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| The Entertainment Review |
| By: Daniel Wallace Publisher: Chronicle Books |
When one of the world’s most famous comic book heroes returns to the movies, it is sure to be an event that every
fan will want to be a part of. This time around Superman makes his way to the silver screen in an impressive
production, “Superman Returns,” with a variety of iconic elements that draw upon various sources of the Man of
Steel’s past.
With every Hollywood blockbuster film there are always a number of different types of media released to coincide with
the film. “The Art of Superman Returns” is just one example, offering readers behind-the-scenes material, offering
repro pages from Superman comics, design sketches, concept paintings, details of the film's miniature effects,
storyboard sequences, props and set photos, special effects visuals and publicity stills. This time around the
architecture of the bustling Metropolis have a more cosmopolitan style ensuring that the urban scenery gives viewers
a feeling similar to that of the art of Norman Rockwell.
The crystal technology of Kryptonian science, though genuinely fantastic and mysterious, though portrayed with a
gritty realism that helps to suspend disbelief, follows closely with the colored spikes, glassy prisms and blocky ice-
towers of the doomed planet Krypton and construction of Kal-El's arctic Fortress of Solitude. Re-designing such
imagery was apparently never an option, so many of the locations stay the same.
Although the vast cityscape of Metropolis fails to emerge as a living and breathing character in this film, in the same
manner as Gotham is presented as a memorable widescreen environment in the recent film “Batman Begins,”
inspection of the penciled artwork, digital renderings and photo composites of skyscrapers and put together in this
book, there can be no denying the imposing quality and the attention to detail that went into creating a fresh view of
Metropolis, especially for the Daily Planet building, which is more suited for 21st century audiences, and these big
city backdrops will be better appreciated with multiple viewings. Obviously, Metropolis borrows a lot of its density and
structure from Manhattan, but here viewers find the appeal of the creators' imagination spreading across a much
larger thematic canvas is abundantly evident in many other scenes, and throughout the two-and-a-half-hours of
“Superman Returns,” as the filmmakers attempt to condense nearly seven decades of Superman history into a very
ambitious, which can be seen by taking a look at the painstaking development of the superhero's familiar costume,
globe spanning and world saving epic.
Perhaps the most unusual, amusing and enlightening sequence in this film concerns the magnificent eccentricity of a
gigantic model railway, built in the basement of the Vanderworth mansion. If directing a movie using a major studio's
fulsome assets with mammoth budgetary expenditure available, could be seen as playing with the world's biggest
train set, then, for self-confessed Superman fanboy and comics' geek Bryan Singer, the boyhood dream come true of
“Superman Returns” pays off doubly here. Maybe the problem with this aspect of Singer's movie will forever be that
nobody will remember the potentially revealing decision of visual creativity behind the train-set metaphor, and only
the unfortunate destruction of that ultimate handmade toy diorama will linger in the hearts and minds of all neo-
Krypton's future sons and heirs.
Fans who want to see the more intricate details that went into “Superman Returns” will want to check out “The Art of
Superman Returns.” The book is a great look at the all the work that went into a series that spans many years. A
great book for anyone that is a fan of the Man of Steel or film design.
fan will want to be a part of. This time around Superman makes his way to the silver screen in an impressive
production, “Superman Returns,” with a variety of iconic elements that draw upon various sources of the Man of
Steel’s past.
With every Hollywood blockbuster film there are always a number of different types of media released to coincide with
the film. “The Art of Superman Returns” is just one example, offering readers behind-the-scenes material, offering
repro pages from Superman comics, design sketches, concept paintings, details of the film's miniature effects,
storyboard sequences, props and set photos, special effects visuals and publicity stills. This time around the
architecture of the bustling Metropolis have a more cosmopolitan style ensuring that the urban scenery gives viewers
a feeling similar to that of the art of Norman Rockwell.
The crystal technology of Kryptonian science, though genuinely fantastic and mysterious, though portrayed with a
gritty realism that helps to suspend disbelief, follows closely with the colored spikes, glassy prisms and blocky ice-
towers of the doomed planet Krypton and construction of Kal-El's arctic Fortress of Solitude. Re-designing such
imagery was apparently never an option, so many of the locations stay the same.
Although the vast cityscape of Metropolis fails to emerge as a living and breathing character in this film, in the same
manner as Gotham is presented as a memorable widescreen environment in the recent film “Batman Begins,”
inspection of the penciled artwork, digital renderings and photo composites of skyscrapers and put together in this
book, there can be no denying the imposing quality and the attention to detail that went into creating a fresh view of
Metropolis, especially for the Daily Planet building, which is more suited for 21st century audiences, and these big
city backdrops will be better appreciated with multiple viewings. Obviously, Metropolis borrows a lot of its density and
structure from Manhattan, but here viewers find the appeal of the creators' imagination spreading across a much
larger thematic canvas is abundantly evident in many other scenes, and throughout the two-and-a-half-hours of
“Superman Returns,” as the filmmakers attempt to condense nearly seven decades of Superman history into a very
ambitious, which can be seen by taking a look at the painstaking development of the superhero's familiar costume,
globe spanning and world saving epic.
Perhaps the most unusual, amusing and enlightening sequence in this film concerns the magnificent eccentricity of a
gigantic model railway, built in the basement of the Vanderworth mansion. If directing a movie using a major studio's
fulsome assets with mammoth budgetary expenditure available, could be seen as playing with the world's biggest
train set, then, for self-confessed Superman fanboy and comics' geek Bryan Singer, the boyhood dream come true of
“Superman Returns” pays off doubly here. Maybe the problem with this aspect of Singer's movie will forever be that
nobody will remember the potentially revealing decision of visual creativity behind the train-set metaphor, and only
the unfortunate destruction of that ultimate handmade toy diorama will linger in the hearts and minds of all neo-
Krypton's future sons and heirs.
Fans who want to see the more intricate details that went into “Superman Returns” will want to check out “The Art of
Superman Returns.” The book is a great look at the all the work that went into a series that spans many years. A
great book for anyone that is a fan of the Man of Steel or film design.
