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Wall of Separation (2007)
Makes an interesting and fresh argument
It is always obvious when someone makes a film that makes a strong case for the truth. People with no real counter arguments get angry and throw out catch phrases like "straw man arguments" or "shame on you" because they have no real intelligent counter evidence. Good for the filmmakers for making a solid case. Shame on the self-righteous haters who bash ideas they don't like, without providing any real counter evidence.
Unless someone wants to do the actual counter research, as opposed to hurling empty insults, I would suggest that you watch this film and make up your own mind. Bravo to PBS for allowing the opportunity for an actual environment open to ideas from more than one narrow perspective.
Superman Returns (2006)
No Charm and No Soul
**SPOILER ALERT** I'll admit I went to this movie with low expectations to begin with. However, when I go into a movie, with such lowered expectations, I often end up enjoying the film more than expected. Unfortunately this did not happen with Superman Returns.
First of all the casting was terrible. Brandon Routh looks far too young to fill the shoes of Superman. Yes it's true that Christopher Reeve was only twenty-four when he first dawned the Superman tights, but he had a more mature, less boyish look. Routh, on the other hand, looks very young and much less man like. I don't know what they did to his hair in the film, but half the time it looked like someone had stuck an "S" curl on Superman's forehead. The new Superman costume doesn't help the look much either, as the drab maroon colors, the high neck line, the small "S" shield, the clunky boots, and the tiny Speedo's, all diminish the strength and masculinity of Superman's appearance.
As Clark Kent, we don't see anything better from Routh. Where the 1978 Superman depicted Clark as guiles, charming, yet clumsy reporter, who didn't take himself too seriously, Routh seems embarrassingly awkward, slightly sullen, and socially uncomfortable around all the people he works with. The 1978 Clark kept the audience laughing with him as he seemed smile at the world's reaction to his goofy Clark Kent identity, while Routh seems to depict a Clark that seems socially disconnected and genuinely uncomfortable with himself. A little more energy and light heartedness would have gone a long way here.
The depiction of Lois Lane in this film was another problem. I never got the impression that the 1978 Superman film, showed Lois to be so cold toward Clark. In Superman Returns we see Lois as a woman who completely discounts the existence of Clark Kent, almost to the point of cruelty. This is the supposedly same Clark that, in the first two films, Lois described as being a nice guy. This is the same also the same Clark that Lois went to Niagara Falls with. Now in this film she apparently barely even notices that he has been gone and seems to get angry when Clark mentions their friendly relationship. This depiction of Lois is obviously what happens when you cast a girl who is way too young for the role. She thinks cruel, dismissive, cynicism is the same as taking Clark for granted while being his friend.
Frank Langella was just too austere in the role of news chief. He lacked the spunky energy of the 1978 version. Like so many other things in this film, he just seemed to lack energy.
Lex Luthor was a disappointment that surprised me. I had expected he would be good in this part, but instead we got a thin villain with very little charm. There seemed to be a great deal of overacting in his performance and he was never able to lend the mischievous likability that Gene Hackman brought to the original films. One of the things that made the original Richard Donner Superman films so great was that the relationship between Lex and Superman was not quite so spiteful. Lex and Superman saw each other as being on opposite sides and almost seemed to appreciate where the other was coming from. This film showed Lex as far more one-dimensional.
James Marsden was the one character that I felt did a good job in his role. He seemed to be the only person not trying too hard on screen. Of course to be fair to the other actors, there was no history for him to worry about with the character.
Overall this is another typical move to work harder at selling young pretty faces than to work at placing the right actors into the film. It seems directors keep selling films short because they feel everyone has to look 19 or be a known name actor.
All of these performances can't be blamed however for a very poor script. The dialog, especially for Routh, left very little room for the characters to show their personalities.
Many critics are already stating that this film takes itself way too seriously, without providing the depth to back it up. Superman has run off on a fruitless quest to look at exploded fragments of Krypton, only to return as a morose stalker to Lois Lane. We then find out that Superman is now a deadbeat dad who apparently left Lois after getting her pregnant.
Then there are the inconsistencies Like when Superman lands on Lex's newly created kryptonite continent and becomes so weak that Lex is able to kick the crap out of him. Somehow Superman comes back moments later and is strong enough to hoist the entire kryptonite continent into space.
I could go on, but I won't. Needless to say this film is a pale ghost of what the Donner films were, lacking in both charm and substance. It is really like watching different characters dressed in costumes once seen in a great story. The joy, fun and maturity of the past films is utterly lacking in Superman Returns. You leave the theater with the sad sense that you might never see the real Superman ever again.