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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