Superman Returns

It was when this movie was approaching release that I began to get into Superman. When I went to see "Superman Returns", I was hoping for two characteristics above all: a respectful use of John Williams' musical score from 1978 and a great performance from Kevin Spacey. As a result, this film satisfied my desires for entertainment. Director Bryan Singer, who gave us the X-Men franchise, pitched this movie to Warner Brothers at a time when their ideas for another Superman film were not working. Considering how successful the first two X-men films were, I think DC Comics wanted a little of the same magic that Marvel enjoyed at the very start of the century and Singer's interest presented the opportunity. While watching "Superman Returns", you can tell that Singer and his team honor the original Richard Donner film.

This movie could be classified as a reboot because we have a whole new cast and the film is set in the new millennium. Unlike a reboot however, "Superman Returns" follows the same timeline as the earlier films from the late 70's and 80's. Then again, it is hard to call it a sequel because it ignores the third and fourth films of the franchise. It also doesn't lead off of Richard Donner's version of "Superman II". It may be hard to describe the film's place in the Superman lexicon but it is worthy of belonging to it in my opinion. The filmmakers follow the same story formula of the first "Superman" quite closely. The film is less campy but there is still a good balance between fantasy and drama that is similar to that on "X-Men". I love the use of John Williams' Krypton theme to open the movie. I also enjoy the first scene on the Gertrude because Lex's lines sound as if they are off the first movie. I love how Superman lands the plane at the baseball game. To have that big crowd of people there makes his return grandiose. The uses of the familiar musical cues are just as fun as on the first film. When Clark returns to Metropolis, he discovers Lois Lane's Pulitzer Prize-winning article and the family picture. Superman feels guilty about leaving without saying good-bye to Lois but he couldn't face her with the news about leaving earth. Lois, feeling betrayed, tried to move on. With Superman now back in town, Lois does feel torn between her current and former love though she'll never admit it. Superman spies on Lois' new family hoping to get answers that Clark can't get. Lois says that she was never in love with Superman but he can tell that is not true. He understands the turmoil that Lois is going through and he flies away sad that this is how things worked out. The voiceover of Jor-El seems to convey that Superman will not let this inner turmoil deter him from serving mankind. The gag of shooting Superman in the eye is pretty creative and well directed. When Lois goes to the roof of the Daily Planet, Superman now feels the time is right to talk things over with her in the form of another "interview". By reading in between the lines, the article "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman" appears to be Lois' attempt to put the past behind her. Her pain over Superman was too much and she felt if she could get the rest of the world to accept the fact that Superman was gone for good, her pain would go away. It is obvious to me that she didn't mean what she wrote. For example, Richard could facial-wise pass for another Superman. He is also a pilot. This tells us that she is in denial. Superman wants to help Lois overcome her bitterness for her sake and the public's. He also needs to apologies to her. Their ride together into the sky accomplishes all this nicely but the love triangle between Superman, Lois and Richard can't be resolved as easily because Richard is a good person.

Now we come to a part of the movie that some people have a problem with. Once we see Jason's little reaction to the kryptonite cylinder, we get the same surprising revelation that Lex does. The piano incident later confirms it. There are fans of Superman that find it inappropriate that he has a son. Because the story of Superman has many Christian parallels, I can see why this plot twist is hard to accept. As for myself, I look at this story twist only in the context of this movie. It makes for great entertainment but it didn't become cemented in the decades-long lexicon. As the climax of "Superman Returns" draws near, we get a terrible feeling as Luthor puts the crystal inside the kryptonite cylinder. For the scene when the Gertrude is sinking, Singer milks the length of time until Superman appears much like Richard Donner did on the original film. I like that. The sadness moment in "Superman Returns" is when Lex’s thugs are beating up Superman. It starts with a well framed shot of Luthor standing still just after he has punched Superman. That is really powerful. Brandon Routh portrays pain and helplessness very realistically as the thugs have their way. The entire movie has genuine climax mostly because of how well directed this terrifying scene is. Another reason why the scene works perfectly is the acting from Spacey. If you listen carefully at one point, you hear Superman shout, "I'm still Superman!!" There is a powerful message in this line. Superman doesn't define himself by his powers. He can still be a light without them. He can still stand for "truth, justice and the American way". After being stabbed, I like the drama when Superman looks at Luthor in anger but Luthor's body language says, "Whatcha gonna do?" As Superman struggles for air after falling in the water, Jor-El's voiceover seems to indicate that Superman is searching his father's words for where he went wrong. I like how the thugs are playing cards on their new continent. It is ironic that their victory is so mundane. The intense scene in the emergency room is powerful because of the lone fact that it is Superman they are trying to save. In many ways, the doctors are helpless to save him in that they can't give him needles or use the defibrillator. We do get the happy ending we want and more importantly, the last two shots of every previous Superman film are recreated for this movie.

Once again, the filmmakers cast an unknown in the role of Superman. It is impossible to replace the late Christopher Reeve and so neither the filmmakers or Brandon Rough tried to. This new Lex Luthor is vain and arrogant like Gene Hackman's but in "Superman Returns", Luthor is more serious and dangerous. I was well entertained by Oscar winner Kevin Spacey. James Marsden funny enough has the same role as he did on the X-Men films. This is the film where I took notice of future Oscar nominee Frank Langella. Singer wanted Shawn Ashmore from the X-Men films to play Jimmy Olsen and I think that would have been neat. Unfortunatly, Ashmore was busy as Iceman working on "X-Men: The Last Stand". Converting Marlon Brando to 3D was harder than it looks as you watch the scene with Lex Luthor in the Fortress of Solitude. It is just one of many well-done special effects. The actress that played Lois Lane in the 40's and 50's has a cameo as the wealthy Gertrude at the start of the movie. She also had a cameo in the 1978 film. John Ottman's original score fits well with John Williams' themes. Ottman's usage of the original Superman musical themes is very well done. Ottman had been inspired by Williams to become a musician and Singer did not want to make this movie unless they could use the original musical themes. Singer even tried to get Williams himself to score the film but just like with "X-Men" he was busy. Any time that classic score is used, it is really effective but I must mention three particular scenes. I love when Clark goes into the elevator and bursts from the building as Superman. Once again, the classic musical theme does all the work to make it fun and cool. When Superman lands carrying the Daily Planet Globe, the theme sounds really neat there. Also, when Superman lifts New Krypton into space, a choir is used during the classic theme music and that is really awesome.

"Superman Returns" was the first Hollywood film to have a simultaneous IMAX 3D release, which is commonplace today. The movie also received an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects. The film's best qualities are the references to the original 1978 film and the performance of Kevin Spacey. The movie did well at the box office but Warner Brothers was hoping it would do better than it did financially. This delayed the sequel along with Singer making "Valkyrie" and the writers strike. In the meantime, "The Dark Knight" did so well that Warner Brothers decided upon doing a full reboot for Superman under the supervision of Christopher Nolan which I was unsure about at first. To abandon the series when nothing went wrong seems kind of silly. Also, it is hard to imagine a Superman movie without John Williams' musical themes. On the other hand with Christopher Nolan's involvement, "Man of Steel" was great. At least the classic Superman series ended on a good note unlike other film series.

4 Stars