Marshall and the Movies

PREFACE: I mentioned back in Random Factoid #42 that I had gone through a stint of reviewing movies when I was 13. After rummaging through my old home computer, I managed to find some of these reviews. In a special five day mini-series, I will reveal these reviews in their unadulterated form. I leave it up to you to comment, see how my style has changed (or maybe hasn’t). The second movie reviewed in the series is “Superman Returns.”

Silence. It is something you don’t get much in the summer, whether or not you are at the movies. This summer, Hollywood has produced mostly big, loud films that just ruin our eardrums. Silence gives the audience some time to think or to marvel about what is on the screen, while sometimes talking will just get overwhelming. Bryan Singer uses silence perfectly in the triumphant return of a disgraced series. It took plenty of changes in the cast and the director, but the wait was worth it. Brandon Routh dazzles as he tries to fill the enormous shoes left by the late Christopher Reeve, and the same goes for Kevin Spacey as he does a wonderful job as Lex Luthor. Everything is done to perfection. Before a big event, there is always some sort of silence for you to get the feel and to really get pulled in. The best example of this Superman returns to Earth after trying to find the distant remains of his home planet. His alter ego, Clark Kent goes back to work for The Daily Planet to find out that his perennial fave Lois Lane (stunningly beautiful Kate Bosworth) not only has a child with her boyfriend but has won the Pulitzer Prize for her article “Why the World Doesn’t Need Superman.” Lex Luthor is once again looking for a way to kill Superman. He collects some crystals from the Fortress of Solitude and combines it with Superman’s fatal weakness to try to destroy him once and for all. Along the way, the film is packed with emotion and intriguing plot twists. The best thing about Superman Returns is how it pays homage to its past by inserting clips of Marlon Brando from the original series. This is what a summer blockbuster should be, with action, emotion, and a perfect balance of silence. This movie is breathtaking and a work of magic in a summer littered with movies that Superman couldn’t save.