Superman Returns!

[Jon P. Inghram]

I liked the way the crummy CG titles had aliasing artifacts.

[schmosef]

I didn't notice any artifacts. (I wasn't looking)

But it did strike me that they were designed to look like the titles from the original films and as such, seemed low-rent compared to what they could have done today.

[Jon P. Inghram]

I'm probably just picky, but I am a projectionist so what the heck. I also despise the annoying copy protection some movies use, CAP code. It looks like a pattern of orange or brown dots or blobs, typically printed excessively large and in a featureless light colored area for better contrast and to more effectively irritate people.

[Jammrock]

The only definite reference is a conversation between him and Lois about the world not needing a savior.

Well, that was only the most obvious one. There were several others throughout the movie, some would be stretching it, some are rather blatant.


!!!HUGE SPOILER ALERT!!!



The other obvious ones are the way the Brando lines from the first film were played throughout the movie. The way the lines were spoken in the first two movies had undertones, but the way they were presented in SR they were more ... catered to make Superman a "Christ figure."

The most blatant symbolic act involved the crystal city. First was Superman approaching Lex on the "dias" of the crystal city. Lex was a not so obvious Pontius Pilot, or more probable a symbolic Sadducees and Pharisees, condeming Superman (Christ) to death and casting him out. Superman was then pierced in the side with a kryptonite "dagger." He was then rescued by friends (bearing the cross of Christ), but returned (after being recharged by the sun) to bear his own burden. Then Superman raised the crystal city from the water and his hands were burning while a "crown of kryptonite" formed around him (crucifiction). As Superman fell back down to Earth after flinging the crystal city into outer space (bearing the burdens of the world, i.e. the second atonement) he struck a very ovbious Christ on the cross pose. And then what happened ... Superman died, but wait! Some time later (three days anyone? maybe not, but at least one and probably more) Superman comes back to life *coughRESSURECTIONcough*. Some of that *might* be stretching it, while other aspects were soooooooo obvious it was silly.

A very minor and "stretching it" one was when Superman had Louis Lane above Metropolis. The whole, "what do you hear" conversation. The line "I hear everything, and I hear people asking for a savior all the time," line can be inturepted in two ways. First as an "atonement" like act (bearing the sins of the world) or as a "god hearing the prayers of his people." This of course spawned the whole "do whe really need Superman (a Savior)" debate in the movie, which makes it more probable that it was a planned act.

And then there's Superman talking to his son, Jason, while he sleeps. While I don't remember the entire conversation, I remember there being religious undertones beyond what a father might say to his son.



Eh ... but that's just nit picky stuff that most people probably won't even catch. And regardless of how deep the symbology goes (someone keep Dan Brown out of the movie theaters), Superman Returns was a DAMN good movie

I would say it is easily one of the top three superhero movies ever made, if not the best.

One more thing (still spoilers) was it me or was Richard a super nice guy? It drove my wife crazy that there was a love triangle between Louis, Superman and Richard, but since Richard was such a good, straight forward, nice man, husband and father that there was no clear "winner" of who should get the girl. My wife was FUMING by the end of the movie because of it.

Jammrock

[schmosef]

One more thing (still spoilers) was it me or was Richard a super nice guy? It drove my wife crazy that there was a love triangle between Louis, Superman and Richard, but since Richard was such a good, straight forward, nice man, husband and father that there was no clear "winner" of who should get the girl. My wife was FUMING by the end of the movie because of it.

Jammrock

They did that on purpose.

Richard might even know that Jason isn't his son.

Lois wouldn't have started dating right away and within a few months of Superman's disappearance she would have been showing.

[Jessterw]

Just got back from the theatre and the most basic thing I can say is... wow. All things considered and tossing nostalgia out the window, I'd say it was almost a better film than the originals (ignoring the horrid affairs that follow the first two). Louis Lane wasn't quite Louis Lane, but Kate did a good job nonetheless.

In terms of the Messianic undertones, they're definitely there whether you look for them or not. Then again, I think by his very nature, Superman can't help but appear Christ-like. In the end, the imagery (visuals) hinted more at this than anything else. Sure, the dialogue did as well, but again, given the role Superman chooses/has to fulfill it's rather hard for anything he says to come off any other way.

That all said, I think we can agree that this was completely intentional.

Awesome movie though. Looking forward to seeing what they have in store for the sequel.

[schmosef]

I didn't think twice about this but finding out kinda pisses me off...

Superman eschews longtime patriot act

By Tatiana Siegel

Nevermind Superman's sexual orientation. Here's another identity-related question that is likely to spark controversy as the Man of Steel soars into theaters nationwide this Fourth of July weekend in Warner Bros. Pictures' "Superman Returns": Is Superman still American?

Ever since artist Joe Shuster and writer Jerry Siegel created the granddaddy of all comic book icons in 1932, Superman has fought valiantly to preserve "truth, justice and the American way." Whether kicking Nazi ass on the radio in the '40s or wrapping himself in the Stars and Stripes on TV during the Cold War or even rescuing the White House's flag as his final feat in "Superman II," the Krypton-born, Smallville-raised Ubermensch always has been steeped in unmistakable U.S. symbolism.

But in the latest film incarnation, scribes Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris sought to downplay Superman's long-standing patriot act. With one brief line uttered by actor Frank Langella, the caped superhero's mission transformed from "truth, justice and the American way" to "truth, justice and all that stuff."

"The world has changed. The world is a different place," Pennsylvania native Harris says. "The truth is he's an alien. He was sent from another planet. He has landed on the planet Earth, and he is here for everybody. He's an international superhero."

In fact, Dougherty and Harris never even considered including "the American way" in their screenplay. After the wunderkind writing duo ("X2: X-Men United") conceived "Superman's" story with director Bryan Singer during a Hawaiian vacation, they penned their first draft together and intentionally omitted what they considered to be a loaded and antiquated expression. That decision stood throughout the 140-day shoot in Australia, where the pair remained on-set to provide revisions and tweaks.

"We were always hesitant to include the term 'American way' because the meaning of that today is somewhat uncertain," Ohio native Dougherty explains. "The ideal hasn't changed. I think when people say 'American way,' they're actually talking about what the 'American way' meant back in the '40s and '50s, which was something more noble and idealistic."

While audiences in Dubuque might bristle at Superman's newfound global agenda, patrons in Dubai likely will find the DC Comics protagonist more palatable. And with the increasing importance of the overseas boxoffice -- as evidenced by summer tentpoles like "The Da Vinci Code" -- foreign sensibilities can no longer be ignored.

"So, you play the movie in a foreign country, and you say, 'What does he stand for? -- truth, justice and the American way.' I think a lot of people's opinions of what the American way means outside of this country are different from what the line actually means (in Superman lore) because they are not the same anymore," Harris says. "And (using that line) would taint the meaning of what he is saying."

But for Superman purists looking for a nod to the big blue Boy Scout's nationalistic loyalties, he is still saving Americans, albeit many with suspiciously Aussie accents. He foils Lex Luthor's nefarious plan to send millions from the nation's heartland to a watery death. And in his most impressive scene, the hero saves the day while a plane hurtles toward a baseball stadium full of fans enjoying America's pastime. Although there is no indication that it is an American baseball game depicted, the scene was one of the few shot on U.S. soil, at Dodger Stadium.

Nevertheless, the long-standing member of the Justice League of America seems to have traded in his allegiance to the flag for an international passport.

"He's here for humanity," Dougherty says.

I have to admit that when I was a kid I kind of bristled at that line. Now i totally get it. And Americans have nothing to be shy about.

It's a shame that Hollywood is abandoning America. When America was attacked in the 1940s Hollywood wasn't so confused about where to place its loyalties.

[Dr Mordrid]

The 'blame America first' theocracy was born in and is headquarted in Berkley California (the USC Berkley: most radical left Univ. in the US), which is Hollyweirds version of Mecca/Medina.

Dr. Mordrid