Superman Returns: Good Trumps Evil with Charm and a Little Cheesiness

Look, up in the sky. It's a bird! It's a plane! No! It's a summer blockbuster!

Superman Returns brings everything you'd expect from a major summer flick based on a comic book about an alien superhero: Tremendous visual appeal, respectable acting performances, good trumping evil, and the cliched reminder that a kiss can solve even the biggest problems.

Instead of starting from scratch, this latest installment of the Superman series picks up five years after 1980's Superman II. This is a wise move by director Bryan Singer (X-Men, X2) for two reasons: First, those first two Superman movies were so good it would be foolish to ignore them, and secondly, who wants to see another "origin of Superman" movie when it's already been done so well?

The film opens with a fresh-out-of-jail Lex Luthor, expertly played by Kevin Spacey, Anna-Nicole-Smithing a tremendous fortune from a dying woman. Just in case you forgot, this is the guy you're supposed to hate. Meanwhile, Superman (Brandon Routh) crash lands on his Smallville farm after spending five years in space searching for signs of his birth planet, Krypton.

Unfortunately, the only person Superman told where he was going was his mom, leaving the world wondering where its protector vanished to. This also ticked off Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth), the woman who was smitten with Superman, but never gave his mild-mannered alter ego, Clark Kent, the time of day. When Clark returns to work at the Daily Planet, he finds out Lois has a son and a fiance, Richard White (James Marsden), the nephew of Planet editor, Perry, and has won a Pulitzer for her bitter editorial titled "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman." But, though the lady doth protest, she clearly still has a thing for the Boy Scout in red underpants.

Lois softens her anti-Superman stance a bit once Superman gets back to his job of saving lives and taking her on moonlit flights. But it's when her journalistic nose lands her and her son smack dab in the middle of Lex Luthor's dastardly plan that she really welcomes her hero's return. Superman bursts on to the scene swinging, but tricky 'ol Lex has Kryptonite on hand, the one substance that can bring our hero to his knees.

Two of the biggest questions heading into the movie were how real will the flying scenes look, and can the new Superman/Clark Kent act. First of all, the film is visually stunning. Not only do Superman's fight and flight sequences jump off the screen, Singer has created a Metropolis with today's flat-screen and cell phone technology, but the fashion sense and architectural style of the 1950's. It's a great feel that combined with several iconic scenes creates the illusion that the story is unfolding in some timeless setting.

Secondly, Singer hit the jackpot casting the relatively unknown Routh as the last son of Krypton. Routh aptly fills both the Man of Steel's tights and Clark Kent's dorky glasses, and while he doesn't make us forget the great Christopher Reeve, he plays both roles with the same believable ease that made Reeve's performance so memorable. This Superman is also tougher than Reeve's, a reflection of how the character has changed personally over the last few decades in the comic books.

Casting has always been a strong suit for Singer, who was spot on with Spacey playing the calm but maniacal Lex Luthor and Frank Langella as the hard-to-please Perry White, editor at the Daily Planet. (Also, in one of the film's more exciting scenes, a certain British entrepreneur with space visions of his own makes a cameo.) But perhaps the most inspired casting decision was to hand Jimmy Olsen's bowtie to Sam Huntington, another relatively unheralded actor. Huntington plays Jimmy, the Daily Planet photographer and Superman's bestest pal in the comics, better than any actor before him, doing all the little things and providing comic relief at every turn.

Lois having a son creates a bit of a wrinkle with comic book lore, but it's the type of risk that Singer and his writing team of Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris were wise to take. The move allows Singer to focus on the personal relationships between characters, particularly the uncomfortable Superman-Lois-White love triangle, and is the true grist of the story in between all the action sequences. With a kid in the picture, there's no way Superman would dare try to break up Lois' family. Right? How Superman, Lois, and her son get out of this bind sets the stage for 2009's sequel.

Of course, in the end, Superman triumphs even though the odds--and physics as we known them--are stacked greatly against him. But that's what makes him Superman, and it's exactly why Superman Returns is a greatly entertaining film despite some of its classic cheesiness.

One word of caution, however: Skip the 3D IMAX version. Although the "enhanced experience" only takes place for 20 total minutes scattered throughout the movie, several of the scenes where it's used make the viewer feel like they're riding the Puke-o-tron 3000 at a county fair. This is Superman, two dimensions will do you just fine and you can spend the extra five bucks on gummy bears.

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