Favorite ending of the Superman movies

[Keith]

Apr 5, 2009 10:44:22 GMT -5 Kamdan said:

I’m going with Superman: The Movie’s ending. Reeve’s delivery was excellent and I loved the final line, “Don't thank me, Warren. We're all part of the same team! Good night!” GREAT way to sum it up! Of course, SINGER had to copy it, among a million other things from Superman I, for his POS movie. Lester's Superman II is a close second. I got the same vibe as he returned the president's flag and stating, "I won't let you down again." Reeve was so great! No one else will ever be able to match his magnitude and you’re not going to have it by simply copying what Reeve, Donner and the all the rest achieved. SINGER & Routh , I’m talking to you!

When in SR did Singer copy "Don't thank me, Warren. We're all part of the same team! Good night!” GREAT way to sum it up! Of course, SINGER had to copy it"

I don't remember that being in SR. So a couple lines of dialoge from STM was in SR... it was paying homage to one of the greatest Superhero movies of all time. Nothing wrong with that.

Singer used the Donnerverse as his template for expanding his take on the Superman mythos. Nothing wrong with that.. the comics does that as well. Does that mean the comics will never reach the magnitude of what Donner and Reeve did? Donnerverse isn't the end all be all of Superman.. the comics were around for 40 something years before STM even came out.

Singer did his take on Superman, that borrowed elements of Superman from the comics, the flechier (spelled wrong i know) cartoons, STM. STM is one of Singer's favorite movies, he used that template for making the X-Men movies, it's a compliment and I applaude him for making a movie that pays respect to something that Donner and Reeve created, instead of getting a movie of Edward Scissorhands/Borg superhero with a cape.

[Metallo]

I'm with Kieth. methinks you've been dipping into grandpas old cough medicine because I don't remember Singer copying the ending to STM at all. Not even any lines.

[MAVERICK]

What Keith & Tallo said.

[Legsy]

Who in the PHUCK is Warren? There's no Warren in Superman The Movie or SR. Is someone high? ;D

[Metallo]

I guess The Wardens name was Warren.

[MAVERICK]

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHHA

[Legsy]

OH!

Warren the Warden. ;D

[EvilSupes]

LOL!!!

[Jimbo]

What Enrique said.

I love that ending, along with Thorne's great composition at the end.

[EnriqueH]

Atta boy, Jimbo.

As much as I did enjoy the ending to STM and SR, nothing beats "These orders to go." and "Oh, I've been, uh...[pumps fists]...working out."

[stargazer01]

You know, the ending in Supes II just never made sense to me; he is all broken inside that he can't be with the woman he loves, but then he goes flying to space and gives us that big smile, like nothing happened. It's so juvenile and shallow. It's a scene for me now.

And the super-kiss it's a very immature thing to do, imo. Supes treats Lois like a freaking child who can't handle herself. Hate it. They made Lois so weak, IMO.

[superman]

Superman smiles because the world is safe in his hands!

[stargazer01]

Apr 5, 2009 20:40:13 GMT -5 superman said:

Superman smiles because the world is safe in his hands!

;D yeah..

you know, it's alright to disagree. Nothing wrong with that. That ending works for you just fine, but it doesn't to me, at all.

And I read what you wrote before you edited your post. Yup. I take my Supes movies pretty seriously.

[EnriqueH]

Apr 5, 2009 20:16:31 GMT -5 @stargazer01 said:

It's so juvenile and shallow.

Really? More juvenile than Superman eavesdropping on Lois and her family?

And the super-kiss it's a very immature thing to do, imo. Supes treats Lois like a freaking child who can't handle herself. Hate it. They made Lois so weak, IMO.

Well that doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Superman is ALWAYS rescuing Lois from something or another. So shouldn't you hate the Superman franchise since it makes Lois look weak that she always needs a man to swoop from the sky and rescue her?

[subzero]

My favourite ending is Superman IV - The end credits ;D

[atp]

Apr 2, 2009 16:14:24 GMT -5 MAVERICK said:

EASILY Superan Returns, for me.

.

I was also happiest when SR ended.

[Deleted]

Whilst I love the way Superman Returns ends, I like turning back time more.

Of course it doesn't work that well when you really think about it and it's stupid and a lame deus ex machina, it's still beautiful. Superman has been told he is forbidden to interfere with human history. The woman he's madly in love with is dead. He has to go against what has been instilled him all his life to bring her back. He cries while doing it. Perhaps because Lois is dead, perhaps because he's breaking the one thing he was told not to do by his father, the only reason he's still alive. Perhaps both.

The music's gorgeous, I love the blue streaks around the world, the emotion in Reeve's face is what acting's all about. It's just fantastic.

But I really do dig Supes telling his son he will always be there for him and parting ways with Lois. It's the right thing to do, no matter what anyone says, to him, and I agree, dammit. Why ruin their family? She didn't want him back. He clearly loves her and now his and her son, but now he's going to focus his love on his son, and I REALLY hope we get to see more of that in the next movie. Especially if the kid dies.

[Jor-L5150]

EDIT : i like lois retaining all memory of superman's identity .


this doesnt happen often, but metallo just made a post i agree with COMPLETELY. -

Apr 2, 2009 15:39:49 GMT -5 Metallo said:

Honestly? Can't believe I'm saying this but as far as ENDINGS go I think Superman III might have the most "believable" one that doesn't make me smack my head sometimes.

STM's ending is magical but part of me always though turning back the world was a copout...in ANY Donner Superman movie. Its got a lot of symbolism but still. And the Superkiss...again it just falls apart. emotional yes but it just falls apart.

Supeman IV is decent enough but we get ANOTHER superkiss before its over and it has a good message but it just seems kinda...meh. Anti climactic in some ways.

With III he beats Webster and rekindles things with Lana.

SR is kinda downer/reality check but at least it doesn't border on absurd like some others.

see, in STM , the time warp is excusable ( imo ) because it was otherwise very straight and sensible. it was the first " serious " superhero flick. it had a bit of " magic " , but it had verisimilitude . the time warp could be better if it was handled like back to the future and addressed the inevitable " two martys " or, " two superman " , one in the original timeline and the other being the time-traveler. i'm inclined to let it slide ...ONCE....

in SII using the timewarp is flat-out stupid. at this point its just everything that critics had ever said about superman , he can do anything so there's no challenge. if he can just timewarp at liesure then why bother ... aliens attack ? let me geuss...time warp to before.....
it WOULD have been excusable - since the donner cuts have different story material and it could be seen as a " paralell " - IF and only IF it was removed from STM by having the scene of lois' death cut. this would have restored the original mini-series premise of superman timewarping to return Zod to the phantom zone. then i'd think it was ok.

in SII the amnesia kiss was...meh.. i thought it was ok when i was a kid, but again its weak. its another " make up a new superpower because he doesnt have enough superpowers and we have painted ourselves into a corner..." situation to a movie loaded with gaffes.

in SIII - it actually ends very sweetly . the EPIC and surreal evil superman/clark battle , the defeat of pseudo-brainiac and a sweet endcap with lana. it actually IS quite good in a movie we are so used to ripping up.

in SIV - i actually have no investment in this one at all.

in SR - very nice , a bit long and a bit sugary ( unless of course " can you read my mind " is something you like ) but very nice. nice dovetail to SII . SR is a very majestic film.

[Jor-L5150]

Apr 5, 2009 20:16:31 GMT -5 @stargazer01 said:

You know, the ending in Supes II just never made sense to me; he is all broken inside that he can't be with the woman he loves, but then he goes flying to space and gives us that big smile, like nothing happened. It's so juvenile and shallow. It's a scene for me now.

And the super-kiss it's a very immature thing to do, imo. Supes treats Lois like a freaking child who can't handle herself. Hate it. They made Lois so weak, IMO.

the smile / flyby shot is used because its the trademark " shot '' of the series . sorta like the james bond bulls-eye shot .
however you have an excellent point , it is a bit jarring to have a distraught superman breaking up with the love of his life and then grinning at the camera.

now, i LOVE the trademark " shot " , its great - but to work with the story material , it shouldnt be the SAME shot every time, it should be shaken up a little bit to reflect the film - like the modern bond flicks , using it for tradition , but changing it up to keep it interesting .

in superman returns , there was some criticism that routh looked too serious in the shot , but you have touched on a great point , after the events in SR it wouldnt make sense for routh/superman to be " grinning " . i love that they decided to use the shot , and i like that they kept it serious. hopefully they will continue this in the next superman film......

[EnriqueH]

One thing I will give SIV's ending is that it was prophetic: See you in 20.

And it took that long for SR to get made.

[MAVERICK]

;D ;D ;D

Enrique FTW!

[stargazer01]

Enrique said,
Really? More juvenile than Superman eavesdropping on Lois and her family?

Yes. Superman should have asked Lois about it before he did it. He didn't even give her the benefit of the doubt, to find out if she could handle the truth. Our memories are an essential part of us humans. For better or for worse. I mean, come on, they were intimate! This was a great opportunity for character development in Lois and Superman, but the filmakers/producer/studio, whatever, decided to keep things real simple and to act like nothing happened. A missed opportunity. And then we had Superman 3.

But if you ask me, the ammesia kiss was just a cop out. Nothing more. They probably felt they were in a corner creatively speaking, which of course it's not true.

The 'eavesdropping on Lois and her family' is a controversial scene for many, no doubt. Not for me. I love it. It was not shallow. A little immature? Maybe. And it seems to me that it was an essential part of the narrative and of the development of the character in the story. It was a moment of weakness, mainly out of love, curiousity and concern for the woman he loves. And then we saw how by the end of the film, the character realizes that Lois already has a family with Richard and he moves on. There is character development, there are consequences. Like in real life. But that's just my humble opinion, of course. It's a girl's point of view.


Stargazer said,
"And the super-kiss it's a very immature thing to do, imo. Supes treats Lois like a freaking child who can't handle herself. Hate it. They made Lois so weak, IMO. "

Well that doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Superman is ALWAYS rescuing Lois from something or another. So shouldn't you hate the Superman franchise since it makes Lois look weak that she always needs a man to swoop from the sky and rescue her?



It does make A LOT of sense to me, though. Superman shouldn't and CAN'T save us from ourselves. He saves our butt not our souls. One thing is to rescue Lois from external danger, but another to try to act like God by errasing part of herself. Her memories. It was basically mind-rape.

But this is just my opinion, which is not law, of course.

In fact, I used to love this scene as a child, cuz it's a well-acted one. But now as an adult, well, it just doesn't really work that well for me. I still enjoy the film as a whole, though.

[EnriqueH]

Apr 6, 2009 22:24:54 GMT -5 @stargazer01 said:

Enrique said,
Really? More juvenile than Superman eavesdropping on Lois and her family?

Yes. Superman should have asked Lois about it before he did it. He didn't even give her the benefit of the doubt, to find out if she could handle the truth. Our memories are an essential part of us humans. For better or for worse. I mean, come on, they were intimate! This was a great opportunity for character development in Lois and Superman, but the filmakers/producer/studio, whatever, decided to keep things real simple and to act like nothing happened. A missed opportunity. And then we had Superman 3.

But if you ask me, the ammesia kiss was just a cop out. Nothing more. They probably felt they were in a corner creatively speaking, which of course it's not true.

The 'eavesdropping on Lois and her family' is a controversial scene for many, no doubt. Not for me. I love it. It was not shallow. A little immature? Maybe. And it seems to me that it was an essential part of the narrative and of the development of the character in the story. It was a moment of weakness, mainly out of love, curiousity and concern for the woman he loves. And then we saw how by the end of the film, the character realizes that Lois already has a family with Richard and he moves on. There is character development, there are consequences. Like in real life. But that's just my humble opinion, of course. It's a girl's point of view.


Stargazer said,
"And the super-kiss it's a very immature thing to do, imo. Supes treats Lois like a freaking child who can't handle herself. Hate it. They made Lois so weak, IMO. "

Well that doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Superman is ALWAYS rescuing Lois from something or another. So shouldn't you hate the Superman franchise since it makes Lois look weak that she always needs a man to swoop from the sky and rescue her?



It does make A LOT of sense to me, though. Superman shouldn't and CAN'T save us from ourselves. He saves our butt not our souls. One thing is to rescue Lois from external danger, but another to try to act like God by errasing part of herself. Her memories. It was basically mind-rape.

But this is just my opinion, which is not law, of course.

In fact, I used to love this scene as a child, cuz it's a well-acted one. But now as an adult, well, it just doesn't really work that well for me. I still enjoy the film as a whole, though.

I'm not a big fan of the erasing kiss myself, but I find your reasons contradictory, particularly in light of your forgiving attitude towards some of the controversial aspects of SR. I just find it a little biased.

Superman is always rescuing Lois. That's the basis for this mythology. Before Luthor ever came around, what was Superman's job? Rescuing Lois.

Though the mind-kiss is a bit of a quick fix, I couldn't help but feel sorry for Clark, not Lois. Because Clark wants to spare Lois her anguish, he erases her memory and Clark is left to deal with HIS anguish alone. Which reminded me of his mother's words, "He'll be isolated. Alone."

So despite my reservations about the mind kiss, I find that there is some dramatic value to the scene. I also find Clark's decision more mature than his eavesdropping on Lois and her family.

[ye5man]

I can't stomach the Superman and Son speech in SR, but I do like the flying afterwards (not so much the poor cgi, but the backgrounds and music). Flying past the Daily Planet: we're really in his World.

Superman IV, what was so wrong with it really? Drop Luthor off, do that speech and fly off. Going with cinema cut. I like the shot of Reeve flying up afterwards. Beats tacky, gimmicky cgi any day

Superman III: Another cheap "laugh" forget it.

Superman II: I don't think of the kiss as the end but the feelgood diner/return flag. I'd say that's the best ending to a superman flick.

STM. Turning the World back; I like the symbolism but taken literally removes verisimilitude.

[Jor-L5150]

Apr 6, 2009 20:14:13 GMT -5 EnriqueH said:

One thing I will give SIV's ending is that it was prophetic: See you in 20.

And it took that long for SR to get made.

EPIC HUMOR : WIN