Superman Returns

• Directed by Bryan Singer
• June 21, 2006 (LA) / June 28, 2006 (US)
• Based on Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

When Superman returns to Earth after five years and discovers that Lois Lane has moved on and Lex Luthor is free.

I can’t say I was ever thrilled by the concept of a sort of sequel to the first two Reeve Superman movies without any of the original actors returning as Superman Returns was presented. I was especially concerned when I heard that it was only going to only have continuity with the first two movies and ignore the rest. Admittedly three and four were not up to snuff but outright ignoring anything that came along in a film series just because is a bit risky. You don’t have to acknowledge them in the story unless necessary but stating you will not is unnecessary especially if you accidentally touch on stuff you claim to be ignoring. For example the Halloween reboot movies were only to be connected to the first but at the minimum got into stuff introduced in Halloween II.

This tries very hard to tap into the positive memories of previous Superman iterations. For much older fans there are cameos by Jack Larson and Noel Neill. I’m not sure if the train set scene with the kryptonian crystal was intended as some kind of homage to Superman ‘78 or perhaps even a hint at the coming destruction he would unleash, but either way it works for both. However the plane crash involving the shuttle launch is definitely an overt nod to Superman ‘78. The is a definite homage to Superman ‘78 with the plot involving yet another land scheme by Luthor. There is no escaping that one.

The whole missing Superman bit struck me as a bit odd. Was he not paying attention to Jor-El when he said Krypton was gone? It gave a reason for the status quo to be mixed up but makes little sense when thought about. Superman (Brandon Routh) trusted him on everything but that one crucial bit?

The difference between Clark Kent and Superman is not as distinct as it was under Reeve but Routh does a commendable job of filling some very big shoes. He’s very much a Boy Scout and very upright when needed and he’s more human and authentic when Clark. What he needed for this to make him into a name was for it to be a standalone film.

Kevin Spacey was a good replacement for Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor. Not ideal because Hackman brought something very special but good. Spacey was flamboyant and he could bring a certain level of grandiosity to the personality of Lex. A little hammy but with that undercurrent of evil the whole time.

Frank Langella as Perry White is perhaps the most pleasant surprise here. I can’t say I’m deeply familiar with all of his work but the stuff I have seen has been far more serious than he was here. Even his turn as Skeletor in Masters of the Universe was more serious than this. He has the right amount of bluster and humor that can come from me a direct personality that’s been there and done that. This character doesn’t have time for babying people but also isn’t an insensitive jerk. 

I can’t complain about some of the re-casting. They all are acceptable. I just think that that Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane needed black hair. Yes in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace Margot Kidder was sporting brown hair but in the first three it was jet black like in the comics. I know that’s nitpicky but a little consistency is worthwhile. 

Lois Lane is somewhere between the Lois of Superman ‘78 where she is downright mean to Clark and Superman IV where she is practically his best pal. Then again here she is a bitter ex-girlfriend who wrote an article dissing Supes. This was a guy she knew very little about who ran off after she got pregnant and not once does either party get made to look like the bad guy in a situation that belongs on Maury or Jerry Springer. I guess it is Steve Wilkos these days, but you get my drift.

Aside from a plane trip James Marsden as Perry’s nephew Richard added little to the film. He just gave some tepid romantic complications for Lois and Superman which would probably have been explored in a second film. I think the whole Lois/Superman/illegitimate child plot would’ve been a little stronger without him. Lois as a single mom raising the child Superman never knew sounds more emotionally powerful than Lois hooked up with the first guy that came along in order to hide the parentage of her child. The more I think about it the worse that relationship sounds.

The super kid Jason (Tristan Lake Leabu) was a mixed bag for me. On one hand there is a cool moment where he shoved a piano faster than an F-16 into the bad guy but other than that he just made Superman not only a kind of a deadbeat dad but Lois Lane a bit of a jerk for not telling Supes about his kids the first chance she got. And how quickly did she hook up with Perry White’s nephew? Richard might be a bit cucked here. 

Kitty Kowalski (Parker Posey) is clearly Eve Teschmacher so why not call her that? They recast everybody else. As a character and actress she was kind of under used. Then again, a lot of the star power such as Kal Penn and Eva Marie Saint. If you want to cast somebody known give them something to do besides being funky, occasional comic relief, or even talent cred.

The superhero action is good and at times creative. The scene on the building of the roof where the giant gun is blasting Superman is good up until the point of the bullet hitting the eye. This may be nitpicking but I could believe it if his eyelid was closed but I have trouble with his eye open. I don’t know why.

Superman Returns isn’t bad, but the problem is it is a sequel to at least two movies that have positive memories among most of the public. Good but not great.