Anna and Ann,
I'm afraid that I must respectfully, but very firmly, disagree with you. This film is
not an L&C-style film. It is, if anything, the antithesis of everything that made
Lois & Clark the unique, refreshing take on the Superman mythos that it was, and that made it so good. Not that our beloved series was perfect, and it is ironic that the only resemblance between the show and the new film is the stuff that I hated about the show.
What do I mean? Well:
- Clark is back to the pre-Crisis version -- the fake, clumsy, timid, nerdish mask that Kal-El of Krypton used to disguise himself so that he could interact with humans, which he most definitely was not. Superman did not spring from the combined efforts of Lois and Clark in the same way, nor did he need her in the same way that "our" Clark did. Lois does not regard Clark in the same way -- in the movie continuity, he is not and never was her best friend -- and her focus is fully on Superman, which makes a certain amount of sense since he's the real person!
- From everything I've seen, heard or read about the film, it's going to be like watching a filmed version of the Friedman and Cherryh novels: there will be scenes with Superman, and scenes with Lois -- even some with both of them together, with Clark in or out of the suit -- but there will be no scenes with Lois and Clark. No teamwork, no banter, none of the camaraderie and friendship, even the arguments -- in short, no spark -- that made "Lane and Kent" what they were. The focus on the relationship is going to be angst, angst, angst, all the way -- and then they don't end up together at the end! Grrr....
- And then there's what the film people put in that was like something from the series -- Lois with another man. Don't expect me to appreciate that: I didn't enjoy it in L&C and I'm sure as blazes not going to enjoy it here, especially when it gets dragged out to another film -- if there is one. I loathed the Sardine and I'm not the Official FoLC Luthor Barbeque Chef because I liked "Lexy-boy"; I've said before that the post-Crisis Luthor, however ably played by John Shea, was a pitiful shadow of the real Lex Luthor (of the 70s-mid 80s), and the Luthor-Lois sub-plot was the blight of the first season of L&C. Whatisname in this film is not going to win any kudos from me, either. In passing, I might suggest that, rather than taking up with another man after Superman/Clark vanishes, "our" Lois would swear off men forever. Mad Dog Lane would return with a vengenance, with the added characteristic of her now having a child to raise. Males approach her at their peril.
There are other problems that I can see. The whole kid sub-plot just screams "contrivance" and "hokey plot device" (see below). Movie-Luthor is still the egotistical comedian he was in the earlier films, and Superman looks to be the same sucker for his tricks that he was. The whole movie continuity is not one I like much -- no Jonathan, and Martha is somehow back from the dead, and there's that pesky Fortress giving the bad guys the means to hurt Kal-El after it preaches dubious morality (including the impossibility of his ever
having a relationship with Lois). The smoking issue, to my mind, is a red herring -- so what if Lois smokes? Maybe we'll get lucky and she'll set fire to the entire film. And there's one final insane continuity problem:
if the mysterious child is Kal-El's, just where does Lois think he came from; at the end of
Superman II, Clark uses his Magic Amnesia Kiss to erase Lois' memory of his dual identity, which must include their time together at the Fortress -- so who does
she think is the boy's father, because she can't remember sleeping with Clark/Kal!
So, no, I do not think that this film has any pretentions (or wish, given DC's attitude to the series) to emulating L&C -- quite the opposite. The characters are too different, and that's the heart of it all. I might have enjoyed it as a Superman film, but not with all the angst and the botched relationships -- and the likelihood of Superman being portrayed as stupid and helpless
again. Nope, I'll go see
X-Men III and watch Phoenix use some real super-powers. Oh, and Angel fly.
Phil, long-time Superman fan -- but not of this movie.
