Superman Returns
The road back to the theater has been a long one for Superman. In the comic books he was finally married to Lois Lane. Then he died, killed by some strange alien being named Doomsday. Then, somehow, he came back. When it came to the movie franchise it bounced from one director to another. Not long ago, I was at a special screening of a movie by Kevin Smith known as “Chasing Amy.” Kevin was there and he talked about how he was doing a draft of the new Superman movie. Then Tim Burton was rumored to be the director. For some reason Nicholas Cage was once rumored to be the new Superman. I even remember hearing there was a Batman versus Superman movie in the works.
Wisely, the new movie decides to pick up the storyline after “Superman II.” It mercifully ignores “Superman III” and “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.” It stars a young man by the name of Brandon Routh who will now find himself a superstar. He bears a freakish resemblance to Christopher Reeve and, when he speaks, he sounds freakishly like him as well. The movie is written and directed by Bryan Singer, the man who brought the X-Men franchise to the screen. Then there’s Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor.
I like Kevin Spacey. I have since I first saw “The Usual Suspects” and “Se7en.” He has made a few missteps since then, however. I am glad to say that he is back in true form without a trace of “K-Pax” to be seen. His Lex Luthor may even be better than the comedic version portrayed by Gene Hackman in the first two movies. He brings the right intensity and menace to the role. This is a Lex Luthor that is truly a worthy adversary to the most powerful being on the planet. I am just not so sure about his plot this time around.
The plot is that shortly after the second movie some astronomers spot what they think is the remnants of the planet Krypton. Superman decides he needs to fly out there to find out if there is anything left of his homeworld. He is gone five years and now he is back. He once again crashes in some kind of crystal ship in the backyard of his mother, Martha Kent. This has to make you wonder about the crops grown there in Smallville and what it would be like to have your son come home and, every time he does, he sets the fields on fire.
Things have changed in the time he was gone. Lois has a new man and she has a son. Lois is also about to receive the Pulitzer Prize for an article she wrote about why the world doesn’t need a Superman. Then Lex Luthor steals some of those crystals Superman always used for his Fortress of Solitude and gets this idea that by dumping them into the ocean a new continent will rise up. Yes, this will cause the death of billions thanks to flooding, including wiping out most of North America, but it will also give him lots of prime waterfront property.
There’s one problem with this theory, I figure. Do you remember Superman’s Fortress of Solitude? All crystals and snow and hard surfaces and sharp edges? That must be first-rate decorations on Krypton but it doesn’t really look very hospitable for humans. The continent that rises is hardly the kind of place anyone would want to buy a summer home.
The movie is very entertaining. I am glad it was made. I am glad that Superman is back on the screen and the franchise is resurrected. I hope they make a sequel. I was entertained for over two hours and I do recommend the movie. I say that because I want to point out a couple of flaws.
The first is there is just something missing in this movie. Maybe it is because this movie has a definite darker, grimmer tone than the other Superman movies. I don’t know for sure if that is the reason I just felt like there was something off with this movie. I have been thinking about it since last night when I saw it and I cannot point to one thing and use that as an explanation as to why I felt that this movie was just a little “off.” There was just something missing from this movie that was there in the Christopher Reeve versions. I can’t fully explain it.
The second is that this is another of those movies that just doesn’t quite seem to know when to end. It seems to go on and on and on. There are so many loose ends to try and tie up and it spends forever trying to tie them up. For example, there is a sub-plot over the paternity of Lois’ son. The movie seems to linger there and linger there a lot.
The third is that there are a lot of scenes that seem to go on too long. There is a scene at the end when it seems Lex Luthor has the upper hand. Superman is in trouble. He ends up in the water and, for various reasons, is actually in real trouble of drowning. There are way too many scenes of Superman slowly floating underwater. I wanted to shout, “okay, I get it! He’s in trouble! Let’s move on!”
That being said the special effects are amazing. There is an opening scene involving and airplane that is fantastic. The action scenes are great. There’s another scene involving a machine gun versus Superman moment that also brought chills to my spine.
Go see the movie. I promise you will enjoy it. The performances are all excellent. It’s worth seeing and you should really see this on a big screen. It is playing in some IMAX theaters and I would even recommend seeing it on one of those screens.
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One of the cool things about this movie is that it comes with the teaser trailer for “Spider-man 3.” Looks like Spidey is facing off against Venom and the Sandman. Gwen Stacy is in this one too. Interesting note, they hired Bryce Dallas Howard (“The Village”) to play the blond-haired Gwen Stacy. She is a natural red-head. Then, for some reason, they have Kirsten Dunst (a blond) to play the red-headed Mary Jane Watson.
For a teaser trailer this one shows a lot. For a real teaser, look online for the “Transformers” movie directed by Michael Bay. Just teases you enough to make you want to see more.
