Planning a Superman The Movie Rewatch This Friday

[BBally]

Since Friday is Superman Day, I'm doing a watchalong on Twitter inspired by the Doctor Who Lockdown watchalongs that's been done on Twitter. To explain, anyone who wants to take part will start the movie (the extended cut preferably) at 2pm CT and tweetalong commenting on the film while watching.

https://twitter.com/BBally81/status/1270174799529226240

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Since Friday is Superman Day, I'm doing a watchalong on Twitter inspired by the Doctor Who Lockdown watchalongs that's been done on Twitter. To explain, anyone who wants to take part will start the movie (the extended cut preferably) at 2pm CT and tweetalong commenting on the film while watching.

https://twitter.com/BBally81/status/1270174799529226240

Have fun. I recently showed the film to a bunch of different junior and senior high students and I was shocked by how well it worked with them. Kids have always loved that film, but I didn't think it would play as well with the more jaded older kids weaned on dozens of Marvel films with modern VFX.

I suppose it shouldn't have surprised me, given how well the MCU have followed the template set by the Donner film in terms of balancing the humor and action while taking the characters seriously.

[Adekis]

Have fun. I recently showed the film to a bunch of different junior and senior high students and I was shocked by how well it worked with them. Kids have always loved that film, but I didn't think it would play as well with the more jaded older kids weaned on dozens of Marvel films with modern VFX.

I suppose it shouldn't have surprised me, given how well the MCU have followed the template set by the Donner film in terms of balancing the humor and action while taking the characters seriously.

It's also just charming as all get out! That level of charm can hold the boat together through a lot. It's been remarked before that the film is a sort of hodge-podge of moods and settings and it really shouldn't necessarily work as well as it does - but it's got great actors, and more charm than you can shake a stick at, and those elements make it stick together well.

[BBally]

Have fun. I recently showed the film to a bunch of different junior and senior high students and I was shocked by how well it worked with them. Kids have always loved that film, but I didn't think it would play as well with the more jaded older kids weaned on dozens of Marvel films with modern VFX.

I suppose it shouldn't have surprised me, given how well the MCU have followed the template set by the Donner film in terms of balancing the humor and action while taking the characters seriously.

Goes to show that the "the film is too outdated and doesn't hold up for new audiences to appreciate" claim isn't true.

[Powerboy]

Goes to show that the "the film is too outdated and doesn't hold up for new audiences to appreciate" claim isn't true.

"The film is too outdated and doesn't hold up for new audiences to appreciate".

Me: They could do an updated movie in that style and the odds are people would love it.

"Don't be ridiculous. They tried doing a Superman movie in that style and it failed".

Me: When did they do that? I've seen every Superman movie and I don't remember it.

"It was called Superman Returns. Guess you missed that one."

Me (after I manage to stop laughing): You think Superman Returns was in the style of Superman the Movie???? Sure, a little bit of it was and that little bit is what most people liked before disliking the rest of it. But even most of the parts that paralleled "Superman the Movie" was an "In a mirror darkly" version of Superman the Movie.

I definitely agree with you. Superman the Movie still works. Sure it can't be a carbon copy. It needs to be updated from the '70s but it needs to be a Superman movie.

[Adekis]

Superman Returns is weird. It's absolutely a self-indulgent wank over the Donner movies - but it has next to nothing in common with them in terms of tone and charm. Also, whoever thought that the way to recapture that old magic was to basically include a bunch of old references but not the overall feel of the movie, was... wrong, flatly.

That said, Routh himself turned in a great performance, especially as Clark, probably the best "mild-mannered" Clark ever, including Reeve, and there's some really great action sequences as well! Routh is phenomenal and I hope he winds up getting an HBO Max series or something.

It's just that Returns is also a relationship drama "broad strokes" sequel to a movie that was 25 years old in 2005. I have no idea how it got okayed, because that's kind of self-evidently a bad idea for a triumphant Superman franchise reboot.

I wish we'd gotten Nic Cage and Tim Burton's version.

[Gaius]

Superman Returns is weird. It's absolutely a self-indulgent wank over the Donner movies - but it has next to nothing in common with them in terms of tone and charm. Also, whoever thought that the way to recapture that old magic was to basically include a bunch of old references but not the overall feel of the movie, was... wrong, flatly.

That said, Routh himself turned in a great performance, especially as Clark, probably the best "mild-mannered" Clark ever, including Reeve, and there's some really great action sequences as well! Routh is phenomenal and I hope he winds up getting an HBO Max series or something.

It's just that Returns is also a relationship drama "broad strokes" sequel to a movie that was 25 years old in 2005. I have no idea how it got okayed, because that's kind of self-evidently a bad idea for a triumphant Superman franchise reboot.

I wish we'd gotten Nic Cage and Tim Burton's version.

Yeah, in hindsight it's fairly odd a sequel to series where the last installment was a generation ago was the way they went. Not even the Nolan Batman films went that route and there was only an 8 year gap there.

[BBally]

Superman Returns is technically a better Superman movie than Superman 3, 4: The Quest For Peace and Man Of Steel in almost every way and yet I would rather rewatch those other 3 films than rewatch Returns.

Not only did it's mixed reception among audiences hurt the Superman film franchise but it has soured some of the original Donner film's reputation to an audience who didn't really see the film but take it from the word of the few detractors the classic Reeve movie has.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Goes to show that the "the film is too outdated and doesn't hold up for new audiences to appreciate" claim isn't true.

To be fair, the bright red underwear was still an issue for a few of the boys, but the girls loved them.

And there were definitely a couple comments about how primitive some of the VFX were.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

[I]
I wish we'd gotten Nic Cage and Tim Burton's version.

Me, too. Even though Burton and Cage have been delivering diminishing returns for the last couple decades, this was during the period when neither of these guys were just cashing a pay check.

I would have loved to see what Nic Cage would have tried to do with Clark Kent. I'm sure it would have made fanboys who hate Reeve's more overtly nerdy Clark loose their $#!*, but seeing Cage chew the scenery in his prime would have been glorious!

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Superman Returns is technically a better Superman movie than Superman 3, 4: The Quest For Peace and Man Of Steel in almost every way and yet I would rather rewatch those other 3 films than rewatch Returns.

It's certainly a better move than 3 or 4, but, despite my problems with its tone, I'd still put Man of Steel above Superman Returns because Snyder's film has so much more going for it than Singer's does in terms of cast, depth and visual spectacle.

While Routh is a pretty great Clark, his Superman doesn't get much do, and his Lois is so unmemorable that I've completely forgotten her name at the moment. Sam Worthington was a great Jimmy though, as was Spacey as Lex and Posey as the Ms. Tessmacher stand-in. Frank Langela was fine as Perry, but he seemed to be another case of Singer wanting to hire another longtime closeted gay actor rather than because he brought anything special to the part. Meanwhile, Snyder just has a murderer's row of great actors. Honestly, there's not a weak link in the bunch, even if the script fails some of them.

In terms of action, it's not even a competition. SR's airplane crash is an all-timer, definitely and what little action there is works great, but it all kind of pales in comparison to the visual inventiveness of the action Snyder and his VFX team were able to pull off, which upped the game for the entire superhero genre.

[BBally]

To be fair, the bright red underwear was still an issue for a few of the boys, but the girls loved them.

And there were definitely a couple comments about how primitive some of the VFX were.

How did they react to the part where Superman turned back time because I admit it's one of the few parts of the film I'm not a big fan of.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

How did they react to the part where Superman turned back time because I admit it's one of the few parts of the film I'm not a big fan of.

There was a lot of mouth agape "What the %$#@" looks when he literally turns the world around, but it seems to have worked because the movie really sells the Lois/Superman romance...even the "Can you read my mind?" bit didn't even get one comment. They were completely sold on it.

And when I pointed out that the film ends on Superman breaking the fourth wall to look directly at the audience and smile, decades before Deadpool was even invented, they were flabbergasted.

[Johnny Thunders!]

I still love this movie and the practical effects don't hold up in every instance, but it still gets me emotionally every time. The best parts of Captain America or the Spiderman movies all remind me of Superman.

The scenes where Christopher Reeve meets Lois in her apartment, changes his posture as he considers revealing to her he is Superman, that's such good big screen acting.

I am on board with the Time Travel stuff in general and in the film. (Edit/:/)

[Robanker]

Have fun. I recently showed the film to a bunch of different junior and senior high students and I was shocked by how well it worked with them. Kids have always loved that film, but I didn't think it would play as well with the more jaded older kids weaned on dozens of Marvel films with modern VFX.

I suppose it shouldn't have surprised me, given how well the MCU have followed the template set by the Donner film in terms of balancing the humor and action while taking the characters seriously.

I showed it to my girlfriend a few years back, her first time seeing it. I was so worried for a while during that she was hating it because she was silent and still. The beginning is classic science fiction, slow and methodical and it sweeps into America before ever really getting to the colorful heroics. When Clark was bumbling around Metropolis and going out of his way to be earnest, however, she exclaimed "he's so wholesome" and I realized she was into it.

I think that movie, if for nothing else, captures the pure, unfiltered essence of superhero comics without shame. It doesn't try to grow the concept up or feel particularly ashamed of what it is, and I think that plays very well to people who go in expecting a more modern, cynical approach. It's a fun breath of fresh air. It doesn't treat you as a child, nor does it try and forgive your enjoyment of silly concepts. It revels in what it is. On the other end of the spectrum, it's akin to something like Crank 2; love it or hate it, that movie knew exactly what it wanted to be and went for it. Superman: The Movie knows exactly what it is and is able to execute on it because everyone is bringing their A-Game.