Superman Returns

I’m as big a cartoon superhero to movie geek as the next guy and, since I was going to Seattle the next day, we decided to see Superman Returns on opening night. Goes against my policy of paying $10 per ticket to see movies but why not?

Why not? Because somehow Bryan Singer, who gave us great movies like The Usual Suspects and X-Men (1 and 2), decided to make a film that was more melodrama than action drama. Sometimes it was enjoying, like the ethereal, waltz-like flight Superman takes Lois Lane on when they first see each other after his return.

Two and a half hours of movie with only one scene where Superman confronts Lex Luthor is the best example of why this didn’t work for me, especially when our hero’s solution to Lex’s kryptonite-infused new continent is a simple use of a super power with Baldie on a completely separate set.

The conflict which takes much more of the screen time is a put upon, more in the eyes of the audience than the characters love triangle between Superman, Lois and hubby/Perry White nephew Richard (or rectangle if you throw in Clark Kent). Brandon Routh really does seem to have been cast for his resemblance to Christopher Reeve than any particular talent. Kevin Spacey give Lex a different twist than, say, Gene Hackman but as Bill Humphries wrote “A bald Kevin Spacey is not a Sufficient Villain.” Kate Bosworth is okay as Lois but a bit insubstantial, I’d go for Erica Durance (from Smallville) any time.

mildly recommended