This is the one with Frankenstein/zombie Superman.

 

There are more of us than you might think. Many folks went to see it expecting it to be either another Batman Begins or another X-Men. Then they got all upset when it turned out to be nothing like that and exactly what the director said it was: something very faithful to the spirit, if not the letter, of the Richard Donner/Christopher Reeve films.

When something is a comic book movie, many people (especially fans) have preconceived notions of what it "should" be like and, if your movie doesn't match that template exactly, you can expect it to get panned by many.

Having said all that however, I still think we dodged a bullet when Superman Lives was cancelled. Arseclenchingly moronic flapdoodle!

 

No. According to Kevin Smith himself (so take it for what you will) when WB got Burton he was shown the door. And Burton brought on his own writers to take a crack at it. The guys mentioned in Tekkaman Blade's post. The reason they seem similar is that WB wanted to use elements from the death of Superman story line. And Super-foes other than Luthor. Superhero movie such as these have villians dictated by the studio brass. It's why Scarecrow was in Batman Begins.

 

That costume is pure AWESOMENESS!

Oh god I wish this movie was made, I want to see it soo bad right now  

 

Heh. So it wasn't enough that WB was gonna let Burton and Peters turn Superman into Super-Batman, but from the looks of that suit, they apparently were going to give us Electric Superman a year ahead of the comics version. I have to wonder if there wasn't some kind of corporate/editorial synchronicity there.

 

Could be, I know seasons 2-3 and possibly 4 of smallville were affected by the then in progress JJ Abrams script/ version of the movie as they were told to make certain changes. There was also some plans to possibly cancel it because of the movie and they didn't want the audience confusing the two.

By the time Superman Returns came out they'd spent around 150 million on all the prep for the previous movies that thankfully hadn't happened. Returns almost got a sequeal, but they kept cutting the budget to far under Returns. Then they got sued by the Segals again and couldn't do it because of court issues. The current planned movie is in progress because if they don't do it now after 2012 the Segals are entitled to more money from movie profits.

 

Could have been a cool movie. A dark superman is kinda needed.

 

I like these

 

No a well written script that doesn't rehash the first two movies is. Superman doesn't need to be dark. You just need to give him a more evil villain besides luthor to fight. Make the villain and the situation dark not the hero. Some one who can match him in strength and abilities. Darkseid, Braniac, Mongul and so on. Not every hero needs to be Batman.

You don't change the hero so it's cool, you make a good movie and it becomes cool.

 

Well I think that's definitely why people are so quick to pan the unmade Burton version.

My problem with Superman Returns wasn't that it didn't live up to preconceived notions of the character. My problem was that it never took on a life of its own. Everything felt like a pale imitation of 1978.

It also felt like all the actors had been cast for their looks, and none of them really brought much life or believability to their part. And yet for some reason everyone seemed about 5-10 years younger than they had been in the previous movie.

 

Can't really say I agree with that completely, but I can still see your point. Brandon Routh did have some differences between his Superman and his Clark Kent, but yes, he could have done with sharpening that contrast somewhat. He hits the mark every so often, though. He just needs better comic timing as Clark Kent.

Kevin Spacey made a great Luthor, IMHO.

Whatshername as Lois Lane on the other hand... yes, utterly miscast.

Is it true the costs for these unproduced abominations were counted as part of Superman Returns' budget, thus making sure that, on paper at least, it stood no chance of really making a profit?

 

Not really no. I don't mind the odd dark and gritty hero, like Batman or to an extent Wolverine.

But not Superman.

Superman is the bright shinning star in the darkness. The Paragon. The unmistakable hero. The guy who does what's right no matter the personal cost.

That's not to say dark takes have not been interesting, like Red Son for instance, but frankly, I'm a bit burnt out of the dark and gritty bullshit, so pass me my shades for the ensuing brightness of Superman.

 

You don't taint the hero. Superman is not Batman or Spawn for that matter.
everything else around him can be black as night, though. Put him in an environment that stresses his inner, emotional strength to a breaking point.

when Superman is a nanosecond away from murderous rage, you see the essence of Superman.
it's not that he's going to kill, which he won't, it is that he has been pushed hard enough that the thought comes to mind.
and how he responds to that makes for good storytelling.

Batman kicks all kinds of ass and surgically incapacitates people all night long. It's nothing to him to leave a mobster looking like Jell-O. Alive, but not really wanting to live.
that in itself gets boring in time. what makes Bats special is that he will not cross the line (thin as it gets at times.)

Superman's achilles heel is he holds back because he refuses to do certain things.
he goes all out against the cosmic baddies because he has to.

but think, just think what would happen if a mortal pushed him that far? i don't mean Luthor with a kryptonite weapon or a space station. I am talking just a mean bastard that manipulates Supes to a breaking point. pushes the guy's buttons. that is good storytelling.

i don't want a dark superman character. i want serious drama and watch how he adapts to it.

 

That...looks awful. I'm so glad they didn't go through with this.

I liked Routh's Superman for what it was. I'd compare Routh's Supes to Val Kilmer's Batman. Not as good as it could have been (let's face it, their predecessors were tough acts to follow), but he didn't ruin the character either. The story was at fault for the awful mess that was Superman Returns. It was a daytime soap opera with Superman shoved into it.

 

 
This is why I really don't like Tim Burton. He feels that no matter what he's working with, his dark twist on things will always work.