superman - super no more?

Superman Returns. Yup, i've just seen it now that i've got a few days to kill because of the holidays. Lucky I got a clear dvd copy with good quality sound kaya na-enjoy ko naman yong movie. Well, almost.

I was a big fan of Superman. Number one ko siya sa mga superheroes, number two si Spidey and third yong mga mutants - X Men, not TMNT pleeezz.... This love affair with the man of steel started the first time i saw him fly when i was just a skinny, ugly kid in shorts in a second run theater sa aming probinsya. I saw all four Superman movies before he went hibernating in Krypton. And now that he returned, pwede ba naman na palagpasin ko yon.

Unfortunately it didn't live up to the hype and expectations generated before the release. It was supposed to be the biggest movie of the year but I heard tinalo pa ito ng X Men 3 and mercilessly ran over by the Pirates of the Carribean. Which is unfortunate for Bryan Singer who left the X Men franchise and probably thought "hell, this is something more exciting than the mutants". I thought so too.

But it didn't rake in money as expected. It didn't win back much of the Superman fanatics. In fact, a lot of superman fans were disappointed. Kasama na ako. So what went wrong?

I wouldn't blame it on Bryan Singer who did a wonderful job. He was in his usual best here, making it look so sleek and so contemporary which is exactly what should be done with the new release. Kung iba siguro ang humawak nito, it will not look as "now" as the movie is. Trademark niya yong sweeping and super exciting na action scenes. And I guess everybody would agree that our hero flies more awesome than before. Thanks to CGI of course.

Brandon Routh is a worthy replacement of Christopher Reeves. He's got the looks. Commanding din ang screen presence niya. And what I liked most, mas masculine ang boses niya compared to the original. Chris' voice was nasal, ang kay Brandon is more booming, more powerful which added more dimension to the character. Kahit hindi siya super-guwapo as the original, bumawi naman siya doon. And besides, his acting was good. Effortless din yong switching niya from Superman to Clark Kent and vice versa. He is so convincing as a superhero and at the same time kuhang-kuha niya yong pagiging awkward and goofy ni Clark.

Kate Bosworth is a pleasant sight on screen. I liked her better than Margot Kidder who, for me, suffered so much pag magkadikit ang mukha nila ni Christopher Reeves sa screen. Anybody who thought Margot had chemistry with the bida was wrong. Maliit pa nga ako noon sabi ko sa kanya "hoy, mas maganda ako sa yo no!"

And who would ever doubt Kevin Spacey. He breathed new life to Lex Luthor. Gene Hackman was already good in the original series but Kevin was something fresh. Mas evil ang portrayal niya. Hindi nga lang na-justify ng story.

Yon nga, what's wrong is the story. Nothing was wrong with the director, the actors, the technical aspect. But it is the story which is flawed.

We loved Superman because he is a super hero. We loved him because he was there to catch us if we fall from the top of the Empire State, or to snatch us from getting rammed over by a freakin taxi. We loved him because he can stop a mad train and lift wayward buses and planes. But in this movie, he was dehumanized way too far. Sure he still did some of these antics but he was more preoccupied with something else.

His love life. Chasing after a Lois Lane who is now happy with a partner (who by the way, is X Men's Cyclop, tama ba ako? Bading ba si Bryan Singer para i-package deal niya ang hombre na to? Hmmm…)

That's right, masyadong love affair ang nangyari sa movie showing too much emotions on the side of Superman. And I didn't like it. I didn't like seeing Superman grieving over some girl, being pitiful just like an ordinary gago na iniwan ng girl over some guy. At yong emotional conflicts between Lois, her live-in partner and Superman. Masyadong formulaic na dapat sa mga movies lang nina Jennifer Aniston or Julia Roberts nakikita.

Ginawa siyang tao. Sobrang tao. And it bothered me. And even doon sa bugbugan scene after he was struck by Lex with the lethal piece of kryptonite, he was portrayed as a mere, helpless mortal na pinapahirapan ng mga butaw na goons. And I found it too painful to swallow. This is not the idea of a superhero that I embraced and loved for so long.

Mas tanggap ko siguro kung ang tinakbo ng istorya is how Clark developed his relationship with Lois. Mas bibilib ako kung pinakita how Lois overcame the goofy side of Clark and appreciated him more as a gentle, decent human being.

Pero yong ituloy ang love affair ni Lois and Superman, parang lumalabas na opportunistic si Lois. That she falls in love with somebody who only shows up whenever he wants to, pero ok lang yon kasi superhero naman siya. I don't care if the relationship is abnormal, eh sikat naman siya eh. Hell, I can always have a free ride over the Metropolis with Superman, di ba?

Seriously, the love story should have been left for Clark to deal with para Superman can continue saving the world without distraction. Eh pano yan ngayon, may anak pa siya kay Lois (by the way, paano kaya sila nag-jug? Naunang hinubad ang briefs kesa sa pantalon? Hahaha!)

So ano ang tatakbuhin ng istorya, sa mga susunod na part (kung meron pa). Superman becomes super dad with a sidekick na super son? Hmmm… batman and robin na lang kaya!

The movie should have focused more on the problems of the world which should have piled up dahil matagal siyang nawala. Dapat mas nag-focus muna sa labanan nila ni Lex. Nakakabitin that Lex just started a project which already got thwarted by Superman at the first outing. Kaya sabi ko hindi masyadong na-justify si Kevin Spacey dito.

And the think tanks behind the movie should come up with something more logical sa mga antics ni Lex. Creating a land mass out of a piece of space junk? Haayyyy, kaya siguro hindi bumilib ang mga utaw. Way too odd.

And Lois na pinag-balibagan on all corners of the aircraft, ni walang broken bone or bruise after the incident? Aba, magagalit ang IAAF niyan, ini-encourage pa nila ang mga passengers na ok lang to remove their seat belt, wala namang mangyayari sa yo kahit mag-bale-balentong ang plane! Reason guys, reason. Fiction nga ito pero it has to be plausible.

Eniweys, for the love of Superman, tinapos ko talaga ang film. Yon nga lang, hindi ako nostalgic pagkatapos. Di tulad noon that everytime na lalabas ako ng sinehan, mereseng may kagat ako ng surot, masayang-masaya ako dahil nakita ko ang bukol ni Superman! The muscles I mean. (ah... naughty you ha!)

I hope this is just a glitch. Now that they have brought back our hero, sana mas maganda ang susunod. There are still so many problems in the world na pwedeng gawan ng solusyon ni Superman, kahit sa wide screen man lang.