The
theatre I saw “Superman Returns” in was full of geeks, myself
included. To the right there were two guys in Superman garb, complete
with capes. The entire theatre broke into massive applause and
cheering when the “Spider-Man 3” trailer was shown. There was further
applause when the film began. It was the best possible audience to
view the film with…I was with a group of people who were desperately
praying for this movie to be great…after all, it’s been 19 years since
the last Superman movie and as those of you who saw it know, it was an
underwhelming effort to say the very least.
I can happily report that there was further applause when the film
ended. “Superman Returns” is a blazing success on all levels. It’ll
give the strongest nerd a geek orgasm and will certainly please the
average moviegoer.
The movie opens with John Williams’ classic score booming over the
credits (in the same style as the original Superman films). We are
then informed that Superman has vanished from Earth for five years to
visit the remains of his destroyed home planet, Krypton. As the title
implies, ‘ol Supes returns, just in time to face his arch nemesis and
save the world. Superman must also deal with the fact that the love of
his life, Lois Lane, has moved on, denounced Superman and has a kid
and a loving boyfriend.
“Superman Returns” is successful for the same reason the best
superhero movies (“Batman Begins,” the “Spider-Man” movies and the
first two “X-Men”) were successful: it places characters over action
and special effects. Director Bryan Singer used the “X-Men” movies as
an allegory for gay rights. Here he uses Superman as a representation
of isolation and loneliness. Superman (Brandon Routh) is not human,
and therefore cannot connect with humanity. His human side, Clark
Kent, fails to make an impression on anyone who he cares about. He has
more power than anyone on Earth, but cannot relate to those who he has
dedicated his life to saving. Some of the best moments in the film do
not involve massive action scenes, but quiet scenes of genuine
humanity (the best of which I cannot describe without giving away
massive spoilers).
Routh is a fine Superman and Clark Kent, but I cannot judge him as an
actor quite yet. He looks and sounds exactly like former Superman
Christopher Reeve, which works quite well, but doesn’t say very much
for Routh as an actor, although he is a first class imitator. Let me
emphasize that I am not saying anything nasty about him…I really liked
him here.
Kate Bosworth is a relatively weak Lois Lane, but not so much to hurt
the film. Although she is only a few years younger than Routh, she
lacks his confidence and maturity. I never bought her as an
experienced reporter who managed to win a Pulitzer. Frank Langella and
Sam Huntington are just fine as newspaper editor Perry White and
Superman fanboy reporter Jimmy Olsen. Making a bigger impact is James
Marsden as Lois’ boyfriend, Richard White. They have not gone the easy
route with him…he is not an evil man who we want Lois to leave for
Superman. He is a good, brave man who puts his life at risk to save
those he loves just as much as Superman.
A good superhero movie always has to have a good villain. Here is a
great one. Kevin Spacey, who worked with Singer before on “The Usual
Suspects,” gives a fantastic performance as Lex Luthor. Lex’s scheme
is absolutely outrageous, but so is Lex himself, making everything
work out just fine. Spacey is frightening, cruel and actually
hilarious. As my friend said after the movie: “Man, Kevin Spacey was a
badass in that movie!” I concur to the highest degree. Also worth of
note is Parker Posey as Lex’s girlfriend. She’s played for laughs, but
she’s hilarious and has the best line in the film.
Another statement by my friend that I agree with is “That was a really
pretty film.” Gorgeous, actually. “Superman Returns” if filled with
gorgeous shots: Superman and Lois floating through the air in front of
the spinning globe on the roof of “The Daily Planet;” Superman gently
setting an out of control plane down in a baseball stadium…this is one
of the most gracefully filmed blockbusters I have ever seen.
Grace, beauty, characters…how’s the action? Breathtaking. When your
character has flight, super strength, laser eyes, X-ray vision and
super hearing, you can do some incredible scenes. That’s all that
needs to be said about that.Some people have
complained about Superman, saying that he isn't interesting because he
is an all-powerful boy scout. I disagree. Superman may lack the dark
edge that makes characters like Batman popular, but think about this:
here is an alien who fell to Earth and gained extraordinary powers. He
could use them for evil or destruction, but by some stroke of luck, he
was found by good honest people who raised him to be a good, honest
man. Superman stands for what the world should aspire to be.
Bryan Singer has knocked another one out of the park. I can’t wait to
see what he does next, whether it is a Superman sequel or another
project. Despite the extremely long running time, I left the theatre
wanting more. After a string of summer disappointments, this is a
breath of fresh air. This is the “must-see on the big screen” film of
the year. |
