Jnoirnoir1032

Where to start? At the positive. Superman Requiem is a really ambitious attempt by a group of amateur film makers who have seemingly come together to make a home movie that picks up events following Superman 2. The plot largely centres around Superman/Clark kent's return to find that Lois has fled to London. He is left to rebuild, and we focus on his subsequent battle with the son of Lex Luther who seeks personal revenge. Again, I want to make a point in commending the film makers for actually getting this film made, given that due to copyright and intellectual property this will have certainly been entirely self funded and everyone will have worked for free due to their love of the source material. The home made special effects are also decent enough at first glance. Unfortuanately, that's all the positives right there. The direction is shambolic, with absolutely no fluidity to any of the scenes, most of the camera work is stiff and you can tell that 'action' has just been called as each new scene starts. The acting is dreadful. Martin Richardson is a very unlikely Superman not only in his slight and gangly build, but in his awkward delivery, appearing almost embarrassed at the dialogue he is forced to spout. Stacy Sobieski fares little better as Superman's new love interest, coming across wooden and disinterested for the most part. Beyond the two leads there are some truly shocking supporting performances. Alex Luther is somewhat watchable but his crew of henchman are utterly terrible. I did quite well to get past the opening 5 minutes of the film, given that the acting was so poor in the 'set up.' Children's nativity plays are more believable. That said, this has to be forgiven considering that it is a fan film and that these are not professionals. With that view, I hope that they enjoyed the experience and will keep a DVD of their movie but leave film making to the professionals from now on.

Nicolas Winding Refn proves yet again that he is one of the most interesting directors working today. In lesser hands this could have been all brawn, no brains or heart. His direction and the script allow Hardy to chew scenery, but never be anything less than absolutely captivating. The cheeky asides, that play out in Bronsons head to a live audience are well judged and add light relief to the dark subject matter. It's truly a great piece of work, and whilst not quite reaching the dizzying heights of Pusher 1 and 2, it certainly shows that Winding Refn is ready for the big time. Hardy, has since shown that he is a versatile and extremely talented actor, whose face can hint at so much energy behind the eyes. Simply brilliant.