I've been a Superman fan since I was a kid. I read the comic books. I still love the 1940s Fleischer Bros. cartoons & I watched the 1950s TV series. I also liked the 1978 film Superman starring Christopher Reeve and directed by Richard Donner and also Superman II. In developing Superman Returns, Warner Bros. could have gone in a different direction with the character. At one time, they were going to produce a Kevin Smith script directed by Tim Burton and starring Nicolas Cage. But they got cold feet and eventually hired X-Men director Bryan Singer to direct what is essentially a copy of the 1978 film and even hired an unknown actor who resembles Christopher Reeve. Fans of Superman comics probably wanted something different but but this approach was probably better for general moviegoers.
Singer makes sure we know what their approach is right at the start of the film by giving us the ghost of Marlon Brando as Jor-El. Throw in the theme from the 1978 film by John Williams and cameos for Jack Larson & Noel Neill from the 50s TV series and it's pretty clear that Singer is invoking nostalgia. The basic plot is that Superman has disappeared for five years and returned to his boyhood home. It was great to see the legendary Eva Marie Saint as Martha Kent. He returns to Metropolis because arch enemy Lex Luthor was released from jail because Supes doesn't show up at his parole hearing. Clark Kent gets his old job back at the Daily Planet but things have changed for Lois Lane. She has a young son and a fiancee.
Of course this leads to Luthor hatching this wild plan to take over the United States by putting it under water. Well, he is an evil genius. Meanwhile, Lois obviously still holds a torch for Supes though she claims commitment to the fiancee. Yeah, right. I'm not giving anything away by telling you that Superman foils Luthor and saves the day but getting there is a lot of fun and that's why you should see the film. A lot of it is silly but the CGI effects in this version of Superman make a big difference over 1978. There have been some complaints about some of the scenes at the end but they're just setting up the sequel.
Like Christopher Reeve in 1978, Brandon Routh is an unknown playing Superman. He's fairly bland but Superman has always been a bland character anyway. Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane suffers somewhat in comparison to Margot Kidder in 1978. But I think both will improve as they get used to playing the characters. Expect Routh to have trouble doing anything but Superman. Kevin Spacey is very understated as Lex Luthor and I think he was a good choice. Also, Parker Posey is good as his girlfriend.
Superman Returns hasn't performed as well as expected at the box office. Bryan Singer has stated publicly that the ad campaign was poor. But he also said that he is close to signing to direct a sequel to be released in 2009. Warners has no complaint. They wanted a popcorn film and that's what Singer gave them. Though the film is somewhat silly, I enjoyed the ride and I especially liked the special effects and action scenes. Some of the other stuff didn't work as well. I think anyone who is a fan of the original 1978 film will like it as well and I hope the sequel takes Superman to another level now that the characters have been re-established.
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