Look, Up In The Sky

Okay, of all the big summer blockbusters coming out this year, the one I was probably least excited about was Superman Returns. Oh, it’s not that I thought it was going to be bad — I’m a huge fan of Bryan Singer’s — but I just had trouble getting behind this long-delayed project. I don’t really know why I was so lackluster. After all, Singer had made it clear that he was continuing the continuity established in Richard Donner’s now-classic version — which, incidentally, still holds up to repeated viewings, unlike its first sequel (the other two were garbage best forgotten entirely). And as much as I love Kevin Smith, I’m not one of those fanboys who insist that his abandoned version of the script was the be-all and end-all of Superman movies. Maybe it’s just that I thought Superman’s time was past. That in the new crop of superhero movies, there wasn’t really a place for someone as invincible; sure, the character has “flaws,” but they seem naive and pedestrian in today’s filmmaking environment.

But whatever the reason, I just wasn’t clambering to go out and see it in the theater.

And then yesterday, I saw the new trailer. And one thing got me excited once again.

Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor. Not only does it feel like he’s channeling just a bit of Gene Hackman, but his trademark style just seems to fit perfectly with this megalomaniacal villain. I remember when Spacey hosted Saturday Night Live, and his opening monologue was just him singing while subtitles ran, saying something to the effect of, “Kevin Spacey made us do this. The reason he plays psychopaths so well on screen is that he really is one.”

I don’t know if I’d go quite that far, but thanks to just what I’ve seen of him in the trailer (and you’ll know which scene I’m talking about), I definitely want to go see this film. I may still gripe about some things (I still don’t like the darker colors of Superman’s costume), but I’ll be there watching it.

Technorati tags: Film, Superman