The Gospel According to Superman

[khaosworks]

Christopher Priest (no, not that Christopher Priest, the one formerly known as Jim Owsley) tears Superman Returns a new asshole.

The Gospel According to Superman

Go read it. I'll be right here.

Back? Okay — I agree with much of what Priest says here, although of course I didn't notice the lack of black people or minorities all that much. I don't think it's unconscious racism on my part; it's simply that we've been conditioned from years of cinema and television not to expect minorities on screen. It's only when they do appear that we notice them.

But it's this passage that got me saying an amen:

As nate451 posted on the Internet Movie Database:

[Singer] seems entirely unaware that he has crafted an entire movie without a laugh, without a tear, without a moment of tension or suspense or compassion or fear. Such a complete failure makes all other complaints about the film no less true, but ultimately academic.

In the absence of any kind of actual content to push the movie along, Singer instead relies on an endless string of movie clichés. Lex Luthor quotes Greek myths, has a collection of ancient statues, and listens to classical music. A little boy gasps as he sees what all the adults have failed to see—that Superman is Clark Kent. Lois Lane leans over a comatose Superman and says, "I don't know if you can hear me, but…" One would be hard-pressed, in fact, to find a single cinematic moment in Superman Returns that has not been done before.

Priest also goes on at some length about how he's offended by the trivialisation of Jesus with Singer's heavy-handed use of the Messiah motif. While I think Singer was a bit anvil-licious with those ideas, I didn't think it was all that offensive: after all, Superman-as-Messiah has been there since the beginning, and it's an obvious direction to take. For my part, the movie's greatest sin is what Roger Ebert also points out: it's glum, it's lacklustre.

And like I said in my earlier assessment, it's ordinary, and a Superman movie should not be ordinary.

Comments

[rimrunner.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that about sums up my own conclusion, which was: okay, but not great. I have no particular desire to see them again.

I didn't find the Messiah images offensive, but they seemed awfully heavy-handed and unnecessary, partly because it's such an obvious direction to take. I kept thinking of the last half-hour or so of Braveheart.

I can't say that I consciously noticed the lack of non-Caucasians in the film, but then the whole thing seemed somehow so plastic and unreal that I'm not really surprised.

[opadit.livejournal.com]

I came away thinking that there was a less than realistic (for mid-town Manhattan) distribution of non-whites in the crowds and the office, and that it would have been much, much nicer, in 2006, to see a few non-whites in primary roles. A couple of Lex Luthor's henchmen looked Latino or Arabic. Ew.

Wasn't a lot of it was filmed in Australia? Where less than 10% of the population is non-white. That would explain why there were only a few token ethnic types in the crowds. But Singer and/or the studio really did have a choice about the major stars. There are enough bankable African-American and Latino stars that some kind of substitution could have been made; it's not as if there were budget concerns. I think it would have been great to see Danny Glover as Perry White, for example. Thandie Newton (British, not American, I know) is cute; how about her for Kitty Kowalski?

[batyatoon]

See, I disagree completely with the assertion that this is a movie "without a laugh, without a tear, without a moment of tension or suspense or compassion or fear." Completely.

But I'm sitting here kicking myself in the head about the other thing.

There are no minorities in this movie and I didn't notice.

How did I not notice?

re: without a moment of tension

[etherial.livejournal.com]

I was practically squeeing at the subtext of every single thing said between Lois and Clark.

How did I not notice?

Well, I did notice that there was no Mo Movie Moment. Still, Superman Returns wasn't the Minority Trainwreck that was Poseidon Adventure, see my review of the latter here (http://etherial.livejournal.com/131951.html).

[(Anonymous)]

I was annoyed reading that webpage when he got to criticizing the gattling gun. CLearly the guy wasn't paying attention when Lex ordered his goons to have it mounted on the tail of the helicopter. I wonder what else he wasn't paying any attention to.

[(Anonymous)]

i liked this film. didn't love it, but enjoyed it.

as for the lack of black people (or minorities), COME ON! why don't we have a campaign to add some black people to the original ACTION COMICS? 'cuz that was obviously what singer used as his template, along with the Donner movie. i think it's really sad to go and watch a summer action movie, and come out wondering where are the black people.

but i guess that's why the reviewer found the film to be without laughs or tears, 'cuz he was too busy socially critiquing it to actually relax and enjoy it. sheesh.

btw i did find the messianic imagery annoying - not for religious reasons, but simply because it was too hamfisted (stabbed in the side, empty tomb, etc). but the biggest irritation for me was the introduction of the kid (SPOILERS!), 'cuz i was watching it as a comics reader first, and the kid basically creates a huge problem for any potential sequels.

(shakes head)

yellowhandman
http://yellowhandman.blogspot.com/