scott's review threads have evolved quite a bit over the years!

Yeah, and it makes Superman gullible...a nice addition after making him wimpy and vouyeristic in the first Routh film.

No kidding.

I don't understand why this movie gets shit on so much. I found it very enjoyable. Fuck the haters. You've got Man of Steel if you want mindless action.

It's not a terrible movie, Lara Means, but it's terribly nostalgic. And not in a good way since it's a throwback to a movie that did it better. I never hated Superman Returns but did feel that overall it was a pointless pseudo-sequel to Superman II.

That did sound pretty bad ass.

So bumping an old thread but I watched this last night for the first time in quite a while. It was surprisingly better than I remembered it being. Definitely not perfect and maybe too nostalgic for its own good but it had heart to it, which the more I watch Man of Steel I realize it sorely lacks. Routh wasn't a bad choice for Superman and Spacey as Luthor was decent. In some ways I wish we would have seen this version of the character and universe continue.

I enjoyed the "sequel" aspect it had rather than the reboot. I'd love to see Singer get another shot at a Superman movie in the DC universe. It can only improve from what Snyder has provided thus far.

Singer hasn't the faintest idea what makes Superman work, or what made the first two Superman movies so engaging. He basically created a retarded Multiplicity clone of the first Reeves movie.

Kal-el 4: I like pizza! I like it!

I thought Routh was the perfect choice with Singer's nostalgic vision. He resembled Christopher Reeve at times so much, it was a little alarming. I also thought Spacey was terrific as Lex Luthor. I get why WB decided to reboot this series. Because of "The Dark Knight" numbers. "Batman Begins" (released one year earlier) made just a little more than "Superman Returns" in the U.S., and a little less worldwide. But with "The Dark Knight" destroying the box-office (worldwide), Warner decided to scrap any discussions with Singer doing a sequel to "Returns". Even though he promised a more grittier follow-up. Snyder's "Man of Steel" did 90M more than "Returns" in the U.S. But kicked ass in the rest of the world. I liked, no, loved the cast. But the film was terrible. And while Singer's film was mostly heart, Snyder's had no heart at all. And it just wasn't fun at all. Superman was not supposed to be dark. If only Singer had a chance to do just one other film.

I watched it again as well and... thought it was quite boring to be honest. Routh was good and Spacey was having fun but I still cannot understand what Singer saw in casting Bosworth, she had none of the spunk Margo Kidder brought to the role.

Also, I'm still unclear how Superman has a kid if he reversed time in Superman II. I thought that part, while emotionally engaging, was also really dumb.

Spacey recommended her thanks to Beyond The Sea.

I haven't watched it again, but the plot was a mess. I don't know who thought it was a good idea to tie this so closely to a directors cut of a movie made in 1980, or who thought that a Superman who ditches Lois and Earth for five years and then acts as a stalker was a good idea, or who came up with Lex's ridiculous plot, but geez.

When did he reverse time in Superman II?

MoS has its flaws, but I really appreciated that it at least was a very different approach than the previous films. As much as I love the Donner films, Singer's tribute/sequel was just a poor imitation. Very poor.

You got that right.

And Snyder did?

Who said anything about Snyder? I'm talking about Superman Returns. Focus...

In the Richard Donner cut.

I've never seen the director's cut. I know he reversed time in the first movie. What exactly did he do differently in the director's cut version of the movie?

There were a lot of changes, but the time reverse was originally the ending for II, then was bumped up to use for I when that movie needed an ending.

For II it's used under different circumstances, but watching them both it starts to feel like it's the only trick in Superman's bag.

I loved most of Superman Returns--the cast, the music, the direction--a few fantastic action scenes. And more than anything, unlike "Man of Steel", it really FELT like Superman to me. My only gripe is that I really didn't want to see Lex Luthor with another real estate scheme again as the main villain.

That's fine and all... but was it right for time it was released? Bosworth has always been pretty weak w/ little high points of quality. Spacey would have been fine but retreading the same Lex from all those years ago? Jesus... it was a horrible characterization for the today of it's release year. I've nothing against Singer but his direction for this was horrible. It lacked imagination. Had a shit ton of heart to it but he was pushing anything for the character. Narratively... it's sappy and crap. His actually direction was fine but his direction for the whole concept was too enamored w/ Reeve era Supes that it lacked a soul to it. A bit of the action scenes were fun but Supes vs. Kryptonite Island isn't really all that dynamic or tension filled.

Saying that...I like MoS's concept a lot more than SR's. It had ideas and great ambitions but lacked the creative talent to flesh it out. It was more hit than miss w/ me than SR. MoS's lows though are greater than SR's for sure though.

Yeah him watching Lois and her family was pretty creepy that's one thing about it that's weird for sure. I feel like there were more moments in the film where I felt like Superman was more of a hero overall in it compared with Man of Steel though. It felt truer in spirit to the characters in a lot ways, but I do agree that it tried to make itself too much of a sequel to the first two Reeve films. It was clear that Singer wanted to make the film an homage but he went too far at times and almost tried to make his film a copy of the first two films. Still though all in all I don't mind it. Not a fantastic film but definitely not a terrible one either.

Ah, ok. Got the two of them mixed up. It was the magic kiss that made Lois forget in the the theatrical cut, right?

Also, guess that makes sense about casting Bosworth. Still was a huge mistake.