THE DAY SUPERMAN RETURNS

SUPERMAN RETURNS
Today is the 28th of June and after a long wait of 19 years, The man steel finally returns to the big screen. I intially had the idea of previewing the movie before I watched it. But previewing it could only mean one thing - a little research on my part about the film's background. So I chose not to. I vivdly remember, during the June of 2005, I read so many reviews and participated in so many forums that I knew every scene in Batman Begins before I saw the movie for the first time. I even stumbled across the script for the movie but I refrained from reading it. I had spoilt my movie watching experience enough and didnt want to spoil it even further. But Begins was such a great film it still managed to overshoot my expectations and managed to set standards for every other superhero movie to come.

Superman has always has a wider appeal when compared to Batman, Batman solely focusing on people drawn towards Angst, Vengeance and Retribution. Superman on the other hand stands for everything else that Batman doesnt symbolize. When Batman is as dark as the Knight itself, Superman is as bright as the sun. Batman and superman are like two sides of the same coin. Opposites when it comes to characteristics and tactics but when together, they complete each other. So it would be a shame trying to compare both these movies. Hence it would be much better to compare Superman Returns with the likes of Spiderman because of the similar audience appeal they possess. I liked Spiderman 2, liked it enough to watch it four times in theatre. Not as great as Batman Begins but a good movie nevertheless. I would feel really happy if Superman Returns came close to the likes of Spiderman 2. I have a lot of faith in the director, Bryan Singer (X-Men, X2, The Usual suspects) to deliver a good superhero movie because of his previous experiences in the field. But I still remain skeptical about the movie. Probably because this is a project that was taken up after mulitple revisions to the script and after it was scrapped by various directors since 1997. But I shall know after tonight when I watch it on IMAX IN 3D. I already know that Roger Ebert has given it a bad review, hope that I dont when I review it tomorrow.


TOMB RAIDER: LEGEND
On a smaller but completely different note, I managed to finish the new Tomb Raider game today. Named Tomb Raider: Legend, this 7th installment was a fun game to play, especially on the PC. I wouldnt call the game innovative as it heavily borrows elements from a multitude of action-adventure shooters. Lara Croft, the central character copies certain actions from the prince in Prince of Persia : The Sand's Trilogy and certain other skills from James Bond in Everything or Nothing. In other words, if you take the prince games and Everything or Nothing, step it down by a notch in every area, throw in a female lead character , you get your new Tomb Raider. But hey, that's not a really bad thing.

Even though the game is short (I beat it a little under 7 hours in medium difficulty), it takes you through various exotic locales around the globe, never losing it's pace once it builds. I would actually recommend it for a week's evening fun when you have finished playing the other games I just mentioned. Signing off, for now.. Will be back tomorrow with the new Superman review.