10 Films That Don't Live Up To Great Premises

It's Superman as Superman was meant to be seen - picking up right after the Richard Donner/Richard Lester first two entries in the 70s and ignoring the more embarassing entries, Bryan Singer meant to bring back the first superhero to the silver screen with the same grace and dignity that was previousy offered the character. Donner approached the material as an epic. Singer wanted the same grandiose affair. Casting an unknown in the main role (like Christopher Reeve), and an establishment Hollwood star as the villain (Kevin Spacey), he was off to a good start.

But what Superman Returns lacks is any sense of wonder. There's none of that "You'll believe a man can fly" spectacle that the original executed so well. Instead, Superman returns after a five-year abscence to find a Metropolis in misery and his nemesis Lex Luthor running amok. While it's certainly too much to ask Superman to throw a punch (he's not violent, typically), we could request the film not just blatantly cut away when something exciting is happening. There's a scene in which a criminal is firing a mini-gun at Supes, with one bullet hitting his eye, only to crush on impact and fall to the ground. Rather than show the rest, Singer just ends it there, infuriating crowds.

There's no "super" here, just average. Throw in a Super-kid and some wildly miscast roles, the whole film comes across as rather maudlin.