Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Superman on film

I was never a big fan of the Richard Donner Superman films. I'm sorry, I just wasn't. They were mostly well done, but they haven't aged well (not to mention Gene Hackman's truly odd portrayal of Lex Luthor.) Despite that, I'm quite fond of Superman Returns. Sure it is flawed, but most movies are. Its biggest issue for me being that it tied itself so closely to the Donner-verse, going so far as making Kevin Spacey (a brilliant choice for the role) basically ape Gene Hackmans character that was tired when it was first put to film.
I've got high hopes for Zach Snyders Superman. He gave fanboys exactly what they needed with Watchmen and  I think that he can do it again with Superman. I want him to be careful with the material, but not too careful. For all the wonder, magic and fun that the Donner film had it still never achieved the sense of scale, power and might that Singer's Superman had. I'm hoping the Snyder can combine the two version, or make his own independent of what came before. Because Superman is a wonderful character that really does deserve a second chance at cinematic brilliance.