Rewatching Superman Returns

It's been a few years since I last watched this movie now, so I thought I'd do a rewatch. Here are my notes.

The good / stuff I liked:

I love that plane rescue sequence. While the whole thing doesn't fully make sense physics wise, they have at least thought a bit about it. I love how the nose crushes as the whole weight of the plane pushes into him, and how the metal ripples. I also love how happy everyone is to see him again after his long absence.

While the Clark Kent disguise is something you kind of have to suspend your disbelief about, he does look a bit different when his glasses fall off. That's nice.

"Chief, I've done Superman."
Someone snickers in the background, and the camera switches to show Clark and Jimmy, both acting innocent.

I'm a sucker for just seing him use his powers. And especially in non-fight related ways. I love the scenes where this makes him stand out as "alien", and how people react to it. There's a scene where he just flies through a street, and people get distracted when they spot him. He x-rays Lois to check that she's all right, and Richard stares at him for a moment. I like to think that he's done some (at least basic) medical research at some point so that he knows what to look for. I'm also a big fan of him making sonic booms when he flies (when not overdone). It both sounds and looks really cool.

Love triangle and unprotected sex aside, I like how they do the reveal that Jason is Superman's. First, Lex questions it, and I really like how that scene is acted by Kevin Spacey:
– "Who is that boy's father?".
– "Richard"
– "...are you sure?" he replies, very slowly. He then sort of tests the kryptonite on Jason, who doesn't have any reaction to it.
Then, later, after the piano, there's no doubt. 

The ship rescue and following interaction on the sea plane (see x-ray above) is also great.

Love the "sun as a power source" thing in general, in all Superman media. So I really like the scene where he goes up above the clouds to recharge. 

The quietness of the scene when he falls back down to earth is so so nice, the following rescue, and hospital scenes. This is probably the scene I have rewatched the most.

The bad/meh:

Not a fan of this being a pseudo-sequel to the Christopher Reeve films. This would have benefited from being its own thing.

I really don't like that Lex could just waltz in to the Fortress of Solitude and take those crystals. Also, how did that work with the crystal exactly? The fortress isn't that big. Why do these create such a huge land mass? How did Lex intend to maintain control of that land?

I'm very hung up on the "Superhero insurance" trope. There's a bit of a quick/throwaway line where Perry White suggests "How are they gonna get that plane out of the stadium" as a news article. Surely it should be a no-brainer that Superman himself helps out with that kind of stuff.

Brandon Routh himself looked great as Superman, but I didn't care for the costume styling at all. The suit... ugh. I know it's supposed to be tight, but combined with the briefs, the whole getup just looked... stiff. I'm really glad the trunks are gone in more modern incarnations. 

I dislike the "spit curl" so, so much. I'm not a fan of it on Superman in general, but I absolutely hate the look of it in this movie. I'm so glad they completely skipped it with Henry Cavill's Superman. I have no idea what they were thinking here. Like, it looks embarrassingly unnatural and dumb. If it only looked at least somewhat like his hair just curls like that naturally I might have been a bit more accepting, but the rest of his hair is straight! It looks like he gets out the curling iron before going out to rescue someone. It's hard enough to explain to a regular person why I'm a Superman fan, and then I have this picture to show of what my favourite fictional character looks like? Ugh.

I can't stand the bumbling and awkward Clark persona. The whole acting thing just doesn't make sense to me. Yes, it helps the disguise. But surely, if he wants a secret identity to be able to blend in, relax, not be gawked at as Superman, basically have a bit of a normal life, this isn't doing him any favours. Lois basically ignores him because he's so incredibly lame. He asks her out for food at one point, and she just completely doesn't hear him. Why even bother trying to ask her out as Clark when a) He's faking his whole personality, so he's basically trying to catfish her, b) he's already got history with her as Superman, and c) she's just not interested in him as Clark. Why keep this up. Lois also constantly interrupts what Clark is saying. Or doesn't listen.

"Clark is... well, he's Clark", Lois says. So, she basically knows nothing about Clark or Superman... Fantastic basis for a relationship with either. 

Superman sleeping with Lois without telling her who he feels very off. And he didn't use protection?? Seems hella dumb. 

Not a fan of this version of Lois. The actress who plays her is way too young, doesn't look right, and doesn't have the right... "feistiness" for Lois Lane.

The super stalking. It's not even subtle. He spies on Lois several times. Even goes as far as hovering by her house, listening in and watching. Eeek. 😬Don't be that guy.

The bullet to the eye scene is so way over the top. And not in a good way. Like, Superman is already crazy overpowered. Don't remind us of it to this degree? It's also super cheesy.

– "You know my... Richard. He takes me up all the time."
–"Not like this".
Ugh. The lady is taken, dude. I hate love triangles. This movie did nothing to change my mind. Richard seemed like such a nice guy, and I just cannot appreciate any form of romance between Superman and Lois when I know Richard is going to get hurt.

"...and he never lies". Why is that a thing? Is that from the original movies? Is that something Superman himself has said? If so, that's dumb. He lies about who he is all the time. Not directly, sure, but still. Why is that something you would say. 

The fight on the island is way too one sided and humiliating for me. Why does he shout "I'm still Superman"? He never gets a proper comeback with Lex later either. I usually skip over this sequence on more casual rewatches.

It is so incredibly odd that they made Superman able to lift that whole kryptonite island. He basically lost his powers when walking on it, so why not when lifting it? The kryptonite is right in his face, and he's even got a fragment embedded in his side. Makes no sense.

Some nitpicks about the special effects for the flying: A few times when he takes off, it looks a bit too much like he's being pulled by a wire. As in, I feel like I can see the point that he's attached to, and that's pulling his weight. I like it when they manage to make it look like it's "full body weightlessness". I also think it's a bit odd how he bends his knees slightly before taking off with Kitty. 

Random thoughts

That is a humongous house that Richard and Lois has! Must have been super expensive.

I wonder what went through the heads of Lex and his henchmen after the piano incident.

Nitpick: Wouldn't it have made more sense to not lift the whole half ship fully out of the water? They were in the top part. If more of the ship was in the water it would be less heavy. I think.