It has been 7 years since the release of ‘Superman Returns’ directed by ‘X-Men’ and ‘The Usual Suspects’ director, Bryan Singer and this year we have been treated to the return of the iconic hero who fights for truth, justice and the American way. The one and only Superman returns to the silver screen and with huge expectation behind it to deliver not only a film of epic proportions, but a film with an intriguing story and characters.
The film begins and war has broken out on Krypton, which is slowly dying due to all natural resources being exhausted and is due to explode. Jor-El (Russell Crowe) infuses his new born son with a codex and sends him to Earth, but General Zod (Michael Shannon) kills Jor-El. He is subsequently banished to the Phantom Zone and Krypton dies and finally explodes.
On Earth, his adopted father, Jonathan (Kevin Costner), who died after saving people from a tornado, reveals to a young Clark that he is fact an alien and he must try to be human as the people on Earth would see Clark as a threat to them. Clark (Henry Cavill) is a grown man, and has harnessed his powers but he is searching for his purpose in life and moves from job to job, keeping a low profile and living a nomadic lifestyle under many different identities.
After finding a Kryptonian ship in the Arctic and infiltrating the vessel, a holographic representation of Jor-El reveals to Clark his true identity that he is from Krypton, Jor-El’s son and the extinction of their race. Jor-El says to him that he can bring hope to the people of Earth and becomes the hero we all know and love, Superman.
Lois Lane (Amy Adams), a journalist at ‘The Daily Planet’ is denied a story by the editor in chief, Perry White (Laurence Fishburne) on a superhuman rescuer, tracks Clark down and wants to do an expose on him and his superhuman abilities and after finding out his true identity, decides not to pursue the story.
Superman is tracked down by General Zod, who escaped the Phantom Zone after the destruction of Krypton, due to a distress signal sent from the Kryptonian vessel in the Arctic and orders that Superman surrenders himself so he can rebuild the Kryptonian race on Earth. Will Superman follow these orders and surrender or will he defend the people of Earth?
The film certainly does deliver an interesting take of the eponymous Kryptonian hero with producer Christopher Nolan (director of ‘The Dark Knight Trilogy’) guiding the project and with Zack Snyder (director of ‘300’ and ‘Watchmen’) in the director’s chair and from a visual perspective, the film is of epic proportions and delivers with its incredible CGI action set pieces and will be a big contender to win the Academy Award for visual effects. Well, with a budget of £225million and with the 75 plus years of mythology, it should be filled with big CGI action set pieces.
So, on the epic proportion action set pieces are covered and are beyond exceptional in this film. Sadly, the story does lack and the characters aren’t exactly defined and it is a case of substance over story in this film. The film is intriguing from a parental perspective. Whose wishes does Clark follow, his adopted father Jonathan or his biological father Jor-El?
The relationship between Clark and Jonathan is deep and you can feel it from the young Clark who asks his father “Can’t I just be your son?” to which an emotional Jonathan replies “You are my son.” Russell Crowe as Jor-El helps create Superman in Clark and his portrayal as a man who believes that his son will be a God to the people of Earth is fantastic as his subtle optimism and belief carry him. Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent is a perfect father figure who teaches Clark to control his abilities and to be Human. Costner brings heart to the story as the father torn from not allowing his son to be all he can be. Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner, were the best actors in this film.
The film itself is a masterpiece in special effects filmmaking and it will be a top contender to win an Academy Award for its Special Effects. They truly are mind blowing and keep you on the edge of your seat with its action set pieces with battles in Metropolis, Smallville, with shots of the Kryptonian weapons and ships and Superman duelling Zod in the air and his henchmen. But what this film has in special effects lacks in storytelling.
The film itself, as mentioned above, is a film where Clark searches for meaning and is similar to Christopher Nolan’s ‘Batman Begins’ with its origin story but sadly does not have the same depth that Batman Begins has. It loses you by the third act and the climax where it becomes a huge spectacle of special effects and as amazing as they are, the filmmakers do not continue with the giving depth and meaning to the characters.
The story is somewhat two dimensional and is lost in the midst of all the action in the final act of the film. It asks the question, why do we need a CGI fest with Superman? It has over 75 years of mythology for you to build up a strong story and characters so we care about the fate of Earth or the lives of Clark and Lois.
Overall, the film delivers in all aspects of entertainment and is worthy of being a box office smash hit with its action and CGI. I would recommend that for the sequel that they expand the story and not just look to try and cash in on the popularity of Superman. Treat the hero and its mythology with the respect it deserves and build a film universe and franchise that we can all love and enjoy such as The Dark Knight Trilogy.
The Filmmakers Factory 