I just got back from Superman and let me tell you..... it's a storytelling CLASSIC.

I wanted to add in what i did today (cos i did some fun things) but no... tonight's gonna be Superman.

Superman has been the dominant icon in american media and the world superhero stage. I remember back when i was in bedok view that i had this NCC officer who was talkin about superman. He was a strict stern fat man with a thick beard. We all know him to be very anal and he's like one of those dictators who strips cadets to their birthday suits and make them run around the field with dummy rifles over their heads.

Then one day he started talkin about superman and he started to feel... softer. He was describing how the superhero was tormented by kryptonite and his orphan background and so forth. I wasnt sure what his point was though.

But, in America, Superman lays deep in the hearts of the previous generations. Those of our fathers and grandfathers. They practically grew up with him either through comics or cinema. We know how it's like when we've taken an icon from childhood all the way to adulthood. EVERYONE knows who Superman is. Even the village people along the borders of Kalimantan… and they don’t have tv there. The hero basically gave birth to the countless other heroes up till know. DC Comic’s classics are basically Spiderman, Xmen and Superman and a few more I don’t know. The reason why it’s a success and deeply remembered is because of the storytelling. I’ll explain that below.

So that's enough about the background. Now we understand that this movie really is a big thing in the western hemisphere. Before i came to the movie i had great confidence that they'd pull it off. Like i told tianyu - It's SUPERMAN, dammit!

And I got the best sit in the house – Row Q, centre seat. Whee! Good old Yishun 10.

Like i said... classic, classic, classic. Definitely beats Poseidon, Silent Hill, XMen and so on and so forth. Probably the best show for the year or even the decade. It's about time, Hollywood!

Its quite rare that i skip the texture and colours of the film... but i did in this film. I only remember that the filmmakers decided to play with the hot/cold contrast throughout. Meaning putting warm colors over cooler ones. That kinda stuff.

What i was interested more was in the storytelling. Everything was on the superhero, form his history, how he feels and whatever he's going through. Audiences (at least, me) are able to sympathize with him. And why?

As we learned from our wonderful storytelling teacher, Ryan Ingrassia, the main character must have a tragic flaw, must feel somewhat familiar to us, his problems we can understand (and appear to be much more at stake than what we have in real life) and also realizing his plot goal and internal goal. And following Aristotle’s Poetics on tragedy – hero falls from his royal golden place in the sky into the deep dark abyss of failure. He may come out of it… or not. Superman Returns is largely a tragedy in my opinion.

There were plenty of tear-jerking scenes in the movie. English movies don’t usually get me to that teary-eyes point (Korean, however, is another story) and the only last movie being Finding Neverland (which was also awesome.. though Henry and Aik found it stupid what with all the dancing fairies…). Superman owned me… not once.. not twice… FOUR times….

And that’s not counting what I call the “recollection sobbing”. That period where you think back about the moment for a while and it grabs your heartstrings.

Just imagine your most ideal figure.. like your amazing best friend or maybe even your father (or your friend’s father) doing all these magnificient feats, putting all he has on the line for people he doesn’t know and just doing it because it’s in his blood. But then you realize he doesn’t have any friends. No family. And really is kinda… isolated. Amidst all the cheering and awards and hype.. he’s just that man you saw dressed in singlets and shorts, grey, old, on his faded couch.. a few moments before he dies silently. Then a mad man barges in and laughs as he holds up all the money your father/friend has in his bank as a result of the mad man taking advantage of your hero’s kindness. And all your father wanted was someone to.. well.. talk to.

You’d find a few nifty twists in the plot of the story as well. A thing I thought they went overboard with was the numerous “glorious shots” of Superman when he’s flying or idling in the air. It does bring about that sense of floatingness that we seem to experience in our sleep and dreams… but I was just afraid that some other viewers find these shots lame. Aik started to yawn at the 67th glorious shot.

Numerous references are also mentioned in the film which would be familiar to old fans. One of the problems with shows that have been having a long running is that they’d expect the audiences to know the backstory. Like XMen 3, I got kinda lost cos I didn’t know what they were talking about which had sth to do with the past. I guess Superman found the balance between satisfying old fans and new audiences pretty well. It’s complete.

And here are my tips and tricks:
The starting is probably one of the slowest, ever. It was a bit disappointing at first. But everything was worth it after sitting in the cinema for the next two and a half hours.

Don’t bring a friend that mocks Superman when he’s flying (by raising both his arms up and inching forward.). It’s like mocking you if you’re very in-tuned with the show. …. Hi Aik!

IT”S NOT A KID’S SHOW. So don’t bring anyone below the age of 5. We had a fucking malay three year old something running around the aisles of the cinema going, “One.. two… three…” all the way till twenty then back up the other aisle doing the same thing for about seven rounds. All over the cinema people were going “SHHH” and the best part is that the boy came from the family consisting of girls who look like maids and the mom looks like she hasn’t finished PSLE…. And they were sitting right infront of us. I guess Sarah got the brunt of the boy’s stupid behaviour. Do you still love babies, sarah? He ruined your romantic moment!

In lieu with what’s above… GO TO THE IMAX THEATER! It doesn’t matter if the tickets are about twenty bucks a piece…. I mean.. it’s SUPERMAN! Uneducated tv-background-families don’t have the money to go to IMAX theaters so you wont find those “It’s just a show I can talk when I want to and watch it on DVD” attitude. Some directors are reluctant to have TV Studios screen their movies simply because there is “no feeling” between watching a 16 foot screen and a two foot one at home.

Everyone always makes fun of the red underwear. In the show, camera rarely give a shot of where his balls are. Either he moves too fast to see or he just rolls over or it’s in the shadows. So yeah… don’t make fun of the red underwear.

I intended to make parodies on Superman but nah… it’s just too much of a good show to poke fun at.

Anyone realize that when Superman lifts the space shuttle off the plane, he looks kinda like Henry? I knew I chose the perfect hero in life!


I guess what really spoiled the show for me was the stupid boy who has a mother that’s doesn’t know squat about raising children running about. We only have once chance in everything for an impression. Like they say.. first impressions are usually the strongest… and they can never be re-lived. It’s sad yeah. The boy just had to run around showing his fat face during pivotal scenes like when Superman confronts Lois Lane at the top of the Daily Planet. It was a romantic scene, dammit! And he slept through the climax. Your loss, idiot.

And here’s his picture.



But hey I got my first impression spoiled but I still think it’s a classic…. So that means something don’t it?

Watch it… at the IMAX.