The Hindu : New Delhi News : Yesterday once more as Superman returns

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jul 02, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Yesterday once more as Superman returns

ZIYA US SALAM

YESTERDAY ONCE MORE: Bryan Singer's "Superman Returns" is high on predictable joys and low on novelty, while "When a Stranger Calls" is predictable all the way.

SUPERMAN RETURNS

(At PVR Priya, Shiela and other Delhi theatres)

Bryan Singer walks down a familiar lane. That is, a lane familiar to viewers across the world over the past 50 years. He adds a dash of fresh paint, spruces up the ambience, signs a new hero, Brandon Routh, and lo! Superman Returns. There is a difference, though: he is more mortal initially, then more robust. He still is Adonis, chiselled features, deep-set innocent eyes, rippling muscles, and that beguiling expression on the face. He is Atlas too, holding the world from a free-fall.

In many ways, it is yesterday once more. Back after nearly 20 years, Superman still strikes when he is needed; people still stand and applaud. He can still save a plane from a crash. He can still fly across oceans like a bird seeking a new abode with the change in season. But it is no museum piece, one that a viewer watched many years ago, can watch today, then come back 20 years later and feel the warmth of familiarity all over again. So unlike the earlier version which many men, now bespectacled and pot-bellied, recall from their years of innocence.

Here director Singer plays the percentage game, interspersing segments of blinding brilliance, moments of unabashed glory with stillness borne of ordinariness. One moment, bullets rebound off Superman's eye; next moment, the Man of Steel shows feet of clay. He still loves and seeks love. He still rescues love; challenges it too. But somehow the spark, the beseeching quality is missing: Superman was away for five years on his home planet Krypton. He returns to find things have changed. Besides the marital status of his girlfriend, what has also changed is his own ability to communicate well and clearly.

Routh imparts a dash of ardour, but in doing so he takes a layer of profundity, leaving "Superman Returns" as a comic book hero. His charisma is negligible, just like his dialogue. Throughout the film, the superhero walks and wafts but seldom talks. A word here, a heart-break there is all he is allowed.

Of course, the director is partial to Kate Bosworth. The girl the superhero left behind five years ago only to find her married and the mother of a kid is quite cherubic. Her dimples are quite endearing, as are her ways when she allows nostalgia to overcome her. But she plays a hard-nosed journalist here; and you bring her to the newsroom and she is as comfortable there as a cat on a hot tin roof. Which ably assists James Marsden in his attempt to blend with the fly on the wall. He plays Bosworth's husband with as much interest as a child does in holding on to the finger of his father in the park.

Floods. Overturning ships. Elements from another planet. Unparalleled daredevil feats. A timeless hero in blue and red. And his girlfriend. Not to forget a world to save. Singer's film has them all. But the spark is missing. And that is the first casualty when a man plays the percentage game: efficient without being excellent.

WHEN A STRANGER CALLS

(At Spice PVR, Noida; and Delhi theatres)

Amid all the hoopla about "Superman Returns", this film here has gained as much attention as a solitary ant creeping up a wall! And a couple of hours later, one realises, deservedly so.

This Simon West film is a remake of a 1979 thriller that had many on the edge of their seat. This one, however, is a hurriedly put together product that moves on predictable lines with little fresh breeze. The narration is single-layered, the story lacking in novelty. Starring Camilla Belle, this is the story of a girl who spent too much speaking to her friends over the phone, then lives to face the consequences. Well, in this case, she starts working as a baby sitter to fill her suddenly empty pockets. All is hunky-dory until she realises that she is working in a mansion in the middle of nowhere with eerie sounds emanating from the most unimaginable of places. Not just the fridge, but even kitchen appliances evoke a sense of fear.

And then comes a caller, the stranger. Are the children okay? Well, the stranger is supposed to be the suspense element. Unfortunately, it does not quite work out on those lines with the viewers knowing well in advance when the next threat, when the next noise is coming. And Belle goes through the proceedings with the acting skills of a teenager, more suited to a corny college thriller. Here, she is expected to carry the movie. She is clearly out of her depth. By constantly grimacing and chewing her lips in anger and fear, she does herself no favours. You do one to yourself. Stay away from this one. Remember the ant on the wall? Well, that was impolite. This film has arrived without a ripple. And is unlikely to disturb the equanimity at the box office while departing.

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