The Warner Brothers come back
vehicle “Superman Returns” (2006) failed to create a sensation at the box office. In a renewed effort for the Kryptonian hero’s return they hired
“Dark Knight” miracle-worker and producer Christopher Nolan and writer David
Goyer hoping to create magic at the cash
registers. The attempt has been partly
successful in terms of terrific action sequences and the conventional yet convincing origin and journey of
‘Superman ’from Krypton to the Earth.
What is new this time is the extent
to which the troubled mind of the
hero is delved into, his inner turmoil
in coming to terms with his superpowers
has been presented in a realistic manner. Events move back and forth through
Clark Kent’s difficult childhood, his troubled adolescence, and his seemingly
aimless young adulthood. Kevin Costner’s portrayal of the friendly
non-interfering modern American dad,
guiding superman through his dilemma
is very natural and doesn’t seem like ‘acting’ at all. Also Costner’s
protective streak as the father who wants to save his son’s
prowess from the public eye, lest he come to harm is very
understandable.
Diane Lane as Clark’s adoptive mother is endearing and natural in her performance. She comes across
as how a tough and loyal farm wife would be in reality. She too, like her
husband supports their strange, adoptive son helping him find his way.
Lois Lane played by Adams is again
a realistic personification of the nosy
reporter, her inquisitive streak intact as in the comic books, albeit a little
closer to reality than before.
Coming
back to story, the change of mind
of earthlings have towards Superman, the debate in their minds , their
doubts of this ‘alien’ creature with
super powers & their gradual acceptance of him as a fellow galactic being have
been presented well.
What must have stolen many a heart (apart fromCavill’s looks) was a bit of humour in places, like Superman allowing himself to be handcuffed to see Lois
Lane in prison. Personally for me, the ‘non-homo-sapien’- Supeman’s take on
human psychology was very close to reality …while he
admitted that Zod was untrustworthy, human beings were highly unreliable
as well. So true!
The cinematography retains a
young watcher’s interest
initially, especially superman testing his prowess after revelation of
Kal-el’s journey and arrival to the
Earth by Jor-El’s image. Later during the heavy fight and action sequence however, the
subtlety of the previous series is lost. It gets buried beneath the film’s spectacular CGI
special effects. Some of those scenes seemed horrifyingly similar to those of
9/11. The story loses grip because not only do the
special effects become
repetitive, but also these heavy dose devastation packed action
sequences leave one drained. The mind-numbing destruction overstays its
welcome. Ultimately, one wonders that if
the villain General Zod’s end was such an
easy accomplishment for Superman as wringing the neck of rag-doll, why
were the human beings in the story & audience outside subjected to the endless wait for good to emerge over evil!!
It is a film with decent special effects but prolonged and repetitive scenes. Happy watching for the die-hard ‘Superman’ fans, as for the others
who have a choice, please go in for the
movie running at the
other screen. Patience is the password for parents of die-hard
superman-fan kids to endure this imagery of
destruction!
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