat all on it's own. It's an entertaining popcorn film that effectively sets the stage for the next sequel. It's no Spider-Man, Batman or Superman, but it's still pretty good.

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