Tim Burton was going to give Superman the full Batman rubber suit treatment.
Don’t click this link; once you’ve seen it, you can’t unsee it.
http://www.slashfilm.com/more-images-from-aborted-superman-lives-show-nicolas-cage-in-costume/
My eyes they burn. I feel as if I just for the penance stare from Nic Cage with out being Ghost Rider. Thank Crom that movie never happened. Comic movies would have never come as far if that POS happened.
I am suprised that he did not try to cast Johnny Depp as Superman. Isn’t Johnny in all of Burton’s films??? jk
Not only can I not unsee that, I can’t turn away! I feel like a Nazi at the opening of the Ark of the Covenant.
What’s worse, this is the same script that Kevin Smith was forced to turn into a sitcom full of bad cultural stereotypes where Superman wasn’t allowed to be seen on-screen flying. I don’t think I’m too far off in saying that if this movie happened not even “X-Men” could have saved comic book movies, if it had ever been made at all in the wake of this travesty.
I don’t think I’m remembering the beats precisely, but…
I saw Kevin Smith live once, and he told the story of how he had to thrown in all kinds of mundane stuff for bad reasons. Like, the producer wanted Superman to fight a Krypton spider in the Fortress of Solitude.
Then later, Smith talked about how boring Superman Returns was. He said, "You’re waiting, like, ‘Please, punch something!’ " And a guy in the audience says, “Could it have used a Krypton spider?”
And while I agree with Smith, it was a good point.
I think Superman Returns problem wasn’t that it was a dramatic story, it was a dramatic story in a time when special effects and comic book movies especially had progressed to a point where if you’re dealing with a character who can do everything, why not show him doing anything instead of the same stuff he’s done in every movie before? It wasn’t a bad movie, but in the wake of “X2” and “Spider-Man” you can’t blame audiences for wanting a comic book movie that was also an action film. The X-Men and Spider-Man films did drama well (well, the first two, the third ones in each franchise kinda failed but…) and gave us dramatic story-telling.
At least it appeared as though Warner was trying to make a Superman action film, they just gave the responsibility to the wrong people. Tim Burton was hired because he did Batman well but I don’t think the execs who made that decision realized that he fit the image of Batman; Superman not so much. Nicholas Cage was hired because he was a Superman fan. Even if you ignore his recent career missteps you can admit he is (or once was) a good actor, but that necessarily doesn’t make him qualified to play Clark/Supes. Then of course you have the executive interference that asked for a “gay C-3PO” in the Fortress of Solitude and no shots of Superman flying.
By the way, I love your sig.
I guess I’m weird. I enjoyed 'Returns. Routh was convincing, and I loved the storyline and twist. Then again, the absolute finest superhero movies deliver story, drama, and action – which is where the genre seems to be heading. (See First Class and, of course, Avengers)
“Returns” wasn’t so much a bad movie, more as just a BLAH movie. It was like you felt that the actors were playing characters and not very believable either. Lois was totally miscast. It’s not that I have anything against the actress who played her it’s just that she wasn’t right for it. Now having Spacey play Lex was probably the best part of the film. He could chew through dialog all day and then some. At this point though Lex is just too played out. We need better villains now. Lets hope the new film is better.
Now as far as Cage is concerned NO just NO!!! NEVER EVER IN THAT SUIT AGAIN!!! There is a scene in All Star Superman where Lois is seeing a projection from A superman from the future. And she comments that it kinda looks like her father. That’s where Cages Supes should be, otherwise no F*ing way.
I didn’t dislike Returns. It did feel about 3 hours long. But I never watched it again. Something was missing, definitely. “BLAH” is the perfect word for it. I appreciate what they were trying to do, but…
“Returns” for me felt like they spent the entire movie trying to make Supes look as pretty and iconic as possible and not much else…Spacey was an AWESOME Luthor though and that damn near gets forgotten in all that blah-ness
Exactly. Supes just was all touchy feely. That’s not the Supes I know. Lets hope the new movie is good. Otherwise we won’t see this property again for at least a decade.
Let me clarify, I loved “Returns”. It was epic but didn’t feel forced and I loved the “Death…” tease. I’m not sure how Lex thought he was going to sell real-estate on an ugly black-green rock but I’m sure he had his (crazy) reasons. I thought Routh was excellent and he didn’t bring much new to the role, but I think he was channeling Chris Reeve beautifully.
I’m pretty much in agreement with Max Landis in that “nobody gives a shit” about Superman anymore but I have high hopes for the new movie. If it really is in the same continuity as the Nolan Bat-films then they have a real opportunity to deal with the issue of an unkillable alien on a planet that lives in fear of itself.
Routh does, indeed, rule. He has, time and again, proved himself to be a genre-friendly fan and a real trooper. In Scott Pilgrim, when his eyes glow and he floats forward in a menacing advance, that’s maybe my favorite image from any super-action movie.