Superman

Superman Returns is exactly what I was looking for in a summer blockbuster. It is well acted. It has a decent plot for a super hero movie and once it gets going its down right entertaining. I read a lot of reviews about this film before I saw it, sometimes a bad thing but all I can say is that I don't know what movie most of these people saw but I disagree with many of them. I do not think Brandon Routh was imitating Christopher Reeve, I think he was playing Clark Kent. I think Spacey's Lex Luthor is closer to the maniac he is than Gene Hackman's Luthor. I still like Hackman's role from the previous Superman films but I think Spacey's Luthor is done better. I'll save special mention for Kate Bosworth later.

Admittedly the film starts a little slow. The hero has been absent for five years and the world has moved on. Lois Lane has a kid and a steady live in boyfriend and has won a Pulitzer prize for an editorial on why the world doesn't need Superman. Superman returns and has a few unnecessary flashbacks to his early discovery of his power as well as a poignant scene with his mother played by Eva Marie Saint. I like Eva Marie Saint. She is underused here. If you want to be reminded of how good she is go back and watch On The Waterfront (1954) or more recently as the ever forgiving mother in the very pleasant Don't Come Knocking (2005). Having returned Superman dons his familiar glasses and also returns as Clark Kent.

Some people bitch and make mockery of the fact that Superman's disguise is so obvious but I think such complaints are trivial. It is part of the fantasy that should be accepted. Superman's return is advantageous as he rescues a plane full of people in a really well done action sequence. His return brings conflict to Lois' life as she struggles with her feelings for Superman. Meanwhile tried and true Superman villain Lex Luthor is hatching an evil plot. It is reminiscent of his plans in the original movie. It's devilishly wicked and yes non-sensical but delightful in the way only a comic book villain can be. The movie kicks into high gear and ends well (no turning the Earth backwards on its axis to reverse time, thank god).

Okay, Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane. Kate Bosworth is a better Lois Lane than Margot Kidder. I keep hearing about how Margot Kidder was better and I stare blankly at these statements and try to ponder on what earth that is true. Bosworth's Lois looks at Superman with pain and love in a way I never saw Kidder. Kidder's Lois looked at Superman like a piece of meat, it never felt like love almost always lust. Bosworth seems truly torn for her undeniable attraction and love of Superman with her feelings for Richard White (James Marsden). I thought the scene on the roof of the Daily Planet between Superman and Lois was one of the best moments of the film.

Could Bryan Singer work on the pacing a bit more? Yes. Still Superman is back and I hope there are more films because he is a great character. He isn't conflicted by balancing his life with superheroism like Spider-Man nor by a darkness inside him like Batman but he is instilled with the same sense of duty that those characters are, the duty to help those who need it. He's also almost entirely selfless which is sort of refreshing in today's age.