Better Superman Film: Man Of Steel (2013) OR Superman Returns (2006)?
Which Superman movie is a better Superman movie and why? And which actor as Clark Kent/Superman did you like more: Henry Cavill OR Brandon Routh?
shareSuperman Returns.
I think it "got" Superman more and took bigger risks with some of its storylines. The idea of Superman being absent, returning, and finding a world which has adjusted to not having him is interesting. The idea of him trying to reconnect with Lois is interesting. Even the kid subplot is a good idea, although I didn't like its execution.
Lex's mediocre plot held the film back. I really wish a Superman movie would do the "political Luthor" stuff from the comics. That would rock.
But one scene alone elevates Returns: he floats with Lois and explains the real pain and tension of being a superhuman and having all that weight of humankind's suffering on your shoulders. Superman is who is he because he hears suffering and can't ignore it, even if he can't stop it. That's 100x the angst and careworn soul in this film than Snyder and Nolan managed to bake into their emo "dark gritty" pie, and it never compromised the boy scout, gee-shucks vibe of Superman, either.
Returns is a better film than people think (I find, most of the time), and it's certainly better than CGI Boss Battle Man of Steel.
Routh and Cavill are about even, I think, although I slightly prefer Routh. However, that is likely due to his being given the better script and character to work with; he never had to do any overwrought face-wrinkling to show how "edgy" Superman could be. But Cavill is a good actor and did a good job.
I don't like Superman Returns but it's a far better film than Man of Steel.
Man of Steel has better filmed action sequences, but it doesn't match the character of Superman. Snyder completely ruined Superman by making him a selfish prick in MoS and BvS.
Routh portrayed the sort of character traits you expect from someone raised in a healthy home and given great moral values and foundations, something that was completely absent from Man of Steel.
I, too, feel Cavill was cheated out of being the Superman he could have been. He was made to be stilted, uncharismatic and very boring as Superman, whereas Routh got to show more charisma, empathy, and intellect in his role.
In terms of who could have been the better Superman going forward with the right material? It's a tough call. I like Routh because he resembled Christopher Reeve -- who is still the definitive on-screen depiction of Superman in my opinion -- but I did feel Cavill had the potential to play a very stout, resolute and indomitable Superman if given the right material.
Man of Steel's only action scene I really found enjoyable and memorable was the one where Jor-El's holo-ghost helps Lois through the alien ship. I thought the use of the hologram and its control over the ship's systems was fun and the scene felt fresh.
The fight in Smallville was okay, insofar as it had higher stakes and was more interesting than the Metropolis fight scene. The Metropolis fight was, to me, utterly interminable and pretty dull for the most part.
Superman Returns was pretty sparse on action scenes, but I really liked the airplane save at the beginning. Most superhero action sequences are about fights, and it was neat seeing the "rescue" portion of things. Superman saving people being the focus of the scene really made it fun for me. Plus, the joy of Superman returning to Earth in such a spectacular way is great.
The airplane rescue scene was definitely enjoyable for what it was. It just felt like there was too few action scenes spaced too far apart in Superman Returns to make it truly memorable (in my opinion anyway).
The Smallville action sequence could have been good in Main of Steel, but I hated how reckless Superman was, especially given that in Smallville you would have expected him to be even MORE careful because there are people he cares about around town and he would go to extra lengths to prevent anyone from getting hurt, but he's just kind of... meh.
Anyway, when you contrast that with the fight Superman had against the trio in Richard Donner's Superman II, it's a night and day difference. Superman is fighting to prevent them from causing damage and harming people, Zod just doesn't care. Even though, visually, the stakes don't look as grand as MoS, it feels a lot more dramatic and emotional given that we know Superman cares about people.
I couldn't help but keep recalling Superman II all while watching MoS' action scenes. Again, from a technical perspective they look good, but they severely lack emotional weight.
Superman saving people being the focus of the scene really made it fun for me.
I feel that this is the defining trait of his character that was sorely missing from Snyder's portrayal of the character. share
I will 100% agree that Superman Returns would have benefited from more action scenes. But the one big set piece it had was great.
I'm also with you on the Smallville scene and Superman's recklessness in Man of Steel in-general. It's especially glaring when so much of that movie stresses his link to humanity and sacrificing his own wants for the greater good of people. It has the stuff about his dad all pushing the idea that Superman is supposed to be a selfless saviour. But the action doesn't match the rhetoric.
The emotional stakes are what made the Smallville fight a bit better. To me, as with you it seems, action scenes are only as good as the emotional investment the audience has in the scene. When the action scene enhances the characters and themes, we lock in. It's the difference between the fights in The Matrix and the ones in the Matrix's sequels.
And, yeah, even without special effects or slick camera work, action scenes work as long as that emotional investment is there.
Sadly Cavill is probably not gonna come back if they ever do another Superman movie, to this day there's no talk, there's no interest or any wheels in trying to get another solo Superman movie with Cavill made, in all intents and purposes MOS, BVS and JL have killed all hopes of another DCEU solo Superman movie with Cavill.
shareYeah the studio keeps talking about "black Superman" and being edgy with their casting, likely in hopes of killing off any goodwill toward the character for good.
I fear Cavill may have been the last decent actor to don the role for a long time to come.
Black Superman is likely to go south as seen with a former writer on Superman & Lois who wanted a black Ma & Pa Kent, it's a cheap gimmick it's like doing an all black production of Hamlet or a gay reimaging of Romeo & Juliet it really doesn't matter it's the quality that matter.
The ideal choice for a new movie Superman would be David Corenswet
https://assets.mycast.io/actor_images/actor-david-corenswet-135944_large.jpg?1602929796
https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a30081798/david-corenswet-superman/
I've never heard of him. He does look the part.
shareLike Routh and Hoechlin he's lean and doesn't look like a superhero as Clark Kent, he would have the suit to make him look bigger.
shareHe does look a little bit like Tom Welling, but I would have to see more of his work before assuming he's right for the role.
He's definitely more Superman-centric than the guy they cast to play Superman on the CW show.
They nearly always go with a lesser known for Superman because hiring somebody really famous/starry could be very distracting especially if they're associated with something else which is why you never see someone like Tom Cruise cast as Captain America.
share