Superman Returns - The Review

I'm presuming none of you have seen this yet so I do worn there are spoilers. First, I loved it, I totally bought into it. I was telling a friend of mine not fifteen minutes before the start of the movie that I had turned 11 again. An 11 year old boy giddy with anticipation to see if he could believe that a man could fly. Granted there were some aspects of the film I that literally brought tears of joy to my eyes; while other ADDED nonsense would send 70 years of Superman lore straight to hell, more on that later. The movie starts, I'm once again happy to see the WB logo, the John Williams Superman march begins and the credits role. They roll like they did back in 1978, same style and everything. Truly, I was eleven again. I want to say this, I like Barndon Routh, he IS Superman. As soon as he opened his mouth I knew he was Superman, as if possessed by Christopher Reeve, I felt his presence within him. For a newcomer, he made me believe, believe that a world without a Superman is not a place that I would enjoy. There’s this seen where Supes saves this plane and I must admit, was one of the best action scenes I’ve seen, ever. Nobody could do that shit, nobody, just Superman.

Kevin Spacey as Lex Luther was an immediate hit for me. Sure, he’s not Gene Hackman and personally, not as insane as Hackman’s portrayal; but, I liked him. I’m just sad that his script wasn’t written any better. His plan for creating a new country was so flawed that I couldn’t believe they allowed it. Kitty Kowalski is Miss Tessmacher from the 70’s, just without the the latter’s attributes. While the bumbling Otis has been replaced with three useless goons.

What I actually did love was the Lois Lane, Richard White (lois’s fiancé), Jason (Lois’s son), Clark Kent, Superman relationships. Lois, with a son? What the hell happened and why is she engaged to Cyclops (James Marsden) from the X-men movies? Whatever, Kate Bosworth I could believe as Lois Lane; but, mother of a five year old, a little harder to accept. She just looked so much like a teenager that her scenes with the boy looked like he would have been better off being her brother. Though, her scenes with Superman were pure magic. Now I have not been the greatest fan of James Marsden, his portrayal of Cyclops in the X-Men movies have always left me with a bitter taste. I never really thought of him as a true leader and he never worked for me in those films. In Superman Returns, he really is a hero, going after his family and saving them, I’m thinking, this guy is the genuine article and I almost found myself cheering for him to end up with Lois instead of Superman.


Alright, a few more gripes. Superman returns after 5 years and what does he do? He’s stalking Lois and her family, listening to their private conversations, peering into their home. I mean, what the Fuck! Isn’t Batman the guy who lurks around? I’m thinking, why is Superman being so creepy? Huge spoiler next…



Why did they have to bring in the kid, and why does he have to be Superman’s son? Granted, I was getting the whole orphan thing and not wanting to be alone, and now Superman no longer has to be alone and will have to contend with watching his son grow up apart from him. I loved his speech in the end, he sounded like Brando. I’m just happy they didn’t over do it with the kid by making him fly around and stuff. I’m just worried they’ll make a big deal out of it in the sequel and take away from Supes just kicking ass and beating the crap out of his next villain.


Anyway, kudos to Bryan Singer for making me believe again. Some will complain that it was just a rehash of the first Donner film, I loved all the references and the almost frame by frame remakes of certain scenes. I just hope in the future we really get a strong enough villain so we can really see just how strong Superman is. Great entertainment, a must see in IMAX 3D if you have the opportunity.

4.5 out of 5