Look! Up on the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a frog! (A frog?!) It’s another remake of “Sooperdooperman”, this time from James “Tommy” Gunn (that’s what I call him, ‘cause we’re best friends and I totally know him in real life and I’m not just talking about a stuffed penguin that I named James “Tommy” Gunn at all I don’t know why you would even think that). Yes, we’re got another of our Interrupting Series “Summer Blockbusters and Summer Not” and it’s quite the buster of blocks . . . or is it? Me, I don’t think “Tommy” Gunn really needed to include an in-depth narrative dive into all the types of Kryptonite out there. I mean sure, there’s Green Kryptonite that kills, Red Kryptonite that causes random plot devices to occur, and Gold Kryptonite that permanently removes Kryptonian super-powers (don’t know how they tested that . . .) but do we really need to know about Chartreuse Kryptonite that forces Superman to mix stripes with plaids? Or Taupe Kryptonite that causes any Kryptonian to experience uncontrolled, explosive nose-hair growth? Or Indigo Kryptonite that forces Superman to become obsessed with the intrinsic impermanence of all existence? Or Mauve Kryptonite, that causes any Kryptonian to talk endlessly about the novels of Susan Sondheim? Sure, all this is canon (and I when I say “canon” I mean my personal head-canon; don’t get me started on Industrial Grey Kryptonite) but do they need to spend 90 minutes of the film discussing them? No, of course they don’t, which is why none of this comes up in the film. Are you nuts? Am I nuts? Is Mike nuts? I think the answer here is pretty obvious, Josephine, but that’s neither here nor over behind that chair. Give a listen and see what we thought about what ACTUALLY happens in the film.
Poll question: who’s your favorite Superman, in movies or TV? Who wore the cape the best?
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I am still on the fence about seeing this movie, not in a hurry to see it on the big screen, at least. The best Superman is Christopher Reeves, hands down. Particularly in the first film and with diminishing returns as the series progressed but not from any fault of his own. I have a controversial take on Superman Returns, however. I like it and I think it captures the Donner Superman well. The plot isn’t all that different from the first film, real estate is Luthor’s thing, I guess. If it had been made closely after Superman 2 I think people would have loved it but too much time had passed for that sort of tone to succeed at the box office. It’s not a film classic to be sure but, honestly, I just rewatched Superman 2 and it didn’t stand up all that well for me! For years it was my fave Superman flick!
I’ve always thought that the Big Fight Scene in “Superman II” is one of the best super-fights in all of cinema. Yeah, the effects are better now, but it was amazing for its time. Interesting take on “Superman Returns.” I thought both Supes and Luther were really well done but the script was a bit of a mess. Thanks, Vince!