Movie Review: Superman Returns
Starring: Brandon Routh, Kevin Spacey, Parker Posey, Kate Bosworth
Directed by: Bryan Singer

In a bizarre age where comic-to-film translations are as common as paint, we treasure those few offerings where the film not only turns out well, but helps to bolster the mythology, the spectacle of its larger-than-life characters.

You could say that the trend never really had a beginning. Over the last fifteen years we’ve enjoyed a steady flow of Batman films, and before that we had the first Superman franchise, Mr. Reeves the shining figurehead of the 1980’s take on comic lore.

And then, starting back with the first installment of Spiderman, followed by X-men, we have witnessed a deluge of superhero films, some great, (Sin City, Spiderman 2, Batman Begins) and many who hang their heads in shame. (Hulk, X3, Ghost Rider.)

Superman comes during the most opportune moment of the summer season: the Fourth of July; patriotic spirits are at a fervor and millions of Americans have a few extra days off and are looking to kill some time. Why not take in a movie?

Sadly, the fear that this is nothing more than a summer flick ends up being confirmed. I don’t know if I’ve seen a superhero film that was ever more eager to tip its hand towards us, revealing more plot devices than it knew what to do with.

The Premise: Superman returns from a five-year absence, after having explored the depths of space in search of the remains of his home planet, Krypton. He returns to find things a mess, and gets to the business of rescuing the hapless residents of Earth, quickly finding himself welcomed back into the hearts of Metropolis’ citizens. Lex Luthor, of course, seeks to muddle the waters with various nefarious deeds, which our hero ultimately conquers.

The first question I had when I saw a preview for this film was “why is Superman returning?” Where did he go?
Were they trying to follow a linear aspect from the Reeves’ Superman films?
Was there a massive typo, and Returns was actually supposed to spell “the First Film?”
I was pleasantly surprised to see the film begin with an idea borrowed from the comic lore, which is that Superman does leave to seek out the remains of Krypton.

My spirits brighten, thinking that perhaps we are going to be treated to a faithful retelling from DC Comic’s 60+ year history of the Man of Steel. Unfortunately, after the first thirty minutes, it becomes rather apparent that this film has difficulty moving into second or third acts, but rather, it messes around with a lot of great beginnings, and seems to forget to wrap anything up.

From the very beginning I enjoyed the art direction and set design. Director Bryan Singer comes straight from directing the first two Xmen films, and seems content on building his legacy within the superhero genre, and sets right to work comfortably, setting up scene after scene, allowing us windows into the world of Superman.
Set design as well as cinematography were well-conceived, picturing a world that is deliciously balanced between today’s modern, and Superman’s golden era.
I was pleased to see that, at least in part, the work of comic artist Alex Ross influenced many of the composed shots of Superman flying overhead, surrounded by radiant beams of sunlight.
Also the film has its moments of rather overt, Christian overtones. At one point, reporter Lois Lane is accepting an award for an article entitled “Why the World Doesn’t Need Superman,” claiming “we don’t need a savior!” and yet Clark Kent sees nothing but people crying out to be saved. And then later, after Superman’s tantamount struggle, he obligingly assumes the Christ-like pose as he plummets back to the earth.

The acting in this film is varied. Brandon Routh, fresh from the farm delivers a more human, engaging Clark Kent/Superman combo than we saw from Christopher Reeves, switching between the bumbling, awkward Kent to the calm and collected Superman. Routh delivers any scene with a capable piercing stare which commands the viewer’s attention, and his great stature did make him well-suited to – well, the Suit.
Modified slightly, with a textured feel and much smaller “S” logo, the Superman suit is still an American classic.

Kevin Spacey goes face to face with Gene Hackman for the title of the Lexiest Luthor of them all. I have to say I enjoyed Spacey’s performance the most, which is not surprising. Spacey gives Luthor a certain gravity, yet never shies away from the more deranged element of his character. Luthor is a genius, but a mad one, after all.

Much of the film’s action sequences seemed to be borrowed from other Hollywood films in recent memory. Whether it be United 93 (plane crash) or the Day After Tomorrow (floods, earthquakes,) or Poseidon, (shipwreck,) Superman is intent on using every available disaster at its disposal to show off Superman’s muscle. Did we really think Superman couldn’t stop a runaway airliner?
At the end of the day, it would’ve been nice to see something a little more unique and original. Especially since my patience for better-than-implausible disaster has grown thin…we’ve only had a dozen or so films in the past five years dealing with phenomenal ways of dying.

My greatest criticism of this film, as with so many films these days, is the length. And more than the length, it was Singer’s misuse of his time; a luxuriously frustrating slow pace through events which ultimately lead nowhere.
Fifteen years of comic history is thrown about haphazardly, leaping from one vein of story to the next, touching on one long enough for us to be interested, and then unceremoniously moving to the next, leaving the audience jilted.
In my humble opinion, it would’ve been a more constructive use of film time to make a film version of the Death of Superman, a novel-length comic series which chronicled Superman’s titanic struggle with the space-monster Doomsday.
That would be sweet.

At the end of the day, the film expects us to be pleased with watching Superman flying high over the earth, apparently unaware or unconcerned with the fact that we haven’t really seen anything that important happen in the movie.

For a while it works, but eventually the clock catches up with Superman, and this audience begins to wonder when the movie is actually going to start.

The Faster-Than-a-Speeding-Bullet Grade: C+

T.