Superman has a kid. Wait a minute, did Brian Singer not do the research here? Man of steel – woman of Kleenex. I can forgive the sex part as he cited the “temporary plot hole…err, I mean, power loss” of Superman II, but if the child still has it’s powers, why are there not burn marks on Lois’ stomach from baby heat vision?
The sad part of this incarnation of Superman is that Routh seems tailor made for the part. He’s tall, well built, deep voice, dark hair – the works. So why does this Superman fall flat where others did not? Well, he’s kind of boring. Much like Val Kilmer’s Batman in Batman Forever. There is no spirit to the character – he just kind of talks at the same pitch no matter what is going on. That’s a big no-no in Superman land.
It’s one thing to ignore voice changing from Clark to Superman, which in this case – there is some, but we’ll come back to that in a minute - but to lack conviction when facing your adversaries? Well that’s just sucky. One of the greatest moments in Superman lore comes from Superman II in which Reeve’s Superman shows up to face off with General Zod and his cronies – opening up the battle with “General, would you care to step outside?” letting the audience know = It’s go time. I’m going to kick this man’s ass all over Metropolis.
Routh, on the other hand, has very little dialogue exchange with Luthor and doesn’t make the most of it. For a majority of the film we see him super stalking Lois and so when the action goes down, we want a SuperMAN. Not a whiney emo baby. There is nothing that leads us to believe that this Superman has any strong will or desire to do good in this world other than his actions. And yes, actions speak sometimes louder than words – but quotes live forever and ring true to people in certain aspects of their lives.
Without dialogue we never know what you’re thinking or what your conflicts or beliefs are. There is lots of talk about the pain of being Superman from Routh and once again – there is a total lack of emotion. There is no sadness as there was from Christopher Reeve. There is no cheer as there was with George Reeves. Hell, there isn’t even any angst like there is from Welling. It’s just….blah.
You are the pinnacle of Superheroes my friend. It’s your job to stand for Truth, Justice and the American way. We want you to inspire us, to make us believe that good still exists and that it cannot perish. ACT LIKE YOU BELIEVE IT TOO if you’re playing Superman. Talk like it. Stand like it. Fight like it. Throw giant piece of Kyrptonite into space like it. Just show us how hard it is and demonstrate that it’s worth it.
…and also, if everyone knows you’re powered by the sun, make sure when you’re laid up in the hospital nobody closes the damn blinds. Yeesh.
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BRANDON ROUTH SUPERMAN
