Superman Returns Review (MovieMantz)

Faster than a speeding film projector! More powerful than a major Hollywood studio! Able to break box office records in a single weekend! Look up on the big screen! It’s Tom Cruise… it’s Johnny Depp… no, it’s “Superman Returns”!

That’s right, fellow movie lovers! Nineteen years after the last son of Krypton flew off into the cinematic sunset with “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace,” and after more than a decade of development kryptonite, during which time various filmmakers like Tim Burton, Kevin Smith and Brett Ratner failed to resurrect the once-super hero franchise, the DC Comics icon created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster back in 1938 is finally up, up and away and back on the big screen.

But the real question is, does the big screen still need Superman? Let’s not forget that in the years since 1978, when the first Richard Donner-directed “Superman” basically ushered in the era of modern comic book movies, other superhero franchises like “Spider-Man,” “The X-Men” and “Batman” swooped in to grab the box office and re-write the book on how movies like these should be done. Besides, Superman, or rather his altar-ego, Clark Kent, is doing just fine on the small screen with “Smallville,” which is now in its fifth season.

But in an effort to do for the Man of Steel what last year’s “Batman Begins” did for the Dark Knight, Warner Bros. gave the keys to the kingdom to director Bryan Singer, whose critical and commercial success with the first two “X-Men” films proved that he was the right man for the job (and how ironic that Brett Ratner, who was supposed to direct “Superman” at one point, stepped into Singer’s shoes to direct the third “X-Men”). But resurrecting an iconic franchise can be a lot harder than starting one from scratch, and even an experienced director like Singer must have felt some pressure to deliver the goods on a highly anticipated summer tentpole that carried a reported budget of around $300 million.

So after all that anticipation, the good news is that “Superman Returns” is a very good movie — it’s not super, but it’s definitely good. It’s exciting and emotionally engaging, and Singer’s clever approach to link it to the original films by incorporating John Williams’ original theme music, familiar dialogue and unused footage of Marlon Brando will surely give longtime fans the chills. But by relying too heavily on references to the first two classic films, it invites comparisons that it simply cannot live up to. And with a running time of 2 1/2 hours (making it the longest “Superman” yet), it doesn’t exactly move faster than a speeding bullet.

In the film, Kal-El, a.k.a. Superman (Brandon Routh), comes back to earth after a 5-year absence, during which time the people of Metropolis have moved on without him — particularly Daily Planet star reporter Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth), who now has a young son and is engaged to the editor’s nephew (James Marsden, who played Cyclops in the “X-Men” films). But when his arch-enemy Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) once again displays his affinity for beachfront property with a plan that will kill billions of innocent civilians, Superman must face his greatest challenge yet while at the same time trying to win back the trust of the people and the heart of the woman he loves.

The film takes full advantage of today’s special effects with some visually stunning moments — particularly early on, when Superman saves a passenger jet carrying Lois Lane from crashing into a baseball stadium — but make no mistake; “Superman Returns” is a love story first and an action movie second. In fact, it might be too much of a chick flick, since there’s not enough action and the film drags to a somewhat anticlimactic conclusion, but the end result is a more sensitive and emotionally vulnerable Superman than we’ve seen before.

And while newcomer Brandon Routh does a fine job of filling Superman’s upgraded red-and-blue tights, his performance is just not as dynamic as the one given by the late great Christopher Reeve. That’s because he’s got the look, but he doesn’t have the magic touch. Reeve was charming as the bumbling, clumsy Clark Kent, and he had that irresistible twinkle in his eye as Superman, but Routh, while passable, comes across as a bit stiff in both parts.

Kate Bosworth fares better as the lovelorn Lois Lane, if only because Margot Kidder’s shoes weren’t as big to fill. But where Gene Hackman effortlessly played Lex Luthor as the type of villain you love to hate, Kevin Spacey tries too hard to steal his scenes with a darker and more physically violent version of Superman’s arch-enemy (particularly during one brutal scene, where Superman is beaten to within an inch of his life). Parker Posey provides some comic relief in what is basically a retread of the Miss Teschmacher role that Valerie Perrine played in the first two films, while Frank Langella plays a more level-headed version of Perry White, who Jackie Cooper played so well in the early movies.

Despite numerous references to the original films (perhaps too many), director Bryan Singer (who also co-wrote the story with screenplay writers Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris) leaves his own unmistakable imprint on “Superman Returns.” Just like he did with the mutants in the “X-Men” movies, Singer depicts Superman as an outcast who’s still trying to come to terms with who he is and where he belongs. That’s where Singer is more overt with the religious allegories that have long been linked to Superman, as the symbolic references to sacrifice, death and resurrection are hard to ignore.

So getting back to the question, does the big screen still need Superman? The answer, of course, is a resounding yes. It may take itself a little too seriously, and the love story tends to overwhelm the gee-whiz fun that the film needed more of, but Superman is finally back on the big screen, and really, that’s all that matters. And since “Superman Returns” leaves the door open for a sequel (and maybe even a spin-off), it looks like he’ll be fighting for truth, justice and all that other stuff for many years to come.

— Scott Mantz