FILM REVIEW – SUPERMAN RETURNS
What a load of rubbish. To be fair there are some good
touches a/. The music to the Chris Reeves ones, which is highly nostalgic b/.
Good special effects but not enough
of them as there are only a few key action sequences in a very dull two
and half hour talkfest. C/. Kevin Spacey is great as Luther, like Hackman, but
much nastier.
Now the bad points a/. Lois Lane is terrible. B/. The Marlon
Brando
dialogue is repeated ad infinitum - just a reprise of his lines from the
1st film. C/. Superman is good as Superman, but just plain dull as Clark
Kent.
THE PLOT - Superman disappears for five years to see if he
can find
survivors on Krypton. Meanwhile, Lois has had a baby, and shacks up with
another guy, who she hasn't married. Lex has been released from prison
and goes to Superman's Arctic Circle Fortress Of Solitude, which he had found
in
Superman 2. He learns the secret of the crystals and in effect how to
make his own landmass, with which he plans to replace America. An
experiment with this causes Metropolis to suffer a massive power surge
Electro magnetic pulse crisis which leads to a near disastrous space
shuttle- 747 crash - Superman saves the plane (on which Lois Lane is flying).
This is a great scene - as he carries the plane and touches it down on a
baseball pitch mid game. Very nicely done. Now Clark gets his old job
back at the Daily Planet, and learns of Lois's new relationship arrangements.
He is
depressed. Luther gets a female assistant to fake a brake failure on her
car to decoy Superman while he steals some kryptonite from a museum.
Meanwhile, a Looney sets up a Gattling gun in the streets of Metropolis.
Superman
walks in front of the bullets, one of which bounces harmlessly off his
eye. (Another great scene). Lois goes to interview Lex, and he kidnaps
her, locking her down below on his boat with her asthmatic son, but the
boy throws a piano at the guard, killing him. We now know the real
nature of the sprog and why the Man Of Steel had to go away for a while. The
boy is really Clark / Superman’s.
Lex sets up his Island,
having contaminated the crystals mix with
kryptonite. Lois is on the boat as it sinks on collision with the
island, and she is saved by both Superman and her live in boyfriend (a
genuine human hero himself with a seaplane). Superman now goes to the
Island, but weakened by Kryptonite, he is kicked nearly to death by Lex
and his henchmen and thrown into the stormy sea to drown. Lois is searching for
him with her husband - the son sees him even at night, and with
super vision, and Lois saves Superman. Superman immediately prepares for
a second attack on the island, which is expanding, and in danger of
taking out America. Superman recharges himself with the Sun, dives under
the sea, picks up the whole island land mass and throws it into space,
but weakened by Kryptonite he seems to die and falls back to Earth,
making a large crater. In hospital, needles break and doctors can't do
anything. Lois kisses him, and so does his son. He then vanishes. Lex is
now seen to be on a desert island with his female sidekick, Superman
makes sure everyone knows he is back. End. The religious reverence
about only begotten sons, the death and resurrection (obviously spoiling
a future Doomsday use of that story), and even Superman taking
crucifixion poses before the Sun hammer the symbolism home with a
trowel - bad acting, apart from Spacey and sheer lack of action nearly kill
it - the twee son of Superman story reduces it to sentimental mush. Very
disappointing stuff.
Arthur Chappell
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