Superman Returns (2006) September 2, 2006
Posted by gproject in : Cinema, Recently Viewed , trackbackDirected by: Bryan Singer
It’s been 28 years since the Christopher Reeve classic first hit our theatres, and 19 years since he was last seen on the big screen. After much failed pre-production on various versions, and falling into the hands of numerous directors, it was looking as if nobody would ever get the chance to believe a man could fly again. Then came Bryan Singer. And if 2006 means one thing to fans of the man of steel, it’s this: Superman Returns.
After leaving Earth to find the remains of his home planet of Krypton, Superman is drawn back to Metropolis on discovering his birthplace is now nothing but a wasteland. In the meanwhile, the world has moved on in his absence. The Daily Planet still runs as normal, but Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) has both become a mother, and found herself a man (fellow reporter Richard White, played by James Marsden). Lex Luther is up to his old tricks too, swindling a dying woman out of her cash and going on an expedition to steal the crystals sent to earth with Superman. He plans to use the crystals’ power to create new land in the middle of the ocean, eventually overtaking the current mainland and creating a Luther-owned continent. And to make it Superman-proof – Kryptonite, effecting the crystals so that the land will be infused with it.
The story is good for the most part, and although continuity issues arise with the previous movies, it’s hard to think of a way this could’ve been avoided. Brandon Routh is a great casting as the red-caped wonder, managing to carefully tread the line like Reeve before him as both a gawky Clark Kent, and a heroic Superman. And there’s no doubt that Kevin Spacey is great fun as Lex Luthor, adding the right amount of sarcasm and venom into a role that demands both. The Clark / Lois / Superman love story is quite prominent throughout and sometimes it feels a little forced, but considering its importance towards the end, entirely necessary.
Bryan Singer left the X-Men series to direct this movie, effectively swapping with Brett Ratner who left Superman over casting disagreements and then went on to direct X-Men 3. Singer is a very capable director, and despite a long list of possibles for this project (it almost got made by Tim Burton and McG, and was offered to Michael Bay and Robert Rodriguez), I think he was probably the best man for the job. But that’s not to say that it’s a complete success.
The high points include the CGI-heavy air rescue (although if you watched the trailers you’ve seen some of the best visuals), and the Luther-Superman confrontation, which is also the most brutal scene. All the CGI is excellent actually, and there’s plenty of it to enjoy during the 154 minute running time. I also liked Sam Huntington as Jimmy Olsen, it’s not a big part, but he plays it exactly how I imagine that character should be. Despite this, I can see why for all it’s good attributes the movie has not seen the success that was expected.
With an ending that kind of trips over itself, and a controversial plot-twist, it’s not a movie that’s going to satisfy all Superman fans. Unlike last years Batman Begins, it fails to instil a complete sense of realism to the character, which is a shame because that is what good modern comic-book movies do well. Signer did a fantastic job on the first two X-Men features, which shows he’s familiar with the genre. So it’s a shame to discover that this film doesn’t quite hit the same highs either character-wise, or on the action front.
This is a difficult film to sum up, because it’s going to mean different things to different groups of people. Many of the older fans have commented on how hearing the original John Williams score really fired them up, but of course it holds no memories with the younger audience. I think the decision to not completely retread the origin story was probably a good one (there’s enough in there to understand what’s going on), but it may leave non-fans slightly unclear on certain plot points – I’m thinking of the crystals, and how Luther knows so much about their whereabouts and power. This is still an entertaining comic book movie however, and certainly not gimmicky (unlike some). There’s plenty to enjoy, so grab some popcorn and prepare to see the most expensive ($270 million) two and a half hours of the summer.
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