Superman Returns (Bryan Singer, 2006)

[Clark Nova]

Prior to the credits for director Bryan Singer’s long (and I mean long)-awaited “Superman Returns”, we’re told that astronomers have discovered the distant remains of the planet Krypton, at which time “our greatest protector” disappeared. We soon learn that this occurred five years ago, and since then, the world has been without a Superman.

For those outside the celluloid of film, however, these five years roughly translate to 26 years, or the amount of time it’s been since Superman has graced theater screens. Yes, I realize that “Superman III”: Richard Pryor’s Revenge and “Superman IV”: The Attack of the Nuclear Man were released following “Superman II”, but let’s just make that our little secret. Now, after more than a decade of pre-production issues, “Superman Returns” at last returns the Man of Steel to the big screen. And while much of it isn’t necessarily for the better, it holds its own as your typical summer blockbuster that should please the most hardcore of the hardcore fans.

The action picks up five years after Superman’s disappearance, as he returns from his journey to Krypton to find Earth not quite as he left it. Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) has moved on with her life, engaged to pilot, Daily Planet editor, and all-around good boy Richard White (James Marsden). They have a kid (Tristan Lake Leabu) who, like all other youngsters in action vehicles, sits, makes a precocious comment or two, and creepily stares at the camera for a while. Superman’s old nemesis, Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey), is out of prison and devising some cockamamie scheme involving Kryptonian crystals, a new continent, billions killed, and real estate. Don’t ask.

Herein lies one of “Superman Returns’” main faults. At times trying desperately to be more humanistic and emotional than your typical superhero vehicle, much of the film is ultimately swallowed up in the action set-pieces and Lex Luthor’s ridiculous plan for world domination. Granted, these action scenes, and the special effects in general, are top-notch, never better than in Superman’s epic-in-proportion saving a plunging, burning airplane, to the delight of an entire baseball park. This scene, however, comes not even an hour into the film. It seems the rule of saving the best for last doesn’t quite apply here, which proves to ultimately be a flaw. We’ve seen the best action the film has to offer so early on, so what else is there to look forward to? Apparently, some rocks coming out of the ocean, a run-in with Lex Luthor and the dreaded Kryptonite, and a climax almost as preposterous as reversing time by making the planet revolve backwards (see the first “Superman” film).

I don’t know, maybe I’ve just been spoiled by superior superhero films like “Spider-Man” and the best superhero film I’ve seen, “Batman Begins.” Those have the ideal balance between action and emotion, sacrificing absurd villains and pointless action scenes for a chance to empathize with the hero and his internal plights. Even the first Superman film did this well, with a proper balance of back-story, and likeable-as-hell protagonist, and plenty of action to boot. Granted, “Superman Returns” is a sequel, leaving little room for history or character evolution, but it still attempts to follow this formula. What results, though, is what appears to be another superhero film with an absurd sci-fi plot, with some scenes of semi-romantic reconciliation between Superman (Brandon Routh) and Lois sprinkled in here and there. Yes, they let you take a breath after some harrowing action sequences, but they border on melodrama and are soon forgotten.

There are plenty of these quiet scenes, however. And plenty of special effects-laden action scenes. And plenty of Lex Luthor’s scheming scenes. And plenty of scenes of the bustling Daily Planet. Yes, there’s much more than plenty of every type of scene imaginable. In other words, the film, at nearly two and a half hours, is far too long. It takes forever and a year to get going, establishing the situations with Lex Luthor and Superman’s return in ultimately forgettable, setting-the-table scenes. When the film finally gets off the ground, what we see is rather ordinary superhero film fare: hero saves the day many-a-time, struggles to maintain his disguise and personal life, and fights to stop diabolical madman. While much of it is interesting, particularly the relationship between Superman and Lois, there is just so much stuff going on that it simply becomes exhausting. Even at two and a half hours, every plot element feels squeezed in there. I wanted to get to know Superman, and Lois, and all the supporting characters, and to have a more human story. What we have are inklings of that ultimately swallowed up by a generic superhero-saves-world-from-diabolical-scheme story. I want to be thrilled and excited coming away from a superhero film, not physically and mentally fatigued.

While the story left something to be desired, it would be the performances that ultimately make the film at least worth a look. While not necessarily “great” per sé, they at least invoke memories of the original two “Superman” films, and that can only help. Newcomer Brandon Routh practically channels the late Christopher Reeve, both as the unbearably charming Man of Steel and the awkward, clumsy Clark Kent: so much so, in fact, that it seems more like an impersonation than an authentic performance. Gone is the interesting, strife-ridden Superman of the first film, who was so obviously conflicted in terms of his responsibilities and his personal wants and needs. Routh’s Superman, in the end, is not nearly as interesting, as he portrays the superhero as just that: a hero with super powers, with uniform facial expression and voice and little outward emotion. At times he coasts through the role, but at least it brings about fond memories of Superman’s beginnings on the big screen. As Lex Luthor, Kevin Spacey simply cannot match up to the delightfully over-the-top Gene Hackman (to be fair, nobody possibly could), but what he does nevertheless provide an interesting foil to our hero. While maintaining some of Hackman’s zaniness, Spacey makes his Luthor a bit more sinister and sadistic, resulting in an old-school comic book-type villain that, unlike the often-emotionless Routh, steals much of the show. As for Lois Lane, I, unlike many others, had no real issues with Bosworth taking on the role. Granted, she seems too young, and lacks much of the spunk and charisma that Margot Kidder brought to the role, but she was never really a detriment to the film.

In the end, “Superman Returns” isn’t at all a bad film. Obviously there are much worse generic action movies out there. What it is, though, is pretty standard fare in terms of great special effects, an overly-convoluted plot, and a melodramatic love story. Practically the only thing that set it apart from any other summer movie is that big red “S”: a symbol that has defined a portion of pop culture for over 70 years. How appropriate, then, that what I most easily identified with in the film was, of all things, the opening credits, as we traverse the deep reaches of space to John Williams’ epic and now-legendary theme music. It never fails to send a chill down my spine and make the inner-child in me want to come out. If only the movie could better convey the perfect blend of charm, humor, and excitement of its predecessor, then that inner-child would have busted out in full-force.

6.5/10

[PTAhole]

Am I the only person that liked this film?

[captainofbeef]

No, I loved it and Dan did as well.

[criterionmaster]

Yeah, I actually did enjoy the film. I thought it was one of the better superhero films. But it seems like it is more of a theater experience and wouldn't be as good on DVD. And I can see everything he sees, but I didn't judge as much because I was just having a good time.

[slapshot63]

Here's my review:

Superman Returns - B+

I don't like Superman. There, I said it. I don’t like him. To me, he’s boring and uninteresting. His only weakness is a rock (what, is he a crack head? He freaks out when he’s around rocks), big deal. As some of you may know, Spidey is my kind of hero. He has problems and is more human than Supes (ok, besides the fact that he’s an alien!). But, after finally seeing the first two movies and now this, my opinion of the Man of Steel has changed.

After a long visit to the lost remains of the planet Krypton, the Man of Steel returns to earth to become the peoples savior once again and reclaim the love of Lois Lane. That’s all I’m going to go into for plot because it's best to go into this movie knowing pretty much no more than that.

This movie has a lot of things going for it. First, the cast is great. Many people doubted Brandon Routh because it was deemed impossible for him to replace Christopher Reeve (R.I.P.), let alone live up to his performance. Well, he does it. While I feel Reeve has a slightly better Clark Kent, both have wonderful Superman performances. Each is believable as Superman. The costume looks great, the dark red perfectly accents the deep blue, and the blue shows up very well on the screen. I’m not familiar with Kate Bosworth but she did a good job as Lois Lane. She’s quite different from Margot Kidders Lois but she gets the job done. Kevin Spacey. Here's a man who needs no introduction. He ruled as Lex Luthor. I prefer him to Hackman's Luthor. Hackman was mostly comical and you never felt threatened by him. Spacey though, he was comical but you got a sense of evil from him. You knew he was not a man to mess with. He has some great lines and really enjoys playing the part as much as we enjoy watching him play it. Sam Huntington plays a different but fun Jimmy Olsen and Frank Langella did a good job as Perry White. See if you can spot the original Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen from the 1950s TV series in cameos! The humor is very dark for a Superman film but its still quite funny. I especially like the two with the dogs, the one at the beginning when they arrive at the mansion for the second time and at the very end. There are a lot of little quips and one-liners that will have you chuckling.

There is little action but when there is, its all fun. The effects are spot on. Very rarely, if at all, do things look off or out of place with the CGI. Everything is believable and doesn’t take you out of the moment. The few action scenes are fun to see but they have one major thing going against them: no danger is felt. I felt no danger for anyone involved. Whether it was because we knew they’d all live or what, but very rarely was a true sense of danger ever felt. The film is beautifully shot though, the new Panavision Genesis HD camera helped too because everything is vibrant and crystal clear. One scene even contradicts itself. Early in the movie Superman is trying to stop a falling Airplane that is falling from space (so in other words, going really really fast!). He is hardly able to catch up to it and once he does, it takes him a while to stop it; so long he barely manages to do it. But, later in the movie he does something even more extraordinary under certain circumstances that, for him, are very challenging. So, you’re telling me that a fully powerful Superman can barely stop an airplane, but a weakened one) who is getting weaker and weaker by the second) can do what he does at the end? I know this is a comic book about a flying man from another galaxy but come on, have at least some logic here.

The music. Oh the music. I got chills and goose bumps when the main titles came up. I was so happy they used the original title design from the original movies (big props to Kyle Cooper who designed the title sequence. He also designed MGS3s title sequence, I love this guy!) and the same ending, very nice there. But, back to the music. Hearing that Superman theme was amazing. I loved the title sequence. The theme is so empowering and it is used to great effect throughout the whole movie. All the music is epic though and really helps the film. But damn if that main theme didn’t make the movie.

For all the good, there is also the bad. First, the kid (STOP READING HERE IF YOU DONT WANT TO KNOW SPOILERS!!!). We all know whose kid it was, it was plainly obvious. But this kid is a plot device but he’s not implemented very well. Too many times did the camera show a close up of him for no damned reason. Example, near the end when they pick Superman out of the water, Richard cannot take off, the camera keeps focusing on the kid and I expected, no, wanted the kid to get out of the plane and push them off like Supes did earlier in the movie. Nothing. The kid did nothing and the close ups were completely irrelevant to what was happening and what did happen. What the hell Singer? Don’t dangle a damned carrot in front of my face and then say No meal for you! It’s annoying. Lets hope the kid is used a little bit better in the sequel. (END SPOILERS!!!) That brings me to my main beef with this movie. By the end, you don’t feel like anything has been accomplished. This movie did exactly what it’s titled: Superman Returns. That’s basically all that happens. This movie felt like Superman Returns Vol. 1; a prologue of sorts to what is to come. Ok, Superman Returns, but he accomplished nothing. We go in knowing no more than by the time we leave. Batman Begins accomplished more and that had the whole origin story to tell. This one didn’t because it takes place after the origin movie; plus, Begins had a shorter running time to boot. This sort of feels like a missed opportunity. This could have been something truly amazing, but instead, it was lost in itself and essentially accomplished nothing. This lack of accomplishment leaves a somewhat sour taste in our mouths. You kind of have to wonder why you just sat there for two hours. There was little progression and hardly anything changed from the beginning to the end. It almost feels as if you’re just handing your money to WB for the sake of seeing Superman on the big screen once again.

In the original two movies (have not seen the third or fourth) Superman was the main focus. It was his movie. This one feels kind of like the original Batman in some ways. It goes from Clark to Lois to Lex to Superman, never focusing on one character or at least, the main character. The originals did that very well, we spent enough time with Lex to get to know him and know his plot and motivations but the main focus was Clark and Lois or Superman and Lois. Everyone is so torn apart in this one, its hard to care about anyone.

But, I was entertained. Not once was I ever bored and that’s why I’m giving this a higher grade. It kept my interest and I liked the film despite its flaws. The good easily outweigh the bad and its still a much smarter movie than most others released these days and it spent more time on its character than on mindless action, something that is hard to come by in movies these days. It also has a heart, which is equally rare in Hollywood. So, Superman is still not my favorite superhero but I like him a lot more than I did before I saw the movies (he still ranks lower than Spidey or Batman though).

After I left the theater I got into my vehicle and turned on the radio before leaving. The song that was on was Learn To Fly by The Foo Fighters. It think that was mighty appropriate. Now that we’ve learned how to fly again, take us on a truly epic journey Mr. Singer.

[Clark Nova]

nice job. picked up on everything i missed and then some. Really elaborated on John Williams' theme, which somehow I just glossed over in my review. I could listen to that all day. I also agree about the problem of not concentrating enough on Clark / Superman. Much of the second half of the film has Clark relegated to searching on a computer and shoved out of the way while Lois goes snooping (which I didn't have a problem with...reminded me of Margot Kidder's delightfully nosy Lois, but too much is too much). So yeah, nice write-up.