It's not the superheroes themselves that have been over played; they have existed in comic book form for years. They have recently moved into films with varying success.  | | X-men 3: Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry |
The world has been saved by Spiderman twice, the Xmen 3 times, Batman at least 10 times and soon to be again. Superman has saved the world in 5 films, 2 hit TV series and one animated cartoon. This recent film remains true to the comic books; however after seeing so many hero films recently, it is impossible to escape a sense of deja vue.
Basic Plots
With the world being saved over and over, it is difficult to surprise an audience with special effects. The plots are all variations of the same story, good people with special powers, bad people with special powers (generally insane) and the loved one's of both sides who generally need to be rescued.
 | | Halle Berry as Catwoman |
Of course each does slightly vary; Peter Parker became Spiderman after being bitten by a radio active spider. This is different to the X-men who were born with their powers, and Batman who really needs to see a psychiatrist about his family issues.
Dumbing down the genre
The problem is that unlike the first Xmen movie where everything was new and exiting, the repeat of superhero plots has removed the adventure from the films. Superman Returns has fantastic special effects, a story that supports the comic, and a beautiful, talented cast. Yet it did not utterly grab me in the way that Xmen, or Spiderman has in the past.
 | | Aeon Flux didnt do well at box office |
This could be due to the fact that I have seen the superhero failure films. Daredevil, Electra, Aeon Flux, Ultra Violet, Cat woman and Hulk all had problems at the box office. All had headline stars for example Halle Berry and Sharon Stone in Cat Woman, yet these big names were not sufficient to carry the overall film.
Superhero's in our world
Despite these movies doing badly at the box office, still Hollywood finances more. Spiderman 3 is in production and with rumours that Wolverine, an Xmen spin off based on Hugh Jackman’s character, is soon going to be made, we are still going to see a number of superhero films in the future.
The original Superman was created in 1930's America, in the new millennium the stories of superheroes are still enjoyed to the global audience. The morals that Superman stands for are applicable in modern society, especially with the currently climate of terrorism. Since international audiences now contribute two thirds to box office revenue, how the morals of justice, truth and lycra are portrayed within these films, demonstrate an American world view.
Light-hearted entertainment | | Brandon Routh as Superman |
Against all this criticism Superman Returns and films of a similar genre are good family entertainment, packed with great action and the continuous plot of good verses evil. The development of special effects has allowed film makers to push the boundaries of our imagination, with even more extreme acts of destruction and survival.
Superman Returns is a good film, and well worth a look. However the constant retelling of the same plot within superhero genre, removes some magic from every consecutive film made.
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