I saw this at the IMAX yesterday, and thought they did a very good job with it. I think I still liked Batman better, and probably XMen 1, 2, and the Spiderman movies. Superman could have used a bit of an edit, as it was kind of long for it's plot to me. I'd heard it described as a bit of a chick flick superhero movie, and I guess I can see that as a lot of it is about emotional/relationship issues.

My main point for this forum though was that lots of actors playing these rolls will get ripped upper bodies, but not really have impressive legs. Brandon Routh has some serious thigh muscles. Somebody's been squating/deadlifting.

http://www.cinemovies.fr/news/news/s/superman_returns_tof1.jpg http://pub.tv2.no/multimedia/na/archive/00199/superman_returns_199529g.jpg

It was good. Worth seeing in my opinion. I had some annoyances with it but nothing major. Routh did great, but I still like Christopher Reeve better. :D

I haven't seen the movie, but when I imagine Superman I imagine someone who's pretty muscular. This guy's maybe a little above average, but he's not a Superman-type...

I haven't seen the movie either -- but I'm not all that enthused about this latest spate of superhero movies....and honestly, it is mostly because I hate the casting. Maybe I am just getting old and curmudgeonly, but why is it that the people they get for these roles look like they are barely out of high school? I know spiderman is supposed to be young-ish, but the spiderman in the comics looked like he at least had to shave once in a while. I suspect Toby McGuire doesn't.....I know he is old enough for the role, but he looks like he should be wandering the halls of a junior highschool somewhere.

Same thing (although not as bad) with superman. From the pictures I've seen, he looks more suited to play superboy. Christopher Reeve was young (25) when he originally starred in superman, but at least he looked like a grown-up. Same thing with Lois Lane. Margot Kidder was infinitely believable as a hard-hitting reporter for the Daily Planet. Kate Bosworth? She looks like she should be fetching coffee for Lois Lane....not PLAYING Lois Lane.

OK....enough of that....sigh....I'll probably end up seeing it anyway...but I am certainly not excited about it....

[/Rant]

I haven't seen the movie, but when I imagine Superman I imagine someone who's pretty muscular. This guy's maybe a little above average, but he's not a Superman-type...

No, this guy is massive when you factor in his height.



My biggest grieve with the movie was the high heeled boots. Routh is tall enough, damnit! Those boots like ridiculous.

No, this guy is massive when you factor in his height.


Agreed. He's not steroid big or anything, but he's solid. I wonder what his thigh measurements are. At 6'4", that's a lot of muscle over a long thigh bone.

It was just surprising to see decently muscled legs on an actor these days. Kind of the reverse of the article roundtable they did over there on t-nation about what the various trainers would do to get a Hollywood pretty boy type set up to play a superhero in a short period of time. They were going to emphasize shoulders and upper body, figuring camera angles would take care of the rest once they'd built a nice v-taper upper body.

Same thing (although not as bad) with superman. From the pictures I've seen, he looks more suited to play superboy. Christopher Reeve was young (25) when he originally starred in superman, but at least he looked like a grown-up. Same thing with Lois Lane. Margot Kidder was infinitely believable as a hard-hitting reporter for the Daily Planet. Kate Bosworth? She looks like she should be fetching coffee for Lois Lane....not PLAYING Lois Lane.


How fast would superman age, I wonder? I'm not that into the actual comic books to have any idea if he might have a little genetic help on aging.

How fast would superman age, I wonder? I'm not that into the actual comic books to have any idea if he might have a little genetic help on aging.


I don't know a ton about the Superman comic book history, but from what I've read I assume that he ages similarly to normal humans. Some examples would be the Smallville TV show where he is aged similar to his fellow classmates, and the Kingdom Come storyline where all DC heros are old (and miserable). Comparing picture of Supes and Bruce Wayne, I'd say that they're both about the same age. Supes may have an advantage in the health department, but I'd think that he ages 'normally'.

I'm sure that he'll still be around when we're not. These characters are timeless.

It is interesting to know that the original Superman couldn't fly. He moved around by jumping really high. I can't wait to see this movie. I'll have to wait a while though...it isn't screening in Europe until way late summer.:cry:

I'm hoping that Brandon Routh does a good job. Christopher Reeve is, as far as I'm concerned, and will always be Superman. Routh has some huge shoes to fill. I'm willing to give him a chance. From what I've seen in various trailers it looks to be a good movie, and I'm confident that Bryan Singer directed a good movie. His past comic work was good.

I agree about the casting issues with Bosworth. She looks way too young to be a big time reporter. What is she, 23? Routh also looks young, but it's doable I think. I think he was a good person for the role and he did a fine job. I wish he could have brought something that was his own to the table though.

This is me nitpicking, but if they are going to use CGI, I don't want to know about it. When they showed young Superman jumping around, much of it was clearly computer generated. It just looked fake.

Overall, it was a good movie and I want to see it again.

-Mike

This is me nitpicking, but if they are going to use CGI, I don't want to know about it. When they showed young Superman jumping around, much of it was clearly computer generated. It just looked fake.

Worlds better than the first Spiderman's CGI, though. Where he was flying through the city, it looked very cartoonish due to the CGI. Maybe that's what they were going for, I don't know.

I havent been to the movies since i started my cutting. I was one of those guys who couldnt see a movie without the extra jumbo 5 gallon bucket o' popcorn. Maybe i should make an exception this time and brave the temptation. Imax + Superman! Maybe ill just have the wife blindfold me and lead me to my seat. Go Mantis go!

I havent been to the movies since i started my cutting. I was one of those guys who couldnt see a movie without the extra jumbo 5 gallon bucket o' popcorn. Maybe i should make an exception this time and brave the temptation. Imax + Superman! Maybe ill just have the wife blindfold me and lead me to my seat. Go Mantis go!


If you go, come back and tell us what you think of the 3D scenes. To be honest, they were nice as a gimick, but not as big a deal as seeing it IMAX style with big screen and big sound.

I saw it (not on IMAX). I went in thinking I'd come out upset. I didn't. I actually liked it. Some parts I was unsure of; like casting of Kate Bosworth and Kevin Spacey. I like Kevin Spacey but I'm not sure about him playing Lex Luthor. Something about him that made Lex seem kinda... hokey.

I think the movie was visually done well overall. I know many scenes were CG'd but I really liked the dramtic lighting. It reminded me of some Alex Ross (http://www.alexrossart.com/index.asp) illustrations like in the DC graphic novel Kingdom Come. I wouldn't be suprised if he was an inspirational source to the look of the movie.

I didn't really put much stock in criticizing it too badly. At the end, I figured it was just a set-up for more to come like the X-Men or Spiderman movies.

If you go, come back and tell us what you think of the 3D sceens. To be honest, they were nice as a gimick, but not as big a deal as seeing it IMAX style with big screen and big sound.

My guess is it's probably just like when we saw Batman Returns in Imax. Movie is in widescreen so it doesnt fill the screen from top to bottom like a normal Imax movie would. I do love the wow factor when an Imax movie, formatted to actually fit the screen, pops on for the first time. It's amazing when a sold out seating of something shuts the hell up all at once and just sits in awe of the massive green "The following preview is intended for all audiences..." screen.

But ya, 2/3 the movie, same Imax ticket price. Gimmick? naaah :rolleyes:
Still... Superman + Imax dude! DUUUDE! :D :tu:

My guess is it's probably just like when we saw Batman Returns in Imax. Movie is in widescreen so it doesnt fill the screen from top to bottom like a normal Imax movie would. I do love the wow factor when an Imax movie, formatted to actually fit the screen, pops on for the first time. It's amazing when a sold out seating of something shuts the hell up all at once and just sits in awe of the massive green "The following preview is intended for all audiences..." screen.

But ya, 2/3 the movie, same Imax ticket price. Gimmick? naaah :rolleyes:
Still... Superman + Imax dude! DUUUDE! :D :tu:

Yeah, it's anamorphic, not full IMAX, but it has 4 3D scenes, so it isn't just like Batman. Superman is the first live action IMAX 3D they said.

BTW, my theater does this big dog and pony show before they start previews where they crank up the sound, and backlight the screen so you can see through it to the speakers, then talk about 18 million holes in the screen to allow for sound, the size of the projector, how the bulbs of the projector "if properly focused" are bright enough to be seen on the moon from the earth, etc.

The previews at this one were all 3D I think, too. Cartoon stuff.

I think I saw Matrix 3 in full IMAX. Maybe one of the Star Wars movies (2nd prequel?). There aren't a lot of full length movies done in IMAX due to the film size as I understand it.

I've seen a lot of stuff just on the IMAX screen to have the advantage of the better sound and bigger picture. My theater used to just charge an extra $.50 for regular pics shown on the big screen, now you don't get the matinee prices and it's more like an extra $2.

I saw Crouching Tiger as one of my first IMAX screening of a regular pic, and it was great. I think I've seen both Spidermans that way, LoTRs movies, and other assorted big action films.

In Knoxville where my girlfriend lives, we'll go to see the digital projections sometimes, and while nice and there is never any dirt on the film, etc, it doesn't have the feel of IMAX.

BTW, people clapped in my theater at the end. Not sure it was worth all of that, but it was a solid film.

I saw Batman Begins at the IMAX and they did the same intro that you talked about. A hint to all you Imax goers...don't sit as close as you normally would. When I arrived and got my seat I thought 'this is perfect, nice and close'...well I was wrong. I was WAY too close to the screen. When you have to physically turn your head to see both corners, then you're too close.

I saw Batman Begins at the IMAX and they did the same intro that you talked about. A hint to all you Imax goers...don't sit as close as you normally would. When I arrived and got my seat I thought 'this is perfect, nice and close'...well I was wrong. I was WAY too close to the screen. When you have to physically turn your head to see both corners, then you're too close.


And worse yet is front on the side. Good grief!

I sit as far back as possible in the center.

There are also often lines at my theater that queue up before the movies. Starwars we had to be there an hour early to get a good seat, this one we got there about 45 minutes early, and weren't in as close to the center as I would have liked, but got toward the back.

BTW, when that Matrix movie was released in IMAX, I had no idea that Lawrence Fishburn had pours on his face as big as he did. He must have had acne bad as a kid or something. I felt like I could go spelunking in one of them after seeing them up close in IMAX!

Saw it on the Ultra Screen (not Imax).

I wasn't sold on the casting. Kate as Lois was a non-factor. Not bad, just nothing to get excited about. My wife thought Spacey was great. I think his decision to be more "evil" was smart but I never really bought into it. Hackman was a cheeseball in the role but in a way, it made his "mean" moments more striking... dunno.

I was sure I would hate Routh... trying too much to be Reeves... and he was rather a Reeves clone... but you know what? I realized how much I liked Reeves as Superman all those years ago and so it was kinda enjoyable to "have Reeves back" as it were.

I was surprised by how nostalgic and even a little choked up I was during the early scene at the ballpark when the crowd cheered. Totally caught me off guard that I almost felt patriotic about that scene.

Using the old theme, plus the new, much better orchestral variation on "Can You Read My Mind" turned out to be a good move. It's still one of the best themes John Williams penned: simple, has a catchy hook... fits the mood.

I could pick at the nits but this was what they wanted it to be: a successful resurrection of the franchise. In the future they just need to edit, edit, edit. Too long for the first 40 minutes.

Of the recent comic book flicks I'd probably rate them:

Spiderman I, Spiderman II (I like each more than the other for various reasons; Batman Begins (just bought it on DVD... again, surprised by how "inspired" I was by the morality of the movie... I don't look to these films for more than "entertainment" usually); Superman Returns; Maybe V for Vendetta then maybe XMen 1 (3 was TERRIBLE!)

And I was just reading somewhere how many audiences reacted negatively to how "puny" Routh seemed in the early previews. Reeve was apparently an inch taller and brawnier... Singer felt they're all biased by recent cartoons portraying him as a "V" with toothpick legs.

I liked the flick. I am a fan of the cartoons and previous shows. I though Routh did a good job. I'm not sure about his Clark, my girlfriend found him very nice looking, and Clark is supposed to blend in and not be noticable. He was kind of goofy though. It is a different Clark I guess. I was only really upset about Kate Bosworth, I mean cmon... that's Lois Lane? And of course I thnk there was something that was thrown into the movie that was unecesary, that I won't mention here, but it was obvious it was going to happen. When I see a movie like this, I want to see a fight. I want to see some Superman villans other than Lex Luthor. I want to see Superman go at it and nearly be beaten to death, only to come back and whoop some behind. I think that this movie was a good transition to bring back the Superman franchise. I do hope they can add some more elements into the future. I know its dangerous to add characters with superpowers, it might come out cheesy, remember the solar powered guy in Reeve's last Superman movie? But Spiderman has done it sucessfully, and the Xmen as well. I know that Batman will add the superhuman, there is no way Ras Al Guhl died...Lazarus Pit. I twould love to see Darkside or Doomsday but that maybe asking for too much, I think Brainiac would work well. I know I probably nerded this thread up, I just want to see more action. I think adding a character that actualy poses a threat adds something to the movie, (not that Lex can't pose a threat, it's just that we have seen it already in a movie).

I felt nostalgic whenever the song came out, I remember me as a kid in my Superman costume. And I also in the scene Hort was talking about.

My favorite superhero flicks, of the recent ones, has been Batman, Spiderman, and Spiderman 2 maybe Superman tied for 3rd, maybe because I just saw it. I thought Punisher was actually good.

It was good. Worth seeing in my opinion. I had some annoyances with it but nothing major. Routh did great, but I still like Christopher Reeve better. :D

I agree! I liked it, few nitpicks here and there but overall, good. I got my wish, seeing Superman move MASSIVE objects, god I loved those scenes.

I liked the flick. I am a fan of the cartoons and previous shows. I though Routh did a good job. I'm not sure about his Clark, my girlfriend found him very nice looking, and Clark is supposed to blend in and not be noticable. He was kind of goofy though. It is a different Clark I guess. I was only really upset about Kate Bosworth, I mean cmon... that's Lois Lane? And of course I thnk there was something that was thrown into the movie that was unecesary, that I won't mention here, but it was obvious it was going to happen. When I see a movie like this, I want to see a fight. I want to see some Superman villans other than Lex Luthor. I want to see Superman go at it and nearly be beaten to death, only to come back and whoop some behind. I think that this movie was a good transition to bring back the Superman franchise. I do hope they can add some more elements into the future. I know its dangerous to add characters with superpowers, it might come out cheesy, remember the solar powered guy in Reeve's last Superman movie? But Spiderman has done it sucessfully, and the Xmen as well. I know that Batman will add the superhuman, there is no way Ras Al Guhl died...Lazarus Pit. I twould love to see Darkside or Doomsday but that maybe asking for too much, I think Brainiac would work well. I know I probably nerded this thread up, I just want to see more action. I think adding a character that actualy poses a threat adds something to the movie, (not that Lex can't pose a threat, it's just that we have seen it already in a movie).


I agree. I didn't see the movie and I really don't want to. I mean, we've seen Lex Luthor on the big screen as well as in several live action TV series. I'm sick of Lex Luthor. I want to see Superman fight Metallo or Bizarro. Other superhero movies have done a lot with the villains, so it's kind of a shame that we don't get a new villain in this movie. Oh well, there's always the sequel.