When “Superman Returns” was shown in theaters in 2006, many critics said that the movie screwed up the Man of Steel franchise from the way Christopher Reeve established it with his four-movie stint as the Last Son of Krypton.
After the success of “Superman” and the first sequel in the late 1970s, Christopher Reeve became synonymous with the Man of Steel.
Unfortunately, even with superstar comedian Richard Pryor’s help, “Superman III” couldn’t sustain the momentum, and “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace” quickly became one of the most maligned sequels ever, reports Screen Rant.
The series went on hiatus until 2006’s “Superman Returns,” bringing the Man of Steel back to the big screen after 19 years. Unfortunately, the movie didn’t prove worth the wait and left fans wanting more.
While the movie went on to become a blockbuster, there was no longer a follow-up as critics had gobbled the film in full because of plenty of things like a slow pace and a flawed storyline.
In fact, it took 30 long minutes for “Superman Returns” to unleash its first big action scene. In a movie that’s supposed to be a continuation of a series, taking a long time to get into an exciting sequence is unacceptable.
The film’s action scenes occur far too sparingly, and when at last they do, they seem more like a chore than the exhilarating moment they should be. Another issue that the movie had to deal with is that Superman doesn’t punch anyone or anything in the movie. Not once, even when he is being beaten by Lex Luthor’s goons.
The video game shares the same fate
Capitalizing on the blockbuster film, game developer EA Tiburon also released “Superman Returns: The Videogame” on November 30, 2006 to the PlayStation 2, the Xbox, the Xbox 360, the Nintendo DS, and the PlayStation Portable (PSP).
It features a story arc from the movie, which was released on June 28, 2006, and more than 60 years of comic book content.
EA Tiburon, known for its “Madden NFL” game series, has claimed that the game combines strong creative vision and compelling new technology to deliver a powerful and emotional gaming experience to their consumers, and they will experience a real sense of flying while mastering Superman’s superhero powers to save Metropolis.
In the game, Superman combats Bizarro, who does not appear in the movie, as well as other classic villains including Metallo, Mongul, and Riot as well as being able to play as Bizarro for a short period of time in one of the many minigames inserted into the game.
Electronic Arts and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment secured an all-star cast for the voices in “Superman Returns: The Videogame.” The game features the voice and likeness of Brandon Routh as Superman/Clark Kent as well as the voices of Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane, Parker Posey as Kitty Kowalski, and Sam Huntington as Jimmy Olsen, all reprising their roles from the Warner Bros film directed by Bryan Singer.
However, “Superman Returns: The Videogame” was not received very well by many critics. They criticized the game’s lack of a concluding villain saying that the final boss in “Superman Returns: The Videogame” is a tornado, not Lex Luthor, not General Zod, not that Nuclear Man, and not even Richard Pryor.
EA Tiburon recently shared their loads of problems during the development of “Superman Returns: The Videogame” which ultimately made a telling impact on its final output which was blasted by gamers and critics, reports Polygon.
Contended with lots of problems
In addition to problems on the screens and graphics development, the development of the game has faced plenty of hurdles, notes EA Tiburon.
Cinematics struggled with the sheer number of artists. And amid all the issues about too many artists developing the cinematics of the game, the final game only hosted 15 minutes of total prerendered animation.
In the early phases, the lack of a working script also caused a dilemma. Warner’s secrecy and fear of leaks meant neither the development team nor the cinematics department worked from a finished movie script. Only certain team members saw the storyline and then only in pieces.
Scripting problems were first in a number of communication and approval problems with Warner.