[7]
Brandon Routh dons the cape and tights to play Superman and his alter-ego, Clark Kent, in this film that’s pretty much a direct sequel to 1981’s Superman II. The film picks up five years after Superman left Earth to see if he could find any remnants of Krypton or its extinct civilization. He returns to learn Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) won a Pulitzer for her piece, “Why We Don’t Need Superman”, that she’s engaged (to James Marsden), and most importantly — she now has a little boy named Jason (Tristan Lake Leabu). As Clark tries to fit into this new scenario, he learns that people really do still need Superman — especially when Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) gets out of prison on a technicality and hatches a deadly new scheme.
Superman Returns is directed by Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, Valkyrie), whose grounded, more realistic approach to the first two X-Men movies is felt here. The relationship between Superman and Lois is strong and engaging, complicated by the fact that they still have feelings for each other, even though Lois has clearly moved on and started a happy family. The film’s emotional climax (spoiler alert) is the revelation that young Jason is actually Superman’s child. It’s a bittersweet moment since the opportunity for Superman and Lois to be together has truly passed, but it’s also a rewarding one — giving Clark a true sense of belonging that his years-long search for Krypton couldn’t satisfy.
While the character dilemmas and subtext of Superman Returns work very well for me, the plot is unfortunately much less interesting. The casting of Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor is boring and uninspired. In fact, the inclusion of Lex Luthor in this film is probably one of its biggest mistakes. Spacey can’t compete with Gene Hackman’s charismatic portrayal of the character from the 1978 and 1981 films, and screenwriters Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris have him doing the exact same thing he did in the ’78 film — violently destroying land to create new real estate. As rich as the internal workings of the script are, the surrounding plot is surprisingly unremarkable.
Brandon Routh gives a commendable performance that is clearly an homage to Christopher Reeve’s portrayal. Kate Bosworth doesn’t hurt the movie, but she doesn’t come close to capturing the fiery spirit Margot Kidder gave Lois Lane. The supporting cast, including Marsden, Frank Langella as Daily Planet editor Perry White, and Sam Huntington as Jimmy Olsen, are good. It’s great to see Parker Posey as Luthor’s conflicted, right-hand gal, even if she’s restrained from reaching her full potential.
Singer is slavish to the style and tone of Richard Donner’s Superman films. John Ottman’s score incorporates John Williams’ well-established themes and Marlon Brando even reprises his role as Superman’s father, Jor-El, in archival footage. Some feel this is an unnecessary anchor around the film’s neck, but if you love those Donner films as much as I do, you’re likely to appreciate a lot about Superman Returns. The film’s a little light on memorable action sequences, but Superman’s rescue of a crashing passenger plane is a standout. Even though Lex Luthor’s real estate antics make for pretty stale storytelling, the film’s heart is in the right place, capturing the characters of Clark and Lois better than any Superman film since.
With Kal Penn, Noel Neill (the ’50s Adventures of Superman TV show), and Eva Marie Saint as Martha Kent.
NOTE: Since Bryan Singer’s drug use and sexual predation have come to light, it’s also becoming clear that he needed a lot of help directing his films. He frequently wouldn’t even show up for work. Editor/composer John Ottman and cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel went above and beyond in his absence to pull his films together. They, and possibly many others, deserve more credit than they contractually received.
Oscar Nomination: Best Visual Effects