The Death of "Superman Lives"; What Happened?- Movie Review

Rating: A

Recently, my Blu-Ray copy of The Death of "Superman Lives"; What Happened? arrived in my mailbox. After months and months of speculation, I was finally able to see the culmination of Jon Schnepp's gigantic project. I wondered if it would live up to the hype that I had created. I anticipated this release for months. And I was blown away. 

This is one of the most interesting documentaries I've ever watched. Jon Schnepp creatively pulled down the curtain that was hiding one of Hollywood's biggest secrets. Why didn't Tim Burton's project starring Nicolas Cage make it to the big screen? This brilliant documentary answers this elusive question. It also takes you behind the scenes and shows you the entire process of the efforts made before this film was canned. You see tons of never before scene images and footage of costumes, set designs, and even Nicolas Cage dawning the infamous costume. One of my favorite parts of this film was that exclusive look at what this movie could've become.

Also, this documentary features a series of interviews with the people involved with this project. Jon Schnepp was able to interview Kevin Smith (one of the original writers of the film), Jon Peters (the hair stylist turned Hollywood producer), and even Tim Burton! Although I had previously heard Kevin Smith's stories about this project, I still enjoyed him retelling his tales. Hearing Jon Peters' take on the project was awesome as well. And hearing people criticize Peters and getting juicy was highly entertaining. I'm a sucker for a good gossip tale and this documentary features plenty of that. You hear various artists and costume designers talk about this extremely difficult project. My only complaint with the interview aspect of this film was Nicolas Cage was not apart of it. I completely understand the difficulty of obtaining him for an interview and it didn't hinder my viewing experience. I just would've loved to hear his take because from the footage, he seemed very invested in the role. He even named his son Kal-El. He obviously was infatuated with the role of Superman. I also loved hearing Tim Burton talk about this project. He seemed to have such an awesome vision and he was very honest about the entire process. 

I also loved the animations and the live action portrayal of certain scenes the Tim Burton film would've had. Seeing them play out was super cool. This documentary posed a very serious question. What would've happened if Nicolas Cage played Superman? Would it work? After viewing this documentary, I personally think it could've. Everybody on the project seemed super passionate about it. Everybody wanted to see this film get made. Yet, we'll never know what could've been.

I implore everybody to go to http://www.tdoslwh.com/ and purchase a version of this film. You have the option of viewing it on your computer or you can order a hard copy like I did. Support the independent film industry! You will not regret purchasing this awesome documentary!