I hope you haven’t read any
other
movie reviews of Superman
Returns, because many of the so-called “cream of
the
crop” critics have revealed a plot development that is better
seen with your
own eyes.Shame on
writers like Kirk
Honeycutt in Hollywood
Reporter, Owen Gleiberman in Entertainment
Weekly, Todd
McCarthy in Variety,
Richard Corliss in Time
and others for giving away the big
twist!They
don’t need to reveal
important information to prove to me that they saw the movie ahead of
everyone
else.Instead, they
almost take away
some of the fun that is Superman
Returns (the biggest sin anyone in my
profession can commit), but even their idiotic and unprofessional
decisions can’t
stop you from loving the biggest and best movie of the year.Put on your red cape and
tight red underpants
and get in line RIGHT NOW!!!!!
Director Bryan Singer, along with
writers
Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris, picks up our story five years after
the
developments in 1980’s Superman II
with our beloved hero, Superman (Brandon
Routh), out in space searching for the lost remains of his home planet,
Krypton, after astronomers think they may have spotted it.While he’s gone,
Superman’s evil nemesis, Lex
Luthor (Kevin Spacey) has gone all-Anna Nicole Smith on us and married
a rich
society type on her death bed (played by Noel Neill, who starred as
Lois Lane
in several 1950’s incarnations of Superman).With the elderly lady’s cash, Luthor has
financed an expedition to find
Superman’s Fortress of Solitude and wants to use the
knowledge contained within
to hatch a diabolical plot, and have the ammunition needed to defeat
the Man of
Steel if he comes back to Earth (you’d think Superman would
have a
super-security system or a super-guard dog like Underdog).
Meanwhile, life has changed
dramatically for Superman’s main squeeze, intrepid reporter Lois Lane
(Kate Bosworth).She’s
gone on to win a Pulitzer, and found
new love with perpetual fiancée Richard White (James
Marsden) – the nephew of
Daily Planet Editor Perry White (Frank Langella), and father of their
5-year
old son.
When Superman returns looking to
pick up his life where he left off, will he still be loved by the
people of
Metropolis?Does
Luthor know enough to
defeat Superman?Can
Superman win back
Lois with Supercandy? Superdiamond ring? Superwooing?
Superman
Returns is a movie anyone
who loves movies should rush out to see time and time and time again.Just about every aspect of
this film is
perfect from the tone to the script to the story to the acting to the
reverence
shown for incarnations of Supermans past to the classic, romantic look
of
Metropolis.It’s
a movie sure to wow the
casual fan, the hard core geeks, and those who might think a superhero
movie is
beneath their usual movie-going fare.
First, Singer shows his amazing
ability to mix mind-blowing special effects, heartfelt stories and
complex
characters without breaking a sweat (although, I bet he would disagree
with not
breaking a sweat part.Nothing
this good
comes easy).He
finds the perfect tone
for Superman
Returns as we laugh at some of the campier aspects of the
film
(Luthor’s antics, how people don’t recognize Clark
Kent as Superman when all he
does is put on a pair of glasses as a disguise, and Kent’s
nervousness and clumsiness),
but also gets us wrapped up in the pain our hero and Lane feel as they
confront
a love that seemed to be gone forever and could only make life more
complicated
for both if they acted on it again.Plus, he shows us the darker side of Luthor as he
confronts Superman,
and makes the action scenes something to enjoy and appreciate.Too much today, action
scenes look like they
are shot with a camera riding on a rollercoaster, instead of making it
easy to
follow the characters, car chases, and, in this case, guys flying
through the
sky like a bird or a plane to save the day.Singer gets it, and makes you feel like you are part
of the action without
feeling like you need a barf bag.
Second, you have to love
Routh’s
portrayal of Superman.For
many, including
this writer, Superman was and is Christopher Reeve, and Routh
unabashedly tries
his best to live up to that portrayal.He fills Superman with a pureness of heart as he
heroically fights for
truth and justice, selflessly doing whatever needs to be done to save
the
people of his adopted planet.Then,
he
lets the geeky side of the character shine through in a charming way.Routh is endearing as he
stumbles around
while pretending to be Clark Kent, and even seizes a key moment in the
film as
Superman to teach a lesson to a plane full of people as if he was a
well-meaning high school guidance counselor (chuckles ensue, so make
sure you
are not taking a sip of soda during this moment).Yes, his Superman feels more boyish than
previous gentlemen who played The Man of Steel, but you can sense the
growing
determination and resolve in Superman throughout the movie as Routh
makes sure
he reacts to the changing world around him.Also, I swear Singer and team might have even toyed
a bit with his face
as Superman has a more chiseled look than Kent.If Routh did it on his
own, then kudos to the
young guy.
Third, you can’t say enough
about
Spacey’s portrayal of Lex Luthor.Along
with co-star Parker Posey, who amazingly and hilariously portrays
Lex’s
dimwitted but sharp tongued gal pal Kitty, Spacey commands each scene
with wit,
bravado and a sense of just how outrageous he is allowed to be.He camps it up early in
the film to entertain
us, but he also makes Luthor more evil than Gene Hackman, who gave
amazing performances
as the bald evil one in the original Superman movies, ever did.I’m sure Hackman
could have done it if he was
asked (those were different times), but Spacey is downright nasty when
it’s
time to take the gloves off and enact his notorious scheme.
Finally, Singer deserves special
praise for throwing in some references to all of Superman lore.In addition to Neill,
you’ll see another familiar
face from Superman television programs pop up, and there is a great
homage to
the original Superman comic book along with other little gems along the
way that
make you realize Singer loves this subject, and wants to make sure
those who
love it as much get something especially super out of Superman
Returns.
The movie runs a bit long towards
the end as the final resolution is drawn out over several scenes
instead of
wrapping it up once we know what is going to happen, but that is a
minor
problem in an otherwise amazing rebirth of a movie icon.
4
Waffles (Out Of 4)
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