Superman Returns is The Best Superman Movie
We are going under X because of the Lex Luthor Character, more clutching at straws and all.
Director: Bryan Singer
Writer: Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris (Screenplay) Jerry Sigel, Joe Shuster (Characters)
Starring: Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, James Marsden, Parker Posey, Frank Langella, Sam Huntington
Plot: Superman returns to Earth after spending five years in space examining his homeworld Krypton. But he finds things have changed while he was gone, and he must once again prove himself important to the world.
Tagline – On June 30, 2006! Look Up In The Sky!
Runtime: 2 Hours 34 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Superman Returns starts when ruthless businessman Lex Luthor (Spacey) unleashes something new onto the world causing a massive blackout, forcing Superman (Routh) to save the day, including his co-worker Lois Lane (Bosworth), with the latest daring rescue, Superman is the talk of the world, putting the attention on Superman, while Lex Luthor is continuing his grander plan.
As Clark tries to get closer to Lois, Lex’s masterplan is revealed, forcing Superman to go into battle against one of his smartest opponents to save the world.
Thoughts on Superman Returns
Characters & Performances – Superman has been helping the humans for years now, he has crossed paths with Luthor in the past and now he is being forced out of his isolation to deal with the latest threat, while still trying to manage his own life as a human, searching for the connections he longs for. We get the most human version of Superman here, where he will continue to help and will deal with the problems any human will go through. Brandon Routh is very good in this role, in both sides of it, the out of place human as well as the superhero side of everything. Lois Lane is the reporter that has go close to Superman before and is the one he will do anything to help, they have a spark, while she has her own family, she always wants to make her own way as a reporter, looking for a story that will standout over the rest of the reporters. Kate Bosworth does well in this role, even if a large part of her role is being thrown around. Lex Luthor is the known master criminal that swindles money off people for a living, now he has a new plan, one that will be designed to make him rich that he could ever imagine, he brings a human threat to what Superman will need to face. Kevin Spacey is the star of this show, he is devilish evil with his character that we know will always be looking for more. Parker Posey does get some of the funniest lines in the film as Kitty Kowalski, one of Lex Luther’s inner circle, her delivery is so dead pan it helps things hit home taking away from the serious side to everything.
Story – Superman Returns takes us into a world where Superman has been around a while, as he needs to come out of hiding to stop Lex Luthor once again, whose new plan is pure evil and greed. This was designed as a reboot of the iconic hero, it works very well, moving away from the campy side the story had headed towards, bringing a more grounded and serious tone to everything. We do get the drama about the relationship between Superman and Lois, which does hold the bigger picture down, but the desire to take on evil, comes from well through the film.
Themes – Superman Returns uses the action sequences to give us a large moment, including the airplane shuttle, which is brilliant, along with the plan that Lex has, which creates a whole new playground for the action to take part in.
Final Thoughts – Superman Returns is one of the most enjoyable Superman movies out there, never getting to be built into the greatness we could well have seen.
