Superman Begins?

I can’t say I was a huge fan of Superman Returns, Bryan Singer‘s much heralded helming of the attempted resuscitation of the Superman franchise. It wasn’t terrible, but it lacked something, both emotionally and intellectually. I can’t say any of the performances were bad, but none of them really got me.

Bryan Singer was much heralded because of the work he had done inside and outside of the superhero genre. The man behind the Usual Suspects and the first two X-Men movies had proved his chops both artistically and critically. Christohper Nolan is the same, and that’s who’s been linked to Superman now.

To be clear, though, it is Jonah Nolan, Christopher’s brother, who is the topic of Superman rumours, while Christopher is rumoured to be eyeing helming a Justice League movie.

Here’s where I stand: Richard Donner‘s Superman was about as perfect as one can get as an adaptation. That movie did, in fact, make us believe a man could fly, but it also made believable characters out of Superman, Lois Lane and the lot. Superman II could have been the icing on that cake, and it was still an outstanding movie, but unfortunately, the controversy of who really directed the movie, and the inclusion of a lot of unnecessary slapstick kind of dents that one.

The less said about the other movies in that earlier incarnation of the franchise, the better.

Then along comes Bryan Singer, golden boy at that time, and the choirs sang. I was one of the people who was disappointed that he didn’t complete the X-Men trilogy, given that the ending of X-Men United hinted at the Phoenix Saga. I am not a huge fan of the Superman character, so seeing him move to that iconic property did not give me the tingles

Christopher Nolan has already re-engergized one franchise, that of Batman. He has done it with skill and artistry. Given that the Dark Knight was a self-contained storyline, I have no problem with Mr. Nolan moving on to a different DC property. As to his brother, word is (and IMDB agrees) that the Nolan brothers have collaborated on many of Christopher Nolan’s prestigious works, including Memento and the Prestige.

Now, being a good writer does not equal being a good director, but let’s see what he brings to the party. If this gives us a Justice League movie, I’m cool with it. Maybe DC is trying to steal a page from Marvel and build a team movie based on a group of solo movies. We’ve got Batman, Superman, and Green Lantern as movies, either completed or in the works. I’ve heard word of a Flash movie.

Maybe this will lead to something. I’m voting “cautiously optimistic.”