Before seeing this, I was pretty expectant and excited, after some great comic superheroes films of recent times. But the movie just reminded me of why I'm not enthusiastic about this particular representative of the genre. The movie was surprisingly close to the 60s or 70s Superman comic book series, and while that may be a considered a bonus by some who actually liked it, I personally found it pretty unexciting (I probably had an overdose of those ingredients already at young age). Black and white characterisations and moral philosophy, a very "clean" society, "Superman to the Rescue" against outlandish threads by arch villains. None of the characters or situations struck me as something that has a resemblance to what one might actually encounter in real life. A Superman in a world that might be ours, the contrast between the actual and the fantastical and the uncertainty about how the two might meet, that would have the potential to create a tension that makes for interesting viewing. But an unlikely Superman in an equally unlikely cliché world does not.
Effectwise also, I was a bit disappointed. For example the repeated earth trembling in different scenes, even where totally inappropriate, like when Superman crashed back to earth in a spaceship (*before* the crash), got very predictable and looked like someone had run out of ideas to create suspense in more interesting ways. Likewise the repeated interception, by a flying Superman, of giant, heavy falling objects on their way to crush innocent people on the ground, an archetypal situation in this particular type of comic, occurred too often and was milked too much. The scenes were not done in an exciting way like Spiderman stopping a running train in Spiderman II, for example, and, for the outcome being so predictable, were too repetitive and took too much time.
The movie stayed close to the world of the strip I know from my teenage days and, as I said, I guess that could be seen as something positive insofar as it managed to convey the feel of the strip. But from a certain age onwards it just wasn't my cup of tea anymore (probably after discovering Spiderman and other Marvels).
A side remark, I felt Parker Posey, who played Kitty Kowalski, looked really similar to the Lois of the comic. She looked so much more like Lois than Kate Bosworth, that I found it disconcerting at times to see the two of them in the same scene.
Effectwise also, I was a bit disappointed. For example the repeated earth trembling in different scenes, even where totally inappropriate, like when Superman crashed back to earth in a spaceship (*before* the crash), got very predictable and looked like someone had run out of ideas to create suspense in more interesting ways. Likewise the repeated interception, by a flying Superman, of giant, heavy falling objects on their way to crush innocent people on the ground, an archetypal situation in this particular type of comic, occurred too often and was milked too much. The scenes were not done in an exciting way like Spiderman stopping a running train in Spiderman II, for example, and, for the outcome being so predictable, were too repetitive and took too much time.
The movie stayed close to the world of the strip I know from my teenage days and, as I said, I guess that could be seen as something positive insofar as it managed to convey the feel of the strip. But from a certain age onwards it just wasn't my cup of tea anymore (probably after discovering Spiderman and other Marvels).
A side remark, I felt Parker Posey, who played Kitty Kowalski, looked really similar to the Lois of the comic. She looked so much more like Lois than Kate Bosworth, that I found it disconcerting at times to see the two of them in the same scene.