Brandon Routh, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth
Directed by Bryan Singer
Rated PG-13
It’s been 28 years since Richard Donner’s Superman flew into theatres, but back then there weren’t any other comic book movies to worry about. Now there is much stiffer competition. With such films as Batman Begins and Spider-Man 2 among the top of its genre, it’s hard for any superhero to compete. While Singer’s Superman Returns isn’t as good as either of those two, it is a solid film nonetheless.
The story takes place after the events of Superman and Superman II. Clark Kent/ Superman (Routh) has been gone for five years searching for the remains of his home planet, Krypton. Unable to find anything, he returns to Earth. But life hasn’t stood still for the mild-mannered reporter, or “The Man of Steel.”
Everyone has moved on, especially Lois Lane (Bosworth). Now a mother, engaged to Richard White (Marsden), Lane wants to forget Superman ever existed, and hasn’t ever even noticed Kent exists. She has even penned a Pulitzer Prize winning article entitled, “Why the World Doesn’t Need Superman.”
But when she sees Superman for the first time she becomes as awe-struck as the moment she first laid eyes on him. It’s also fitting that Superman has just saved her, and the other passengers, from a plane crash. Leaving by saying, “Well I hope this experience hasn’t put any of you off flying. Statistically speaking it’s still the safest way to travel.” It’s a line that Christopher Reeve said to Margot Kidder, as he saved her from a helicopter crash, in the original movie. Thankfully Routh delivers it with all the charm and bravado as Reeve.
Routh is perfectly cast. He also, thankfully, brings a new take on the duel personalities of Superman and Clark Kent. Where as Reeve was fully two people?a nerdy reporter and a stoic hero?Routh plays both characters as though he is superman. Kent is more a means for him to find out what he needs, and a way to get closer to Lane. It’s used more as a disguise in this film than a personality like in the original.
Moments like that, and the many spread throughout, make the film great as it tries to pay homage to the original. But what keeps Superman Returns from greatness is its unexciting, choppy beginning. It takes the movie about a half-hour to get interesting. The first scene of the movie, following the title sequence, involves Lex Luthor (Spacey). Audiences haven’t waited this long to see the enemy before the hero.
Luthor, this time around, has gotten out of prison by hilarious means.
Will Superman be able to stop him?
Spacey hits his role as Luthor out of the ballpark. He remains true to Gene Hackman’s portrayal, channels in a little of Michael Rosenbaum from “Smallville” and makes the role his own. This is by far the best performance in the film.
Another complaint is that I am very perplexed at how much the creators expect the audience to know the ends and outs of the first two films. There’s a generation gap from when those came out! It might have been wiser to remake the original, and have Superman Returns be a sequel to that. But as is, there is little to complain about. There’s love, excitement and peril. All are winning combinations, especially for summer blockbusters, which usually provide the action but not the substance.
