Superman Returns 3/5 reviewed by Mike

Let's be honest. Superman stories are hard to write. How do you develop tension and real conflict with a person who is completely invulnerable? The majority of average Superman stories deal with him having to just punch a little harder to defeat a stronger alien, or lift something just a little heavier than before, or something of that sort. The best Superman stories deal with complex themes that arise from alien beings of ultimate power--they deal with emotional inner struggles and morality, justice and truth in interesting ways. Unfortunately, Superman Returns belongs to the first category.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad film. And technically, it's quite, well, super. It's magestically directed by Bryan Singer, who has a keen eye for finding just the right camera angle to bring a fresh look to otherwise normal scenes. The effects are also superb. The whole film looks great and is fun to watch. The kids sitting the row behind me were transfixed the entire time.

For all it's technical greatness, this film really didn't impress me. That's mostly because the entire movie was giant "tip of the hat" to the 1978 Superman flick--down to repeating giant blocks of dialouge word for word. It's almost like Singer is sitting next to you while you're watching, going, "Hey, remember that part where Christopher Reeve said such and such? Wasn't that cool?" Yes, Bryan. You're a great director, but we've seen the 1978 film. It was a great film. In 1978. I'll admit, part of this is my fault. I expected (or maybe just really wanted) this movie to be for Superman what Batman Begins was for Batman: A reformed, relevant, modern tale of a classic hero for a new generation. Instead, it just seemed like a new chapter in the 70's version of the character--this film seems stuck in the past, all the way down to Lex Luthor being a kooky nutball. The first scene of the film is him swindling an old lady out of some cash. This is his big plan? This is the evil genius of Lex Luthor? Even his big, final plan, is nothing more than a glorified get-rich-quick land scandal. Superman himself is under-developed as well. Instead of epic acts of glory, he goes around stopping bank robberies and runaway cars. There's some really cool Christ-imagery hinted at, but it's not developed enough to be really moving.

I felt let down by these limiting takes on classic characters, who have matured and developed so much more than this in the books since '78--but the rest of the characters were equally shallow. I never felt like I knew Lois Lane, much less cared about what happened to her. I felt obligated to care for the characters, but never really did. I personally blame the stilted dialouge and the fact that almost everyone seems wierdly mis-cast. It pains me a bit to say that James Marsden (of X-Men fame) does perhaps the best acting job in the film. There's also a little bit of "Peter Jackson Syndrome" going on. This means that there's this endless anticlimax that goes on forever after the main conflict of the movie ends. The plot itself is fine enough, but has enough logic problems to keep the fanboys arguing for weeks. And, to be frankly honest, the subplot about Lois' kid nearly ruined the whole movie for me. Although there are individual scenes of greatness, there isn't much tying the film together into a cohesive whole.

All flaws aside, this is still an entertaining, well made film. It will please most of the fans, and it is genuinely better than most summer-movie drivel, and it definitely beats out most of the super hero gutter trash Hollywood keeps shoving at us. This movie isn't "Elektra" or "Fantastic Four" but it also isn't "Spiderman." It's biggest problem is that it was not at all what I expected or wanted a Superman film to be. I have a hard time describing the movie without using the words, "underwhelming" and "generic." I will emphasize the "I," because some people will love this film, and give it an enthusiastic "4." If you want to relive what seeing the original Superman movie was when you were a kid, then you will love this movie. If you want a fresh, mature, new take on the Man of Steel, you're better off watching Bruce Timm's animated version. If you're like me, you'll get a kick out of watching the sweet effects--and halfway through have a burning desire to go watch Batman Begins instead.