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Superman Returns [Blu-ray]

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I can now forgive Bryan Singer for ditching X-Men - possibly even he couldn't have saved X-3, but what he did with Superman Returns puts him at the top of the heap of action film directors. Quite simply Superman Returns is just about perfect. It has nearly everything one could want in a 21st Century incarnation for the Man of Steel and the physical production is visually as eye-poppingly glorious as anyone could hope for. The flying scenes (especially the Superman in space scenes) have a breadth and beauty around them that almost stops one's breath - absolutely stunning.

As we've come to expect, there is great humor throughout with winks to the comic books and previous Superman flicks and director Singer doesn't shrink from paying obvious homage to the Reeve flicks - a very nice touch, indeed. Singer doesn't shrink, either, from going for broke in the second half of the film's more emotional content and the balance between action, love story, and pseudo-religious, philosophical storyline is just about perfect.

For all the pre-opening hype criticisms centering around an unknown actor portraying comic's most beloved hero, Brandon Routh proves the naysayers pretty much wrong. He's got the look, the moves and the feel of the character down. If his Clark Kent doesn't quite have the presence Reeve brought to the role - (this Clark isn't quite as endearingly bumbling or nerdy) he makes Clark likeable and believable - and makes fully plausible why Lois finds him slightly forgettable. As The Man of Steel, however, Routh takes the challenge straight on and does not once disappoint his audience.

The opening sequences setting up the story have a classic old movie feel, a bit of exposition for history, hilarious snips of Lex Luthor beginning his bid for world domination, Lois and the rest of the world moving on in the years since Superman (and Clark's) leave of absence, all culminating in a breathtaking action sequence wherein our hero saves the lives of those aboard the space shuttle - and ties it all in with America's favorite pastime - Baseball!

Kate Bosworth's Lois is a bit bristley (Lois always was) but she always let's the vulnerable quality of her character crack through the tough-as-nails exterior.

Kevin Spacey's Lex starts off with a bang, but it isn't until the sequence with Lois aboard his yacht - the turning point of the film - that he gets to fully charm us with his evil craziness. If up til then I thought Spacey hadn't quite captured the role (as I envisioned anyway), from this point on he OWNED Lex.

Parker Posey is an entirely different creature than was Valerie Perrine. Where Perrine was all curves and opinions, Posey is all angles and dim. A different spin on the character, but a worthy one.

It was terrific to see Eva Marie Saint - now in her 60th year of films, in the small role of Martha Kent. Even washing dishes or driving her truck, Saint exudes movie star quality that proves the old adage "there are no small roles."

The movie's more than two and a half hours fly by and everyone - at least at the screening I attended - is left feeling like a kid again.

This is probably going to be the hit of the summer and well it should. It has just about everything one could want in a first "return" feature for this superhero and I'm already excited for 2009's sequel! See it on a big screen. Now!

I remember seeing Superman IV in the theaters when I was six, how there were so many people swarming all around, how there was excitement. Clearly it was a shoddy movie, but to a kid you just can't buy that kind of palpable movie madness.

Now I'm as old as my parents were when they saw the very first Superman, and I've got to say this must be what it felt like. I think Bryan Singer is fast becoming one of the most respectable directors in Hollywood, and what he did with this movie--on a far, far grander scale than either of his X-Men movies--merits SOME kind of award come Oscar time.

We all know the story--Kryptonian boy comes to Earth, saves man from the foibles of archnemesis Lex Luthor, woos Lois Lane. Singer and Co. decided to have this movie pick up after Superman II (wise move) but you never really get a jarring sense of chronology--no General Zod references here. Instead, Supe has just returned from a nearly five-year journey to see if anything remains of his homeworld; alas, the answer is no.

What's strange is that him being gone is such a small deal when it comes to the overall movie. But that's okay; there's plenty more fantastic things to keep the average moviegoer and Superman afficionado happy. What I love most about this sequel is that so much of it feels like home--Brandon Routh has moments where he looks exactly like the dearly departed Christopher Reeve, and his voice is dead-on most of the time. He quotes several lines from the first movie to great effect. Kate Bosworth as Lois isn't as quirky as Margot Kidder but she still can't spell, and she does the best job I've seen in a long time of playing the "strong female" role without ever drawing your attention to it.

The plot also feels familiar--Superman spends a night righting wrongs across the world; Luthor AGAIN gets hold of that Adis Ababa kryptonite, and Supe AGAIN falls prey to it; but there are intriguing elements dealing with Fortress crystals that take Luthor into land-grabbing madness like we've never seen.

The special effects are superb, of course; you can't spend almost $300 million and get it wrong! Here is where I thought Singer might overdo things, but his restraint is commendable. He allows Routh to do all the old Superman things and yet they don't feel aged at all. Singer was concerned with how to entertain a generation where flying is no longer the spectacle it once was, and yet, watching the movie, it's hard to believe that any kid, no matter how jaded, could scoff at what's on screen. The movie is that well done.

Don't let detractors fool you. This kind of movie only comes along...once every thirty years or so.

I went to a special pre-release screening of Superman Returns that I thought was supposed to start at 9:30 and did not start until 10:30. While watching the previews, I wondered why on earth I ever agreed to go see a movie at this hour on a work night. As soon as the film started, with the stunning 3-D-like presentation of the credits, accompanied by that wonderfully irreplaceable theme music by John Williams, all doubts were gone.

And in this theme music is the key to the wonder of Superman Returns. It is set up as a sequel to the original films, and yet it recycles many elements of the original, and so it manages the seemingly impossible task of being a sequel and a remake at the same time. Watching the film was like a wonderful trip back in time to 1978. Everything was different and yet everything was the same.

Once again, Lex Luthor has a plan for taking over the world that involves land, and this plan is even more diabolical and life-threatening than the first one ever thought of being. There is delicious irony in how Luthor ends up in this film, given his original plans. And it just wouldn't be Superman without a replay of the magical scene where Superman takes Lois Lane on a flying trip. The musical score plays a prank on the viewer at this point, and I can only say "be patient."

The film is dedicated to Christopher and Dana Reeve. Perhaps the greatest tribute to Christopher Reeve imaginable is Brandon Routh's performance as Clark Kent/Superman. In some of Routh's scenes, particularly as Clark Kent, he is the spitting image of Christopher Reeve. I don't think I realized how much I identified Reeve with Superman until I saw Routh in the same role. There is also some resemblance between James Marsden, who plays Richard White, Lois Lane's new love interest, and Routh and Reeve, giving the impression that if Lois couldn't be with Superman, then the only substitute she would accept would be one with similar features. Another connection to the original film is the use of archive footage of Marlon Brando as Jor-El, Superman's father.

Director Bryan Singer doesn't try to extend the illusion by bringing in lookalikes for the roles of Lois Lane and Lex Luthor. Kate Bosworth and a bald Kevin Spacey acquit themselves well in these parts, without completely erasing memories of Margot Kidder and Gene Hackman, which would be a pretty big order for just about anyone.

One major difference between this film and the original is that Lex Luthor's henchmen are considerably more threatening than was buffoon Ned Beatty in the original. David Fabrizio as head henchman Brutus nevertheless shows a sympathetic side when he accompanies Lois' son Jason in a piece on the piano during the scene where son and mother are held hostage. (Tristan Lake Leabu as son Jason White shows himself in his limited screen time to be a good little actor, particularly in the scene where we discover that he may not be quite who we think he is.) And if I have a preference for Valerie Perrine over Parker Posey as Lex Luthor's girlfriends in the two films, it is mostly because Perrine made the effort to help Superman out of the Krypton-related jam he had gotten into in the earlier film, while Posey, whose life Superman has previously saved, watches helplessly as Superman is overcome by the deadly Krypton.

The special effects are stunning and very much an integral part of the story. They are never there just to draw attention to themselves.

I always enjoyed the original film, and saw it several times. I don't think I every truly realized how much I loved the original until seeing Bryan Singer's loving and respectful take on it. I imagine that younger folks who never saw the original will still enjoy the remake. And the film's real gift is to those of us who did indeed see and love the original. For us, it's a must-see.

After nearly twenty years, Superman returns triumphantly to the screen to save the day of both the moviegoer and the theater owners looking for golden entertainment. It might not hurt the studio producers too, but let's keep them out of this. Supes is back and there is popcorn to be made.

Director Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X-Men) takes a dusty, beat up franchise and literally sinks his teeth into it. This has class written all over it and much like the director's previous work, this is really no surprise. It's a blessing in disguise.

After last year's schizophrenic Batman Begins and this year's laughable at most X-Men 3: The Last Stand, Superman Returns fails to follow suit. This is a film that takes all that was great in comic book filmmaking and just stains the screen with it. This is a film that knows what it wants to do and simply does it.

More than anything, this is a film.

Brandon Routh deliciously portrays Clark Kent/Superman as he awkwardly returns to his second home, planet Earth. There he finds that the world is in turmoil yet `getting by' without him. His greatest friends have long forgotten him while the love of his intergalactic life has moved on, now with a child and a husband to boot. Technically speaking, his return is without merit.

However, things seem to change for the worst when Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) also has his share in the homecoming. After evading a double life sentence, Luthor has plans for global domination--literally. He visits Superman's fortress, steals the invaluable alien crystals, and discovers a magnificent hidden truth inside that is damaging to both Superman and the world.

So in the end, yeah, the world starts the Superman hype again.

Taking on the heroic role of revitalizing the series, director Singer picks up the franchise where Richard Donner and Richard Lester's previous work respectively left off. This means ignoring the ill fortuned Superman III and IV, both films becoming too reliant on the gimmick rather than the story.

Everything here is back to the basics plus one.

Returns sports the same original theme conceived by John Williams, this time Singer's favorite composer John Ottman takes the reigns. By the time the theme picks up pace and the blue retro-terrific titles fly past the screen, you might want to pinch your arm and remind yourself that this is still 2006 and not 1978.

Effects aside, the film retains the magic and aura of the original entry with newcomer Brandon Routh filling in and gracefully replacing the late Christopher Reeve's tights and boots. He is enigmatic, spunky, and fortunately for the role of Clark Kent he is unbearably clumsy. Routh is Superman, delivering lines like "Good night, Lois" as if they're straight from the audio files that have collected dust for over twenty years now.

Supporting Routh at his side are Kate Bosworth as the ill-tempered journalist Lois Lane and the energetic and screen stealing Kevin Spacey who looks to be having just the right amount of fun as the arch nemesis Luthor. For Bosworth, this role is a long stretch from the surfer hey-day she came from nearly four years ago but she nails it with the right expressions and a perfect pitch.

Even Margot Kidder should be proud...

Spacey, on the other hand, portrays Lex Luthor as he should be. This is of course the same role originally staged by Gene Hackman. Yet instead of the forcibly awkward casting of Hackman, Spacey takes the character and soars to heights that might rival that of the caped crusader.

Gene Hackman might bite his lip at this one.

The film clocks in at two and a half hours which might welcome or daunt the audiences for the next coming month. Considering modern epics of the likes of King Kong or The Lord of the Rings series sport running times of three to four hours, it might be safe to say that moviegoers should be more than happy.

A longer running time allows the film to stretch, to explore, and to expand the storyline that might otherwise be constricted in anything shorter. Singer even takes a cue from director Peter Jackson's work by upping the characterization and organizing outlandish, superior action sequences over breathtaking settings.

It's times when the almighty caped one struggles that the film really shines. Never once do the action sequences seem overly done or outwardly jutting from the storyline. The thing works and blends so smoothly that there's no fruit to be left at the bottom.

The dialogue is snappy, the chemistry is modern science, and the effects succeed on a level of believability and boyhood wonder. This is a film for everyone that wants a film for themselves. For those looking for a hero that they'd rather look up to than relate to, Superman Returns delivers the package right on time.

It just might have taken twenty years and counting in the process.

It's taken more than a decade to get the Man of Steel, The Man of Tomorrow, and the Big Blue Wonder to find his way back onto the big screen. After the debacle that was Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, it would be understandable that many people would be skeptical going into Superman Returns, the first film in the franchise since 1987. But now, in 2006, Bryan Singer has done what many comic book and film fans have been hoping for with the treatment of Superman - he's restored the magic, respectability and wonder to the character.

Clocking in at a nearly-epic 2 hours and 34 mins, Singer and company return to the world of Metropolis, where Superman has seemingly disappeared for close to 5 years without a trace. The world has moved on when Superman finally does make a return, a shock to the world, and even more of a shock to his love - Lois Lane. But being a part of the world, of course, Lois has also moved on - becoming engaged to the boss's son, and raising a child, placing Superman and Clark Kent in a very unusual situation.

In today's world, where almost every comic book hero has seemingly had a film introducing him or her to today's audience, the return of the original superhero is a very welcome change to the madness. Singer manages to seamlessly combine various elements of action, romance, suspense, drama, and emotional depth that will have even the most hardcore and uncompromising of fans to appreciate this adaptation. The fact that we've had a full generation go without a Superman film makes the return even more of a welcome.

One man that should definitely be accepting the Superman welcome is the relative unknown handpicked by Singer to portray the Man of Steel - Brandon Routh. Routh, while having a very tough act to follow in Christopher Reeve, portrays the role of Superman and Clark Kent with the plenty of confidence. While he still has to get comfortable filling those red boots, his charm and like-ability can make a lot of us believe that Routh really could be Superman. Some may warm-up to him more than others, but it's pretty much been solidified - Brandon Routh is Superman.

And behind Routh is a cast that can, at times, be deemed nearly hit-or-miss. But a few of the casting errors are more than made up for by Kevin Spacey, who portrays the Lex Luthor role with superb cheekiness, as well as embracing the twisted, megalomaniacal genius that makes the character of Lex Luthor such an enduring adversary to the Man of Steel. His performance, alone, gives the film just the right element of chaos and comedy usually associated with such a comic book film.

The casting of Kate Bosworth in the role of Superman's main lover, Lois Lane, is a bit of a questionable. Bosworth definitely brings the spice and ferociousness that makes Lois such a reputable reporter, but at times can seem a bit rigid for much of the film. At times, during the more emotional scenes, Bosworth does manage to put through the right of emotion to give the scene its impact. But, at times, it does seem like she's holding something back. For what it's worth, Bosworth does a good enough job to get her through the film, and bring a bit more character to the new and refined Lois Lane.

On the other hand, the remainder of the cast plays their roles with wonderful results. Sam Huntington does a good job of portraying the role of the geeky, anxious photographer in Jimmy Olsen, as does Frank Langella playing the cool, newspaper aficionado boss of The Daily Planet in Perry White. And Parker Posey does a wonderful job of playing Lex Luthor's right-hand goon in Kitty Kowalski. Think of a second Miss Teschmacher, except a bit more involved, a bit dumber, and a bit more torn about Lex's plots to kill millions of innocent people. Correction: Make that BILLIONS of innocent people! With the return of a superhero this caliber, the main priority placed on this film by a lot of people were the use of the special effects - which are used expertly in this film. While these effects may not be anything groundbreaking, the visual of a man effectively soaring through the air with such grace would give just about anybody a thrill. Something Bryan Singer uses to his advantage and carries the film through some invigorating action sequences. It does just what it's supposed to do - it makes you believe that a man can fly, again. That's all that matters.

Superman Returns is not an attempt at reinventing, remodeling or modernizing the Man of Steel. Instead, it's a film that reintroduces some of the elements that we loved about the Richard Donner Superman film(s), while also giving winks and nods to the die-hard comic book fans, as well. Even though the Superman character may turn 60 years old in 2008, the character seems just as timeless as ever here in the 21st century.

Sure, you'll have your Spider-Mans and Batmans, but you'll only have one Superman. Singer unique and exclusive vision of the Man of Steel in the new millennium makes the character all the more relevant today. With it's amazing blend of action, emotion, drama, comedy and thrills, Superman Returns has a quality of class that very few action films will ever have the chance of equaling.

Nearly 30 years ago we saw the rebirth of the 1938 character on screen, we had seen the black & white to color TV reruns, but until unknown Christopher Reeve flew to John Williams' music embodiment of the Superman, we believed that "a man could fly" like the tagline offered, and the film still holds up pretty well. But this "Return" after 1987's fourth and weakess offering is styled to continue the movie continuity (more post Superman II, than IV) with the original nearly invulnerable character with the same two weaknesses we all know and love: Kryptonite, of course, and those pesky human bonds, i.e. the people around him who can be used by his enemies as leverage, the very reason for his lame CK alter ego. Both of these weaknesses are exploited again and again in the films, this one too. These weaknesses are exploited by nemesis Lex Luthor, played in the spirit of Hackman's incarnation of the character here by the brilliant Kevin Spacey. This time his plan isn't any more original, just visually inspired, he plans to use Superman's Kryptonian tech to create "New Krypton" on Earth, with a Kryptonite twist. Luthor's philosophy is articulately outlined by an early scene with his latest groupie Kitty Kowaiski (Parker Posey) in which LL is asks if he considers himself a god, and he sees himself as Prometheus stealing fire from the gods to "share it" with mankind. I thought that this was a truly original view of Luthor's motivation for his hatred of Superman, not the old he's good and I'm bad, setup, but a genuine distain for this alien who's holding out on the human race.

There was preproduction talk, about the same time the DaVinci Code was being scrutinized, about the messiah angle of SUPERMAN RETURNS; Jor-El sends his only son to Earth to lead through example, he returns to the heavens (search the remains of Krypton), his "second coming" back to Earth and towards the climax of the film he takes a "Passion"-like beating from Luthor's thugs looking on like Roman centurians. The original character concept has always been at least a demi-god, coming to terms with his human-half like Hercules, super-strong, part-god, part-man, his greatest weakness his hubris. Jewish immigrants themselves, the original creative team, before "Supes" did more than leap over tall buildings, probably saw him as the ultimate immigration success story, not for themselves they got little over 100 bucks and a 10 yr contract for the character, but Superman was embraced by the fictitious world the same as the real world. Director Bryan Singer explores the emotional impact of a world that has moved on without Superman, a concept probably more effectively done in the various Superman comic series over the years (he has left Earth for self imposed exiles on multiple occasions, not to mention his death in 1992). The film deals with the impact on those around both Clark Kent and Superman. Lois has had a kid (who was born shortly after Superman leaves Earth, hmm...), gotten an X-man fiancé and written a Pulitzer winning story "Why the World Doesn't Needs Superman." Sure there's loads of character exploration, that's what Singer excels at ( see Usual Suspects and X Men 1 &2), but there's also more action than you'll see anywhere else this summer, even without Richard Donner. The story could be better considering all the writers who didn't make the cut in the end (Kevin Smith, J.J. Abrams for starters). I wish they had broken away from the familiar, maybe dare I say it "left out Lex," maybe even used the "Death of Superman" storyline, including Doomsday and the "Reign of the Supermen." WB's Smallville has proved that the character can be successful without being constrained to canon. But this familiarity is surely a strength that makes the film feel like a long-over-due sequel. It's got the same, only darker, sense of humor as the originals. There's also an amusing anti-smoking gag that runs through the film (for example, a catatrophic sequence of events started by a cabbie's stogie, and Lois is hounded to quit by multiple parties).

The art direction was bold, but while the suit pays homage to decades of design, it is careful not to stray to far (although the retro-reverse shield on the belt is a cool touch). Metropolis, is finally a real city now, not just a recycled New York, the Daily Planet looks great, and you just know that globe on top is gonna see some action from the opening. But as for FX, there are some milestones here, some crazy-good super-saves, I mean a bullet to the super-eye, awesome, New Krypton awesome, I wasn't sure they could top "Matrix" flight, or even "Smallville" limited airborne moments, but never has the rescue of a crashing plane been handled with better style, believable physics and sheer coolness!

With Singer as big a fan as he is of the original films he should have tried get John Williams to handle the whole score instead of his X-staple John Ottman. But Ottman uses enough of Williams' Superman motiffs and themes to satisfy. And it's plenty better than the X3 music, yuck.

On casting, the movies gotten loads of grief, partly because the part has turned over so much, but I agree with the need for a relative unknown, so you aren't distracted by a celebrity. Brandon Routh, fits the bill, he looks and sounds like Reeve, which was more the plan than getting Superman, I think. Spacey is so good in everything that he does his celebrity transcends any part he plays, Kate gives a lot of heart to the Lois character as does the great Frank Lanella playing editor Perry White. Using Brando footage as Jor-El is inspired as is the casting of Eva Marie Saint as Martha Kent. Sam Huntington plays Superman's pal Jimmy Olsen well-enough (although the guy is almost never out shooting pics), while Superman's revial for Lois' affections are played believably by James Marsden as Richard White, who at one point in a "discussion" with Lois throws her previous story title "The Night I Spent With Superman" in her face. There's a nice love triangle, but it's not the traditional Clark/Lois/Superman. There's little chemistry between Brandon as Clark and Kate as Lois, but once she overcomes her abandonment issues with Superman he becomes a player in a triangle with Lois and Richard. But, he comes to terms with his role in their lives when he asks his competition during a rescue if "he's got them." By the end we realize, as does Clark, that the world still needs a savior and a Superman. I'm glad we've got one in Superman Returns.

There are some nice twists that may or may not keep you guessing (especially at the end) but, it is a great flick. Also it has SPIDERMAN 3 PREVIEWS!

Wow, that was like bad fanfiction. Bryan Singer did a great job on the first two X-Men movies, but this one was atrocious.

The basic plot of the movie, for those who don't know already, is that Superman has been gone from Earth for five years, investigating the remnants of Krypton, recently discovered by astronomers. He returns to Earth to find that Lois Lane, bitter about his sudden departure, has won a Pulitzer for an anti-Superman editorial ("Why the World Doesn't Need Superman") and is engaged (to fellow reporter Richard White) with a son. Much of the movie is devoted to Superman's struggle to once again fit in to the world, and to his angst over Lois' being engaged.

Why does this suck? Well, much of the movie is ponderous and pretentious, one of those comic-book movies that's ashamed of being a comic-book movie, and desperately wants to have Real Human Drama. It wants to have Real Drama so much, in fact, that there are lots of scenes featuring little more than the actors furrowing their brows and looking concerned. It's certainly possible for a comic-book movie to have real drama, but not when it's so self-conscious about it. It doesn't help that Lois' beau is played by the very smarmy Jason Marsden, who played a very smarmy Cyclops in the X-Men movies. There's no real identification with the character when he's so unlikable. With so much emoting-for-its-own-sake and so little action (more on this later), the movie begins to feel very soap-operatic.

Now, there is one really good thing about this movie, and that's Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor. He's both gleefully evil and genuinely funny, a very, very bad man who revels in his complete amorality. Arguably, his performance gets hammy at times, but it's certainly entertaining. If only his henchmen didn't ruin much of it. In this movie, Luthor hangs around with a series of comically stupid goons with the approximate competence of the burglars in "Home Alone." And he has as a sidekick a hooker named Kitty Kowalski, whose character is strictly restricted to being a complete airhead and saying stupid things for comic effect. In almost every modern (post-Crisis) version of the Superman mythos, Lex Luthor has been a serious, well-organized master criminal. It makes absolutely no sense for him to surround himself with bunglers who wouldn't be out of place on the `60s Batman TV series.

Speaking of Luthor, his master plan is the sort of dumb that evinces laziness on the part of the writers. He's found all the neat Kryptonian doodads in Superman's Arctic Fortress of Solitude, including some crystals that, when placed into water, expand into massive crystalline structures ("Just like Sea Monkeys!" quips Kitty moronically.) He plans to dump these crystals into the Atlantic ocean, creating a new continent. However, since "the laws of physics say that two objects can't exist in the same place," the water displaced will engulf America. (Based on the location of the new continent displayed in Luthor's computer simulation, it's not clear why much of Europe won't be sunk as well, but hey.) After destroying America, he will, get this, become filthy rich by selling "beachfront property" on his new continent to the rest of the world.

Of course, Luthor knows that Superman won't stand for this sort of thing, so before shooting his magic crystal into the sea, he wraps it in a sheath of Kryptonite (which, according to the museum he heists it from, is "sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide with fluorine," which really shouldn't be radioactive in any way, but I digress), so that when the crystal grows, it will take the form of more Kryptonite! After all, "when a crystal grows, it takes on the properties of the minerals around it."

Now, you can't nitpick the science of superhero movies too much. It doesn't make sense, for instance, to bother (correctly) arguing that most of the complete fantasy stuff (like, say, the Green Lantern's ring) wouldn't really work. The point of comic-book stuff is that it's silly and escapist. But it's hard to suspend disbelief at a plot device that turns on a blanket statement about basic physics and chemistry that anyone who passed middle-school science should know to be laughably wrong. I mean, everyone knows that if you grow some crystals from a kid's chemistry set in the presence of a diamond, you won't get more diamond. Alchemy doesn't happen. The writers could easily have made up some technobabble about how this works, without pretending that BS is a fundamental principle of nature.

Anyway, Luthor has his new Kryptonite island, and when Superman lands there, he is immediately depowered, and Luthor's goons beat the tar out of him, with Luthor finally shanking him in the kidney with a jagged piece of kryptonite, then tossing him into the sea to drown. Of course, he's saved, this time by Lois and fiancé in their seaplane. That's fine, but later on Superman's weakness to Kryptonite is made quite inconsistent (and I'm being kind) when he picks up the entire island and flies it into space. Now, maybe I'm being overly critical, but considering that immediately upon landing on this island, Superman can't even throw a punch to defend himself against generic loser henchmen, he really shouldn't be able to achieve escape velocity holding megatons of the stuff.

Oh, and did I mention that there are, for all intents and purposes, no fight scenes in this movie? Superman vs. Luthor's men is akin to some bullies beating up the scrawny kid for his lunch money - Superman does not fight back at all. And I guess early on in the movie, a bank robber with a gatling gun (whatever) shoots at Superman impotently. That's it. Not to be crass, but one does see a comic-book movie for the action, and when said action gets passed over in favor of high school-level angst, it does give the impression that the creators had their priorities distinctly muddled. What about all the cool members of Superman's rogues gallery outside of Luthor? Braniac, Metallo, the Parasite, Livewire, Luminus, Volcana, Darkseid... the list goes on and on. A real villain outside of Luthor's Kryptonite island would have done wonders for this movie.

And I've yet to mention the stupidest part of this movie. During a scene where Lois and her son are trapped on Luthor's yacht, Luthor immediately suspects that the kid is Superman's, and starts waving a piece of Kryptonite in his face, which has no effect. This was just before the movie started to suck horribly, and I thought it was an amusing scene, with Luthor worried about a bad fanfiction possibility from a sickly kid with bad asthma. It was funny because I was sure the producers wouldn't be so dumb as to have the kid actually be Superman's.

Oops.

As soon as one of Luthor's goons starts shoving Lois around (for trying to fax out a distress call), the little tyke kills him by, get this, smooshing him into the wall with a piano. I had to work to avoid audibly groaning in the theater at this point. And it's not as if the kid's powers are even consistent; later on, when he, Lois, and Richard are trapped in a sinking ship, Junior can't muster up the strength to bust the hatch open, despite having recently done a superlative job at administering death by piano.

Of course, the real reason for having the kid be Superman's is so that we can have some emotional father-and-son moments, the worst of which consists of Superman sitting in a room with the sleeping kid and pontificating: "The son becomes the father, and the father becomes the son." Yeah, and garbage stays garbage, especially when it makes the lead's actions out of character. If the kid really is Superman's, than presumably he took off for outer space five years ago leaving Lois with a bun in the oven. What an jerk! I mean, does it really make sense to make one of the most iconic heroes ever into Man of Steel, deadbeat dad?

This movie was apparently a commercial success, which probably means that sequels are in the works. Frankly, I think the Superman film franchise might be pretty well broken at this point, unless they decide to retcon this one out of existence as they did for III and IV. Honestly, this was worse than the Joel Schumacher Batman movies: they were stupid, but they knew it, and at least they had some entertaining action scenes. This movie was stupid, but it thought it was high drama.

First of all, if you want to do any prep work for watching "Superman Returns," all you really need to see from the Christopher Reeve series is the 1978 "Superman" film. All that matters from the second one is that Lex Luthor has been to Superman's Fortress of Solitude, and the third and fourth films are thankfully flushed from our cinematic memories of the Man of Steel. However, you have another option in that director Bryan Singer, who came up with the story for the film along with screenwriters Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris, also came up with stories for four "Returns Prequel" comic books, entitled "Krypton to Earth," "Ma Kent," Lex Luthor," and "Lois Lane." They work in most of the key elements from the "Superman" film that matter here. I have seen several similar comic book prequels, but these are by far the best, reminding us of why Jor-el sent his only son to Earth, and showing us that the world misses Superman but Martha Kent misses her son, how Lex hooked up with Kitty, and why Lois Lane wrote her editorial "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman."

Still, even if you have not seen that "Superman" recently you will probably recognize a lot of the elements from that film that have made their way in this summer's big blockbuster. In fact there are so many that there are points where you wonder if "Superman Returns" is more of a remake than it is a sequel. Lois still cannot spell and still tries to sneak a cigarette, while Superman still saves her, still takes her flying, and is even telling the same jokes as before. They are still using John Williams' theme music, but that would be a good thing to keep from the first movie. Fortunately, there are some significant new things to go with the borrowed and the blue (suit).

What happened was that when astronomers discovered a planet that could be Krypton, Superman decided he had to travel there to see what happened to his home world. Five years have passed and before Superman returns it is Clark Kent (Brandon Routh) who comes back to the Daily Planet to find things are different. Mainly, that Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) has two new men in her life, Richard White (James Marsden), the nephew of Perry White (Frank Langella) and an associate editor at the Daily Planet, and their son, Jason (Tristan Lake Leabu), who is, interestingly enough, about five years old. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey), is out of prison, thanks in part to the absence of Superman, and with help from Kitty Kowalski (Parker Posey), gets his hands on some items from Krypton that will make him rich and help him kill Superman.

The bottom line is that "Superman Returns" is better than we expected, which is impressive given how high our expectations where for this film. I was rather surprised how easily I was willing to accept that Routh was Superman, but he has the attitude down pat. He tones down both parts from what we saw with Christopher Reeve, but that makes sense given what he spent the last five years doing, even if he does not look like he is five years older. Bosworth is a much more solid Lois Lane and they really should have ditched the spelling and smoking bits. Spacey picks up where he left off the last time he played a bald character (i.e., "Seven"), and makes Lex lethal this time around (plus props for having his credit last so the name of the guy who plays Superman comes first). But for me the standout character in the movie is Marsden's Richard White, because this guy is good enough for Lois and a hero in his own right in this movie. This was rather surprising, but a key reason why the movie works. The character they needed to ditch or rewrite was Posey's Kitty, who is a rehashed Miss Teschmacher, which is not what these movie needed (any more than bringing back Otis). There is enough comedy that works in this film without needing anybody other than Jimmy Olsen (Sam Huntington) as the comic relief.

There are several treats for fans of Superman in all of his myriad incarnations. Noel Neill, who was Lois Lane on television's "The Adventures of Superman" and Young Lois Lane's mother (on the train) in the 1978 movie, plays Gertrude Vanderworth, Lex Luther's benefactress, while Jack Larson, who played Jimmy Olson on the series, is Bo the Bartender. The end credits mention the memories of Christopher Reeve and Dana Reeve, but the best homage to his memory (and there are a lot in this film) is when Singer repeats the bit where Superman is flying in space and right before he flies out of the frame he looks into the camera and smiles at us. That was the quintessential shot of Reeve as Superman. Just like Jor-el, Marlon Brandon proves that death is not a deterrent and I have to add that while there are some pretty emotional scenes at the end of this one, I flashed on what could have been a fantastic scene between Lois and Martha Kent (Eva Marie Saint) in the last act that would have blown everybody completely away. But, hey, boys and girls, that is why they make sequels and as long as they ink Singer and this cast and stick to the archetypal vision of Superman, Warner Bros. could have a franchise that will rival Spider-Man (bet they air the trailer for "Spider-Man III" everywhere they show "Superman Returns").

Continuity-wise, Superman Returns takes place 5 years after the events of Superman II (1981). Superman has just returned after years of searching deep space for remnants of his native planet Krypton. But, while he was gone, the world had shrugged and continued to spin without him. As Clark Kent, he gets his old job back as mild-mannered reporter for the Daily Planet. But things are definitely not back to normal. Lois Lane, to his dismay, has moved on. She's now the mother of a young, asthmatic boy and is engaged to Perry White's nephew Richard. She's even won the Pulitzer Prize for her article "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman" (ouch!). Lex Luthor, too, is up and about, released from prison due to a technicality: Superman didn't make his court date to testify against him. Lex's new master plan is to use Kryptonian technology to raise a land mass while simultaneously sinking much of the U.S. of A. After all, real estate is where it's at. He also has an ace up his sleeve with regards to the Big Red "S".

So I went to see this movie in deep, hopeful anticipation. I wanted to be able to tell people that it did justice to the Christopher Reeve classics. Afterwards, I walked away somewhat with mixed feelings but, overall, leaning towards the positive. Superman Returns was certainly entertaining and filled with great f/x, but, no, I don't feel it lived up to all the hoop-la (but, then again, it would have to have been just about the perfect film to be worthy of all the monster pre-screening pub it got). While Superman Returns truly is an epic effort, it falls short of Superman I & II. Yes, it has its moments of sheer majesty and scope, but it lacks enough of those quiet, little personal touches that allow the audience to fully connect with the movie. Scenes with Lois and Clark, which, to me, were some of the hallmark moments in Superman I & II, are too few in Superman Returns. Routh should've been given more scenes as Clark Kent as he's the one that grounds Superman to reality and the one whom we usually identify with the most in the film. Also, one of the challenges in doing a Superman flick is ensuring that the Man of Steel has a worthy adversary. This time out, Lex Luthor proves to be a subpar opponent. And how many times can one introduce kryptonite as a weapon?

Brandon Routh does a very good job. Yes, it helps that there's a vague resemblance between him and Christopher Reeve. And, yes, Routh channels Reeve in much the same way Ewan McGregor channels Alec Guinness in Star Wars. Routh ably captures Clark Kent's personal quirks and mannerisms, and even sounds eerily like Reeve at times. But Brandon Routh is no Christopher Reeve. Here's the difference: Reeve's Superman had an almost self-deprecating, straight-faced-but-with-a-wink attitude about him. We felt that, while Supes does have abilities beyond those of mortal men, there was still a humanizing element about him that enabled us to put ourselves in his place. But Routh's Superman is so aware of the all-encompassing mission his father had given him that he comes off as somewhat aloof and detached. Oh, he smiles and waves but there isn't that same warmth we felt exuding from Reeve. In Superman I and II, it was Clark Kent who was playing Superman. In Superman Returns, Clark Kent seems to be the disguise.

Director Bryan Singer goes to great extent in showing the audience what it feels like for Kal-El to co-exist with beings infinitely more fragile than him, and the isolation and loneliness of his unending burden. Singer employs recurring shots of Superman hovering in space, gazing watchfully down on his adopted planet (or sometimes with his eyes close, so as to better focus his superhearing for any plea for aid). Superman's own personal life, in his own mind, must ever take a backseat to his ongoing pursuit of truth, justice and cheesecake.

Kate Bosworth is not as good as Margot Kidder or Teri Hatcher here, but she has room to grow. She lacks that certain sassiness that is a hallmark of Lois Lane. Given, Lois now has a child and is engaged, and is probably thrown off-keeled by Superman's return. But, still, I longed for that smart-alecky gleam in her eyes. Ah, well. Maybe, next time...Frank Langella is not crusty enough as Perry White, while Sam Huntington as Jimmy Olsen is forgettable. Eva Marie Saint, whom I loved in North by Northwest, didn't have enough screen time as Martha Kent. Kevin Spacey is on and off as Supe's arch nemesis Lex Luthor. There is one standout scene, though, which takes place on Lex's cruiseship, in which Lex, in traditional villainous, braggadocious fashion, unveils his mad scheme to Lois and then taunts her about Superman's guaranteed inability to foil his plan - this time. Parker Posey as Lex's sidekick chick Kitty is very funny and steals some scenes.

So, I do recommend this film: for its sheer grandeur, the sense of nostalgia it invokes, and its sincere striving to be great. The production values are excellent and will make you believe that a Superman can fly at supersonic speeds, wrestle down a space shuttle, and stop a bullet with his eyeball. And this is only Brandon Routh's first try as the Man of Steel and there are sequels undoubtedly planned, so I expect him to grow into this role. Welcome back, Superman. I missed you, man.

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Let me first state that I am a HUGE Superman fan. I love Superman, and I like to think I understand why Superman resonates so strongly with modern culture in general (and readers especially).

I have to say, this was the most boring superhero movie I have ever seen. But, I was most disappointed with the treatment of this iconic character.

Singer doesn't understand Superman.

Superman is the most virtuous of heroes. He does things because they are the right things to do, and because he has the power to do so. The strength of Superman is his character and his mentality, not the fact that he can fly and lift ships. Superman cares about people, first and foremost. And though not without flaws, he's a shining bright example in a dark world.

In Singer's "vision" we get a horribly selfish Superman who acts more like a petulant-adolescent-wannabe-home-wrecker than a real man. Superman spends a lot of time pouting over Lois Lane(whom he left for five years) and when he gets back he can't seem to understand why she is upset or why she would move on. Singer doesn't understand that Superman draws his strength from Earth(on Krypton he would be normal like everyone else). Everything that is good and decent about Superman comes from living here. All of his love, all of his humanity, his reason for living. This is the only home he knows. And he effectively throws it away to check up on Krypton(apparently Superman doesn't know about light-years and heavenly bodies existing in the past)... this is the big hurdle of Superman-> He abandons Earth and Us, to go do his own thing (something Superman would never do). When Superman returns he really is an alien, because he exiled himself purposefully. I will tell you right now, Superman would only leave Earth in order to save it. Aside from that, he is completely emotionless, and flat. Superman bears the weight of the world and smiles all the way, yet this Superman almost groans. He only saves people to get to Lois. Everything he does is for Lois, he even has a scene atop the Daily Planet where he practically tries to steal her away from her new family unit! Routh acts like someone pretending to be Superman, not like a man that knows he's Superman. And also, a man without a personality.

Lois Lane is just as badly cast, and spends most of the film with a worried expression on her face. She hates herself for loving someone other than Big Blue, and there is absolutely no chemistry between the two leads. Besides, the man we see isn't spectacular, and he's definitely not the one that makes us feel like a kid again. So Lois has lost all the spunk and nerve, and quirky toughness that makes us drool over the character(like in the comics).

Then there's Lex Luthor, whose big plan is to create a huge Kryptonian continent, and sell the real estate. He is absolutely joyless, and doesn't even revel in having an edge over Superman. Not to mention that his primary motivation for wanting to kill Superman is, "you sent me to prison for five years."

Lex hates Superman because he is loved. Lex isn't loved, because he equates power with love and admiration. This is his big flaw; not some petty revenge. Spacey acts horrendously in this movie(I thought I'd never say), especially the scene where he tells Lois Lane she is, "WRROONNGG." My whole group was laughing at the ineptness of the moment.

Then there's the kid... whew. This kid's acting is so completely blank and emotionless it makes you want to put any kid in there. Consider, that the first time this kid sees Superman flying it is the first time he has seen a person fly- ever! But his expression is just as blank and joyless as the movie itself. To top it off, in a horrible turn he is Superman's son! In the comics Superman and Lois are married. Nope, not here. But they do have a Supertyke, who might just split up Lois Lane's relationship with Perry White's nephew! Hooray! Is this audience supposed to be cheering when we find this out? By the way, he's not that super: when Lois is stuck with him behind a steel door and asks for help, the kid sits there putting olives on his fingers. Olives! Where did they find these people?

(Remember at the end of Superman 2 where Supes said, "Don't worry, Mr. President. I'll never leave you alone again.") I guess Singer and his writers missed that one! But I thought at the very least it might be a fun, entertaining movie to watch.

...Nope! More cg doesn't equal better. There was no moment throughout any of the action where I felt blown away or exhilarated. It felt like the action was there out of obligation. Superman just pops out of nowhere and flies so much, we don't even care he can fly. When Supes first takes up-up-and-away, we should feel inspired and awestruck. Superman is more than just what he can do, Superman is infinately virtuous, and that's what really makes him a hero.

Then there's the story, which was really long. We were as distracted and bored as the kid with the olives on his fingers.

The 50-or-so-person-clap at the end of this movie wasn't out of joy, or elation, but that awkward clap where people follow each other out of obligation. Everything felt like an obligation in this movie, and there was no love for the film or the characters. All this Lex wants is money, which really Lex doesn't care about. All this Lois wants, is Superman... but why? And all this Superman wants is his old life back... but he abandoned it. The psyched up six year old boy sitting next to me was comlpetely drained and bored, and that's a bad sign in a superhero movie. There is nothing good about this film, or anything that does sparkly-eyed, Big Blue any justice. Which leaves us without sparkly eyes either.