“Superman Returns” with ample frustration

July 17, 2006

First off, I think we should all consider ourselves very fortunate to have experienced the greatness that is John Williams. I don’t think that until seeing this latest version of Superman that I realized just how wonderful a composer he is. A long time fan of the Raiders and Star Wars music, somehow, I had forgotten all about Superman. And, compared to the noise that John Ottman provides us in this film, well, there is no comparison. Beautiful.

But this is a blog about story, not music.

Superman Returns almost does it. It almost is a classic for the years. It almost makes it.

Almost.

In this version we actually have the four throughlines for a complete story.

To start out, obviously, we have our Objective Story - that one is easy for a summer action flick. Lexx is up to no good again and threatens to destroy North America by creating his own continent.

Superman is our Main Character - an outcast who feels very alone being on a planet where he’s the only guy who can fly.

Lois is our Impact Character who, in his absence, has become famous for telling everyone how much Superman is not really needed.

And we have the romantic relationship between them - the Subjective Story Throughline. One fraught with as much emotional peril as the Objective Story - a Superman substitute in the form of James Marsden’s Richard and Superman’s little asmatic boy, Jason cause the conflict in their relationship even more conflict.

But then, they don’t do anything with it!

And it’s frustrating as hell.

There is the tension at the beginning between the two of them - about how she has to publicly denounce him, how she’s “moved on” and where exactly he has been. But that’s it. Instead of developing these story lines, they spend all their time showing us the same stuff we’ve already seen in the first one.

All that money spent, and nothing is really said.

There is an interesting thing they could’ve done centering around a theme of selfishness - Superman has it by leaving Earth alone for 5 years just so he could find his planet, Lois has it by taking her child to some strange boat without first being invited, and it’s there between the two of them (like most romantic relationships which are usually more about what the individual wants instead of what is best for both).

But again, it’s not developed, and virtually non-existent in the overall story.

I remember the first time I thought, “Oh, this could be a really good film” when Lois makes a comment about why there is only one news network at the shuttle launch. In real life, this has happened several times in the past 6 years and would’ve been a wonderful commentary/thematic element to hook up with the other throughlines.

But that line is it. There isn’t one more mention of it. Sure, Lexx is out for himself - but most of us have seen that a billion times already.

And Superman’s selfishness is just not developed at all. Probably for likability reasons - but why couldn’t he have been just floating beyond our atmosphere for the last 5 years, fed up with dealing with all the strife and chaos on planet Earth. Would he really have searched a planet that was blown to smithereens? Why couldn’t he just have been up there to “get away from it all,” lost in his own selfishness? Until of course, he hears the faint memorable scream of Lois as she is tossed around a 747. Then his eyes could pop open and he could race down to save her.

See, I’m tying in the thematic with the plot points already provided.

This is one benefit the story could’ve had by running it through the Dramatica model. By making the choices in the software that are already present in the story, Dramatica would’ve shown what is missing and would’ve provided an easy way to make all four throughlines flow thematically.

Additionally - there is some additional story material concerning his relationship with his son - which really feels just thrown in there - hinted at for some future sequel. But again, the interestingness of that relationship, especially concerning the repeated dialogue between Superman and his own father from the first film (“the son becomes the father, and the father, the son”), is so drawing to us an audience, that the frustration level peaks when we come to find that there really isn’t much done with it.

The pieces are there.

Unfortunately no one took the time to put them together.