Superman Returns

[audioqueso]

Just finished watching it for the first time. I really liked it in the beginning. I can't say I was overall pleased.

First, technical ratings. Sound quality was great. Really shows off how fast your subs can respond (lots of sonic boom type sounds). The bullet scene was awesome! Picture is another story. Definitely not up to par. I found most of the scenes to range from a bit grany to just grainy. The photography was beautiful, no question about that. But the final recording onto DVD (I'm assuming since I didn't see it at the theaters) really didn't cut it. I was a little disappointed in that. Most of the affects were great. But once again, I did not like the cgi Superman. Rubberband Neo vs the million Mr Smith's from the Matrix Revolution looked better in my opinion.

Now the movie. The movie itself was pretty cool. Great plot with Lois and everyone. Lots of action throughout the entire movie. I won't say what happened, but I personally hated the ending. It was worth the buy ($10 at Best Buy with my Papa John's coupon lol), but only because after all... it's Superman. :T

:35:

[RobP]

Cool! My wife just picked this one up tonight, its on cue for Saturday night. We have already seen it, but we seen it in the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and my wife really liked the sound there, so she has been taunting me oke: asking if my system would impress her as much, look like its time to really crank it this weekend. :twisted:

[Chris D]

I thought it was okay. (Lois is hot)

[audioqueso]

(Lois is hot)

Deliciously hot!!! :B

[Sithlord]

I hope this isn't a trend with newly released SD-DVDs. I'm wondering if the companies are bringing out sub-standard dvds to make us purchase the new HD formats? I guess we will find out when reviews of both the HD-DVD/Blueray versions of this film come out. Would make sense if you wanted to push a new format forward to prove it's superiority. Food for thought.

[Brandon B]

Yeah, I ate that food and liked it. That was a conclusion I came to when the last Harry Potter DVD bit monkey butt in the PQ dept, after the other 3 titles were all relative good for their times of release.

BB

[George Bellefontaine]

It's not on my list to purchase so if PQ isn't up to par, it'll do for a rental.

[audioqueso]

It's not on my list to purchase so if PQ isn't up to par, it'll do for a rental.

Yeah, this movie is not a purchase for bench testing. If you want a movie to show off your TV, this is not it. (I don't know how nice the HD-DVD looks) If you want a movie to show off your sub's speed and tightness, this is a good candidate, but not the entire movie. This movie is really more of a purchase just for the fact it's Superman. I would not recommend this as a purchase to benchmark your system.

[Race Car Driver]

Good, Im not the only one who thought my DVD player was jacked.
I thought PQ was down also. Decent movie, sq was good, but some of the black levels and contrast just seemed..... odd.... to me.

[soho54]

Sithlord, has already posted my thoughts. This is a poor transfer.

I had high hopes for a new demo disk. Looks like their gonna force HD on us a little sooner than expected. Guess I'll go look for that 20gig PS3 now.

[audioqueso]

Guess I'll go look for that 20gig PS3 now.

A little off topic, but I wasn't that impressed with blue-ray. My friend bought a PS3 to accompany his new 1080p 55", properly set it up, hdmi, and all the other good stuff. We watched Talladega Nights and Mission Impossible 3, and even though it looked good, I didn't find it all that impressive. It looked nice, but I found certain scenes to look better on my Sony RPTV.

And now back to Superman. :B

[aud19]

Sithlord, has already posted my thoughts. This is a poor transfer.

I had high hopes for a new demo disk. Looks like their gonna force HD on us a little sooner than expected. Guess I'll go look for that 20gig PS3 now.

Or you could not buy either, they'll get the point if nobody buys anything

[soho54]

OK, I gave it another try last night.

I'm going to have to withdraw my poor transfer comment. It isn't the transfer that is the problem.

There is a little noise in some solid colors in the beginnng of the film, but not much after that. The soft hazy filter is what causes the problems. It doesn't seem consistant thoughout the movie. One shot is fuzzy the next is a little sharper. It goes on this way the entire movie. I kept fighting the urge to rub my eyes. :roll:

[mitch57]

OK, I gave it another try last night.

I'm going to have to withdraw my poor transfer comment. It isn't the transfer that is the problem.

There is a little noise in some solid colors in the beginnng of the film, but not much after that. The soft hazy filter is what causes the problems. It doesn't seem consistant thoughout the movie. One shot is fuzzy the next is a little sharper. It goes on this way the entire movie. I kept fighting the urge to rub my eyes. :roll:

I noticed the exact same thing and I watched it twice. The first time I watched it and saw the soft hazy filter effect come and go I thought it was because I was already on my 7th beer. Then I watched it the next day and saw the same thing.

What's up with that anyway?

[wildfire99]

Or you could not buy either, they'll get the point if nobody buys anything

No, they won't. CD sales already prove this. It's all about file-sharing and piracy. Never once does any suit simply fess up that they are putting out substandard product that nobody wants. The industry's response to this was to essentially use their money to legislate themselves free income through mandatory licensing of all sorts. Even other monopolies (e.g. the bells and utilities) can't do that.

Look at that Russian mp3 site. It raked in cash hand over foot. Everyone loved it. Most anywhere else, that kind of success would trigger hordes of copycats trying to cash in on the same concept. In the media industry, it simply evoked cries of copyright infringement and a massive international legal saga, where even the Russian government was bought out.

Don't you think, if they truly were able to comprehend the concepts behind marketing and profit (Business 101), that they would look at the allofmp3.com success factor as an obvious and glaring neon sign pointing at what consumers wanted? Nope, instead they shut it down, and continue to shake down all the other media makers (e.g. Apple, Microsoft) for more 'protection money', while they continue to make their usual fees on downloads, artist sales, and licensing.

Anyway... if I'm going to get screwed I may as well enjoy it. From now on, "No HD -- No sale!"

[dyazdani]

I just saw the movie tonight and enjoyed it. I noticed that the PQ wasn't spectacualr as well, but it didn't bother me at all.

The plot is good, though a few more battles with Lex would have been nice. Sound effects were great - sonic booms, planes, Superman flying, etc all sounded awesome.

It's on my "buy if it's on sale list" for sure.

[KeithM]

Meh, it was way too long. By about halfway I started heckling him and his unoriginal flying. We got it in the first 15 minutes that he goes through air.

[Chris D]

I just ordered it last night on Blu-Ray, mostly because I had some massive coupons for it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have.

[Ovation]

I've read a review that suggests the PQ issues (even in hi-def) might stem from the fact the film was shot with digital cameras, rather than film stock. While this means bright scenes (according to the review) are great, dark scenes lack the full contrast capability of film. The reviewer does note that digital photography makes the CGI seem better integrated into the image. I've yet to see it on DVD (SD or hi-def) so I'm only passing on some info.