3. Weve Been Through This Before
Several people whove caught early screenings have already praised the films choice to give far more background on Krypton than we saw in the Richard Donner original, but is there anyone other than diehard Superman obsessives who want to spend more time on Krypton? Especially one filled with as many derivative sights as this one? Cant the makers of the film have come up with something fresher than the patchwork quilt of Avatar-like flying creatures, Matrix-style birth hatcheries, and Lucas-inspired laser gun battles? The bigger problem isnt just Kryptons second-hand feel, its that 99.9% of the audience - even the younger viewers who the film isnt even really aimed at - already knows Supermans origin. How many people want to watch Jor-El go through the paces of warning the Kryptonian Council that the planets about to go kablooey once again, only to be inevitably ignored? How many people want to sit through, once more with extra-feeling! the cosmic melodrama of watching Jor-El and Lara bid Kryptons favorite son goodbye? Not many if the 2/3 full midnight showing I was at is any indication. While there are certain instances where a film character not knowing something the audience does (like the location of a ticking bomb) can make for terrific tension, the overwhelming familiarity the audience has with Supermans backstory makes for a very check-your-watch time as we watch Clark and his parents wonder about who he is and where hes from. The problem is we already know. All too well! If there was one good decision Singer made with Superman Returns it was dispensing with the whole origin bit. Grant Morrison also knew to avoid this when he wrote his highly praised All-Star Superman and reduced Supermans origin to exactly one page and eight words.