Movie Title: Superman Returns
Genre: Superhero, Action, Adventure, Drama
Writer: Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris
Starring: Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, James Marsden, Frank Langella, Eva Marie Saint, Parker Posey, Kal Penn, Sam Huntington, Kevin Spacey, Marlon Brando, Tristan Lake Leabu
Review: While Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) plots to destroy him once and for all, the Man of Steel (Brandon Routh) returns after a long absence to a much-changed world. Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) has moved on with her life, and society has learned to survive without him. Superman must find a way to reconnect with her and find his place in a world that may no longer need him.
Superman Returns is sort of enigmatic in that it technically takes place after Superman II (1980) but before Superman III (1983). This film is supposed to be watched as if Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) never happened. In that sense, it's an odd film because this film was released in 2006 with an entirely new crew of actors. The only remaining actor to feature in the this movie as well as the 1978 original is Marlon Brando, through the used of unused archive footage and CGI. While I think Brandon Routh did an exceptional job as the Man of Steel, even looking and sounding exactly like Christopher Reeve, I think this movie just seems to be a little disconnected if you're expecting this to be a continuation of the late '70s/80's film series. In that regard, I can see where people may be a little frustrated with this movie. But if you watch this with an open mind, and try to simply enjoy it as a stand alone film, I think it's actually an above average movie. It's a shame that a sequel never made it to production because I think this cast could have carved out a nice film series of their own. As I mentioned, I thought Routh did a great job in following in the footsteps of Reeve, with the latter's wife even remarking that Routh's physical resemblance to her late husband was striking. Kevin Spacey was also great as the always maniacal Lex Luthor. Spacey plays the roll convincingly with a sense of intense deviousness. I thought there was plenty of witty humor and some really heartfelt emotional scenes amidst Superman flying around doing Superman things. We see the Man of Steel take on everything from failed space shuttle launches, sinking yachts, to Lex Luthor himself. The movie did feel long with it's 2 hour and 34 minute runtime, but I didn't feel like it brought the movie down. All in all, I think this is a very underrated Superman movie, and I think many superhero and Superman fans ought to revisit this more than a decade later. In my opinion, Superman Returns is far and away better than the Superman films released by the DC Extended Universe in recent years. Take off your glasses, throw on your cape, and beware of kryptonite! Metropolis awaits!
Fun Fact: When Bryan Singer became interested in possibly hiring Brandon Routh, he arranged for them to meet in a coffee shop. When they met at their table, Routh stumbled and spilled hot coffee all over the table. Although he panicked, thinking he had just lost the part, Singer laughed and said it actually helped him get the part. The incident convinced Singer that Routh could pull off the clumsy, bumbling Clark Kent.