The Death of “Superman Lives”: What Happened?

Written and directed by Jon Schnepp, The Death of “Superman Lives”: What Happened? details the behind-the-scenes happenings within a proposed 1998 blockbuster that would’ve introduced Superman to a whole new generation – with the production eventually roping in filmmaker Tim Burton and star Nicolas Cage. It’s a relatively interesting story that’s drained of its effectiveness over the course of a somewhat tedious 104 minute running time, as Schnepp delivers a padded-out product that’s been geared solely, for the most part, to the comic-con, hardcore nerd demographic – with the movie delving deep into the kind of minutia that’ll hold very little interest for the majority of viewers. (There is, for example, a very long and far too in-depth stretch detailing the creation of and various adjustments to the completely redesigned Superman suit.) The movie does, however, have a few admittedly compelling (and even engrossing) sequences, with an ongoing highlight undoubtedly Kevin Smith’s typically amusing tales of working on the project and his encounters with notoriously eccentric producer Jon Peters. (It’s clear, too, that Schnepp does an effective job of tracking the progression of Michael Keaton’s casting as Batman to Nicolas Cage’s controversial Man of Steel hiring.) And while the picture does possess a number of intriguing tidbits and factoids, The Death of “Superman Lives”: What Happened? ultimately feels too much like a rough cut of what could (and should) have been a far shorter and more cohesive endeavor (ie there’s no reason this needed to run a minute longer than about an hour).

** out of ****