Worth: $18.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Brandon Routh, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney
Intro:
A fascinating cinematic picture of two of popular culture’s most enduring and fascinating characters.
Released for the Christmas of 1978, Richard Donner’s Superman was not only part of the wave of genuine blockbusters which swept Hollywood during that decade, but was also the film which ushered in the modern superhero genre, and remains one of the finest examples of this style of filmmaking. Tim Burton’s 1989 game-changer Batman, meanwhile, repurposed DC Comics’ most complex anti-hero for a new generation, and proved that a comic book movie could be epic, dark, and unusual.
With Superman and Batman’s recent return – and first ever live action cinema team-up – to the big screen in Batman Vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice, and their upcoming regroup in Justice League, Warners treat fans of The Man Of Steel and The Dark Knight to a nine-film Blu-ray set including all of the Christopher Reeve Superman films (as well as 2006’s ill-fated Brandon Routh-starring Superman Returns, which connects in with them) and all of the pre-Christopher Nolan-directed Batman films, starring Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, and George Clooney.
The jewel amongst these Superman releases is without doubt Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut. Filming of the first two Superman movies took place simultaneously, but after the first film was released (despite its critical and commercial success), Donner found himself unceremoniously booted from the project and replaced by Richard Lester (A Hard Day’s Night), who dumped a great deal of the footage that Donner had already shot, and demanded extensive re-writes to the screenplay. A clear labour of love, the Richard Donner cut is the result of painstaking research in locating all the missing footage, special effects plates, music cues and shooting scripts and re-assembling them in the manner that Donner had originally envisioned.
The result is a film that is a little more serious and a lot more in tone with the first film than the Superman II that was eventually released to theatres in 1980. The quality of the Superman movies declined rapidly with the release of Superman III in 1983, which was little more than a vehicle for then hot co-star Richard Pryor, while Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (1987) had the shoddy appearance of a Saturday morning kiddie show, despite the very welcome return of Gene Hackman as Superman’s nemesis, Lex Luthor.
With Bryan Singer’s 2006 reinvigoration of the franchise with Superman Returns, the director was very specific about wanting his film to follow on from the Christopher Reeve flicks, so its inclusion in this box set is appropriate, but still a little odd. The film is a heartfelt, at times quite beautiful, take on the Superman franchise, and leading man Brandon Routh makes for a perfect Man Of Steel. Disappointingly, 1984’s Supergirl, a quaint romantic fantasy which never really managed to kick into top gear (despite a strong turn from Helen Slater as Superman’s cousin, Kara Zor-El), is not included here, even though it is stitched into the canon of this era of Superman, with Marc McClure’s Jimmy Olsen appearing across the films.
Whereas the Christopher Reeve-era Superman films are bright, colourful, and poppy, Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) perfectly captured the mysterious noir atmosphere of the early comic books, and features Jack Nicholson’s delirious Joker up against Michael Keaton’s slightly neurotic Bruce Wayne/Batman. Bringing in Danny De Vito as a repulsive Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer’s sensuous, latex clad Catwoman, Batman Returns (1992) was pure Tim Burton – a dark, sumptuous adult fantasy that had many young children leaving the cinema in tears.
With both Keaton and Burton departing the series, Joel Schumacher took over the directing chores for the next two films. While Burton’s films were unique from each other, Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997) were essentially two versions of the same film, gaudy slabs of neon eye candy which progressively mocked the character and his world. The revolving door of Bat actors continued with Val Kilmer and George Clooney being stuffed into the rubber suit, although the films were sadly becoming more about selling toys and McDonald’s happy meals than with any form of genuine storytelling or character development (Clooney didn’t even bother to try and change his voice for his scenes as Batman).
While the films in this luxurious box set differ wildly in quality – ranging from overcooked turkey (Batman & Robin) to essential modern classics (Batman, Superman: The Movie) – they present a fascinating cinematic picture of two of popular culture’s most enduring and fascinating characters.
