Review of Superman Returns

Superman is back after an almost 20 year absence from the big screen. Does Bryan Singer's adaptation remain faithful to the franchise?

To be honest, I was never a huge Superman fan. As a character he was too perfect, had too many convenient powers (super strength, hearing, speed, laser vision, etc), and it bugged me that noone could tell that Clark Kent was just Supes with glasses and no cowlick. That being said, I figured I'd give the movie a chance.

In a nutshell, the storyline is as follows: Superman has left earth to go on a soul-searching mission back to his home planet Krypton. He's gone for five years and when he finally returns, a lot has changed: Lex Luthor has gotten out of jail and is up to no good and the love of Superman's life, Lois Lane, now has a child and along with much of the world, has decided that she doesn't really need him. So there's quite a bit of tension to go around to make things interesting.

Rather than completely reinventing the character, Singer takes the nostalgic route by reusing the instantly recognizable John Williams score, along with the original film's title sequence. These elements enhance the "return of the hero" storyline because unlike recent superhero pics like Batman Begins and the Spider-Man films, Superman Returns does not explain Superman's origins but starts the movie as if we are being reintroduced to an old friend.

I've read other reviews dissing the casting choices but I actually really enjoyed them. Newcomer Brandon Routh obviously has a large cape to fill by taking over the role made famous by the late real-life "Superman" Christopher Reeves but Routh has just enough charm to pull off being the new "Man of Steel" as well as his goofy alter-ego, Clark Kent. Other casting stand-outs are Sam Huntington as Jimmy Olson, Parker Posey as Kitty Kowalski, and of course, Kevin Spacey as the delightfully evil, Lex Luthor. Kate Bosworth's Lois Lane isn't as spunky as Margot Kidder and doesn't have the va-va-voom quality of Teri Hatcher's portrayal from the Lois & Clark TV show but Bosworth pulls off a dignified and interesting spin on the character.

Director Bryan Singer, famous for The Usual Suspects and the first two X-Men movies left his beloved X-Men to pursue this new Superman franchise. Was it worth it? Well, as much as I enjoyed the recent installment of X-Men, the loss of Singer was definitely Superman's gain. This movie blows X-Men: Last Stand out of the water! After nearly two decades worth of waiting, Superman is back and I for one am ready to welcome the heroic alien from Krypton back to earth.