Question for Superman Fans?

Question

I liked "Superman Returns"....but didn't *love* it.

When I was a kid, I LOVED "Superman" (Christopher Reeve), though I think being a kid had a Lot to do with it. Also, the then new special effects were amazing.

But I'm not seeing the same attention given to this new Superman. The buzz surrounding Chris Reeve's Superman lasted a long time after the movie was out & the sequel was even better.

Do you think it's because special effects aren't the big deal they used to be. Or maybe since '78, we've seen So many superhero films, that in 2008, Superman is lost in the mix?

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Answer 1

You aren't seeing the buzz because Superman Returns lost 70 million domestiacally. The first 2 Reeve Superman films made a lot of money.  

Answer 2

well,

i think it is because when Superman came out in 1978, that was the first in the wave of comic book based movies. No one saw a movie like that before.

In 2006, Superman Returns came out after people already saw a lot of comic book movies.

you have to understand that it came out after Batman Begins and Spider-Man 2, which if you ask me are the best comic book based movies to date. So people had something to compare it to.

Also, Superman Returns was a good movie, but it had its flaws. The running time was too long if you ask me (2 1/2 hrs), Lois's kid was a bad idea, and there was NO ACTION AT ALL!

also, with some of the plot elements, you would have had to have seen Superman and Superman II to kind of understand what was going on, as opposed to Spider-Man, you didnt need to know anything previously to enjoy.

Also, last week Warner Bros announced that they are rebooting the Superman franchise-starting over from scratch. they are giving it the Hulk treatment. so no need to worry about this movie, cause in the long run, it didnt matter.

that is just my opinion.

Answer 3

I think it's both. and the superman returns sequel (called the Man of Steel) is sure to be better then  superman returns. i think it will play out like X2 (another bryan singer film) or even more, the dark knight.

Answer 4

I did not like Superman Returns. Like in Spider-man, they made a poor actor choice. I just don't think he was a good Superman, partly because of his appearance.

The special effects were great, but sometimes inconsistent. The way the panels on the side of the airplane rippled was awesome, but when he goes into space... In one scene, it's the way it should be. The cape goes up and stays stiff. In another, it's waving like it would on earth. No good.

The special effects are much more important now than before. In some movies *cough* Transformers *cough* the special effects ARE the movie.

Answer 5

Yeah, there definitely is a Generational Gap in Special Effects which is a shame.

My generation is SO into CGI, then anything less looks "cheesy" from their perspective.

I actually missed the recent Superman with "who played that part”??

I LOVE the 1978 Superman - not just for Effects, but it was such a Great Epic Introductory Story of Superman. - I don't think it could have been done better in Any Time, because it had the Director, Writers, and Actors that made it great.

I did NAWT care for Superman 2 & 3, as much - Probably because the 1st one was so strong.

I think you asked a Ray Harryhausen (the master of stop-motion FX) question once.

Whenever "Jason & The Argonauts" 1960?? comes on TV, I NEVER miss it.

Yes - CGI is so smooth and you don’t have worry about the Matting that was required in such remarkable scenes as Clearing the Asteroids from "The Empire Strikes Back" - my fellow Gen-X'rs Laugh at those first 3 Star Wars & I just don't agree.

Back to Harryhausen - I actually Preferred the Stop-Motion in those Mythyological movies, because (even though it had a "jerky-effect" quality -- It made the Monsters look EVEN MORE Unearthly and Scarey.

Now, stuff is SO SMOOTH you get used to it.

Like living in the DC area - you get used to waking over blood-stains -- that’s how I feel about CGI.

I prefer the New FX for movies like The Lord of The Rings and not just for moving objects - but mostly for the CGI Art Direction in the Backround - You can create so much Beautiful, Artsy Landscapes :)

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Answer 6

definitely its partly special effects advancing. i also think it is because the first superman movies were also the first comic book movies, so they could set the tone. nowadays, people expect a certain thing from comic book movies, or at least they think they do. i think a lot of people thought superman returns was too slow and humourless compared to other comic book movies such as spider-man and iron man. it was a very serious movie, and actually compared superman to Christ. it is similar to the first hulk movie in that people just wanted to see hulk smash things, and superman being super, but instead what they got was superman dealing with lois and generally not punching enough people. the dark knight is different in that the story it tells is serious but weighty in a way people can relate to. it presents interesting moral dilemmas and explores the nature of heroism, which most people are fascinated with. superman, on the other hand, was almost a religious parable, which isnt sumthing many people in the audience can really associate with, or more importantly, care about. and finally, on that note, superman is just not an interesting character in his own right. the guy can lift continents on his back, he basically cant die, he is defined by his powers. other characters like spider-man and batman are defined by the choices they make, which is more interesting to an audience. and, to really show how misguided the stuios are, they are planning a reboot of superman again, this time cleaving 'darker' like the dark knight, to try to emulate its success. which is the stupidest thing ive ever heard, because essentially superman is a boy scout. it will fail spectacularly

Answer 7

You're right with everything you say.  It's a combination of Superman being a superior movie and the novelty at the time.

If they're gonna reboot the series, can they please change the names of the characters to honor the Christopher Reeve/Gene Hackman portrayals of them?  I think they deserve that respect since those 2 are the best Supes/Luthor of all time