EDITORIAL: Supes and Robin-a look back at two underrated movie performances

Superman Returns

The Fourth installment into the Man of Steel's franchise hit theatres in the summer of '06. Becoming a huge hit and soaring to a 200 million domestic gross, Superman Returns received good reviews from critics but a bad impact from its fanbase. Yes if you were to search this movie in Yahoo movies' database, you would see an average grade of a 'B' listed from the audience. But if you look closer, you can see the hundreds of reviews filled with hate and regret. Returns is seen as a disgrace and forgettable.

But I ask why?


I actually really enjoyed Superman Returns. I thought Brandon Routh did an excellent job as the Man of Steel. Grant it his voice wasn't as commanding as Christopher Reeve was, but he acted out the role well and had the look and feel of Superman. Kevin Spacey did a wayyyy better job than Gene Hackman. Spacey really showed Luthor's dark side. However...Kate Bosworth was no Lois Lane. She may be a good actress, but shes still no Lois. The movie is indeed longer than it needs to be and a little more action should've been thrown in there. I think the reason why fans of Superman hate Returns so much is their remorse for Reeve. Routh captured a lot of what Reeve brought to the big screen years ago.


Robin


Yes Batman Forever sucked and Batman and Robin was a horrid travesty. Joel Schumacher should have left Batman into the hands of more interested and BETTER MEN. The soundtrack for both movies is pretty good however, but what really saved both movies was Chris O'donnel's portrayal of The Dark Knight detective's side-kick, Robin. While Forever's Kilmer and B&R's Clooney proved to be weak protagonists, they were very fortunate to have a strong supporting actor in O'donnel.



Despite the nipples on his batsuit and Schumacher's close up on the kids rear end while he was dressing up as robin in the beginning of B&R, O'donnel did a very good job. No one really gives him enough credit for his role; most people are too busy bashing the many other elements that made the Schumacher movies fail. It makes me crack up every time when I hear him say in Forever, 'Holy rusted metal, Batman!' Cheesy line? Or a Tribute to the 1960's TV series? I hate B&R, but I didn't really mind the hockey fight scene in the beginning. It was campy and had a good score by Elliot Goldenthal. Apart from that, NADA. Oh, except for Alicia Silverstone's uh...hot Batgirl


But hey, its my opinion.

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