"Superman Returns Again" still in limbo...

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Norrin Radd, Aug 19, 2008.

  1. davejames

    davejames Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I myself had no trouble accepting that it was a slightly different version of STM that was being followed up (with different actors and a different looking Metropolis), but I do think it might have been confusing for general moviegoers.

    Going in either one of those directions you laid out probably would have been better. If I had to pick, I'd go for the first, with Routh and Bosworth as a couple of young reporters in a reboot. That way they'd grow and mature into the roles and not risk looking middle-aged by movies 3 and 4. ;)
     
  2. RandyS

    RandyS Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Agreed. But they need to fire Routh too. He came off like he was parodying Reeve. He looked and sounded too much like Reeve. They need a new actor who can bring his own characterization to the role.

    And Bosworth was a bad move no matter how you look at it. If they can't get Teri Hatcher, at least get Erica Durnace. Either would be better.
     
    Last edited: Aug 19, 2008
  3. ClayinCA

    ClayinCA Commodore Commodore

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    While I wouldn't want them to replace Brandon Routh, I'd be fine with bringing someone else to play Lois. Nothing against Kate Bosworth as an actress per se, but Lois should be a little more fiery, and Bosworth came off much too blandly (though that could be down to her director as well). I'd prefer somebody like Anne Hathaway or Rachel McAdams.

    I think that if they do recast either Superman or Lois, they should go with someone not previously associated with the characters from any other version of Superman - in other words, no Erica Durance or Tom Welling, for example. While I like both actors and their portrayals of the roles, if you're not literally doing Smallville: The Movie, it would just be too weird to have one of them show up, especially if it was only one of them.
     
  4. Galactus

    Galactus Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I can only hope that they make a Superman movie that I actually want to see. Like I said I will be happy either way. I either get a movie I want to see, or I get to see Singer fail again.

    Rami gets the diss. In Hollywood you really are only as good as your last movie unless you have at least 10 hits under your belt like Eddie.

    And yes Jim Caviezel would have been the perfect Superman. How did the WB mess that up again.
     
  5. DarKush

    DarKush Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I'm all for going with a new director and cast. I thought Routh was okay, but he was a bit too slender. Tom Welling from Smallville has the right type of build for the role. He's muscular, broad chest, but not like he's on steroids. As for Routh's performance I blame Singer. I think Routh could've done a good job if Singer hadn't had him trying to act like a wan Christopher Reeve.

    Bosworth was just a terrible choice.

    As for Luthor in a new film. I think Lex is a credible villian, Clancy Brown and Michael Rosenbaum have proven that. It's a matter of approach. Spacey was brilliant casting, but once again I think it was misdirection which hurt his character.

    That being said, I'm not opposed to seeing other villians, with Luthor playing a supporting role or no role at all. It is time to see Brainiac, Darkseid, Doomsday, Parasite, Metallo, Bizarro, etc. I think the FX today could really make them pretty awesome villians. As for Zod, I'm not sure they should go there again-Terrence Stamp just gave a great performance. I would rather see Jax-Ur and Mala from STAS as the Kryptonian villians. It would be new character territory for the writers/director to explore.
     
  6. I want a clean break. While there were some things about Returns I liked, some casting too, there was nothing at all that i loved and need to see return.

    Most of all, I want something's that a clear break in TONE and visual STYLE.

    Time for a new visual aesthetic, one that's more upbeat, adventurous, and hopeful, a Superman that's colorful, threats that are big and Superman ish, and a Clark/Superman that isn't stuck in the past trying to recapture the un-capturable magic of a 30 year old film and a mimicking a like actor who's passed away.

    when I saw Spider-man 2, man, I got that vibe, that "Romita Sr. era" vibe. Dark Knight just feels like a Batman story, with elements of Denny O'Neil, Moore's Killing Joke, Long Halloween, etc all wafting in and out like great cologne. Iron Man just nails Tony Stark. None of them are perfect movies, but they FEEL like Spider-Man, and Batman, and Iron Man. Even the first two X-Men movies manage to capture bits of that Claremont-era "feel" despite the massive changes. I want something that feels like SUPERMAN.

    I don't really care if there's an origin or no origin, but the benefit of an origin is to clearly signal that this is a new thing and we can forget about past movies, it's a "short-hand" way to tell the audience that without having to read some EW article that tells them it's a new series. But it doesn't matter much to me either way, as long as the rest of the movie feels right.

    I want a Superman more faithful to the 'post Crisis' modern version of Superman. My Superman doesn't have to be muscular, but I'm so done with idolizing everything after the Donner movie. This may shock internet fans, but you know, as much as the film is fondly remembered, the general audience really doesn't rank it as a Godfather masterpiece.

    Superman TAS is a great initial blueprint for what I'd like to see, particularly the portrayals of Superman, Lois, and Luthor.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 20, 2008
  7. StarTrek1701

    StarTrek1701 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    S:R literally killed the Superman franchise. The comics can do so wonderous stuffs with him yet screenwriters tend to have no idea how to take a crack at this well established character. I say keep Routh, and bring in an entirely different team.
     
  8. Samurai8472

    Samurai8472 Admiral Admiral

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    At least this time the development hell won't be as long as the last one. I can go as far back as 1998. Some can go back farther.

    Btw can some explain the polars and fortress thing? I only know it was as jon peters idea and he hated the old suit "it was too pink"

    Ofcourse he seems to have changed his mind in the "look up" documentary. He said that past attempts didn't have the heart of what singer was creating.
     
  9. CaptainCanada

    CaptainCanada Admiral Admiral

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    Jax-Ur and Mala were just stand-ins for Zod and Ursa; there was literally nothing distinct about them (Mala was even voiced by Ursa's actress in her second appearance).

    I liked all the casting in SR apart from Bosworth, who was just too young; Routh, Langela, Spacey (who could have been a fantastic Luthor if he hadn't been stuck playing "goddamn wacky Lex", as Paul Dini described it) all fit their roles. But if they ultimately decide to go in a different story continuity, they should probably recast, just for clarity. And for the love of god, nobody from Smallville.
     
  10. Out Of My Vulcan Mind

    Out Of My Vulcan Mind Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Zod and Jax-Ur are both characters from the comics, both making their first appearance in 1961 (in April and October respectively). They are very similar in that they're both Kryptonian criminals who were imprisoned in the Phantom Zone.

    I'd like the films to use Metallo, Brainiac, Parasite, the Ultra-Humanite, and Darkseid, and then to bring in a new version of Zod at some point down the line (General Zod is just a much cooler name for a villain than Jax-Ur).
     
  11. Trent Roman

    Trent Roman Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Robot Chicken has ruined any possibility of me saying, typing or otherwise communicating the word 'Zod' with a straight face.

    ...although, watching Superman II had a rather similar effect.

    Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman
     
  12. I'd be interested in seeing Braniac, Metallo (at least the general concept, robot with kryptonite heart), or Bizarro as villains. Maybe Darkseid if the director takes the concept seriously and doesn't make him an lame-ass threat a la FF2's boring Galactus. He'd have to be played by a charismatic actor.
     
  13. Samurai8472

    Samurai8472 Admiral Admiral

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    Darkseid will be a planet eating moon who shot ben parker
     
  14. ancient

    ancient Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I don't think that Darksied would be a good idea. Virtually any way they adapt him to live-action would piss off a huge number of fans. The bike-helmet, boom-tubes, crazy alien monsters, there's just too much there waiting to get totally reinvented.

    Besides, even though Supes is an alien, the Superman story should always focus on Earth so I don't think going all scifi and alien planet is a great idea.
     
  15. Bad Bishop

    Bad Bishop Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I blame the screenwriters. They kept Routh's lines to a minimum.

    I'll never understand why Kate Bosworth suffers more abuse than Erica Durance when it comes to playing Lois Lane
     
  16. Dream

    Dream Admiral Admiral

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    They both are terrible as Lois,
     
  17. StarTrek1701

    StarTrek1701 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I disagree. Erica Durance is a perfect proto-Lois.
     
  18. Bad Bishop

    Bad Bishop Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    "Proto-Lois"? On Smallville she's a college dropout. She's got the jiggle-factor down, if that's a vital prerequisite for becoming a journalist.
     
  19. Aragorn

    Aragorn Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Because people don't think Smallville is any good to begin with so some bad actress with a smoking hot bod who is nothing like Lois Lane still has a smoking hot bod?
     
  20. Out Of My Vulcan Mind

    Out Of My Vulcan Mind Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I'm one of the few who liked Bosworth's performance. She looks too young to be carrying that much history and to be a mother of a child that old (unless Lois was a teen mother, which the script obviously isn't trying to convey), and so she was miscast from that point of view (as was Routh really), but I thought she acquitted herself well.