guthmund

I couldn't possibly agree more.

If you care to read further, here's my opinion:

The bad:
The kid storyline was stupid and predictable. My 10-year old nephew, who is incredibly bright, just not all that observant, leaned over to me in the theater as soon as the kid appeared in frame and said, "You know, that's Superman's kid."

And finally, Spacey was great, but the big, bad threat to the world was kind of stupid. Not that it wasn't unique...just stupid.

The mediocre:
I think Singer felt obligated to touch on the backstory a bit since, after all, it's the ol' farm in Smallville that he comes back to. I totally disagree with that notion--I think he should have just avoided it altogether and assumed the audience already knew--, but I can understand why he did it.

The plane saving/bullet incident/big ass planet thing falling could have been handled waaaay better. Remember Spider-Man? Hero comes on the scene does a whole bunch of shit in between shots of related newspaper headlines?
A bit campy, but done very well. What was needed was a montage of Superman getting back into the rhythm of things...well, a better montage of Superman getting back into the rhythm of things.

The good:
Spacey. That is all. Nothing more needs to be said. Even the ridiculous scene with the trains was absolutely brilliant and so very Luthor...well, Hackman's Luthor anyway.

Routh was pretty good too, but his Superman needed to be larger than life not awkward and uncomfortable. Superman is Superman. There should be no uncertainty, no awkwardness, no bumbling. He should be confidence personified. Clark Kent should be clumsy because Superman is a stranger in a strange land when he delves into the human world. He's trying to pass himself off as human; he should be awkward and hesitant. It's what made Reeve a good Superman. It wasn't his acting; it was his larger than life portrayal of the Superman side of things. He stood up straighter, he held his head high, he talked loud and with surety (is that even a word?) of purpose. He was wearing a tight, bright-blue body suit and a cape, for chrissakes, he should have been laughed off the screen, but he wasn't.

To end this painfully long post, I would like to say that I take solace in the fact that Singer has stated that he's learned from this experience and that the sequel is going to be much better. I thought the original X-Men was mediocre as well, but I liked X2 a lot. I hope the same can be said for the Superman movies.

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