Superman Returns (2006)

 

After the pretty dismal 'Superman IV: The Quest for Peace', it seemed as though there wasn't that much life left in the Man of Steel, at least for cinematic purposes. However, on television, it did seem to work. On the hand hand there was the more goofy 'The Adventures of Lois & Clark' and eventually the more serious 'Smallville'. It seemed the time was right to bring Superman back to the big screen. When it was announced that Bryan Singer would helm this project, it seemed even better, especially considering what he originally did with the X-Men franchise.

Well, he tried. But ultimately did not deliver what could have been so much better. 

Superman has been gone for 5 years, because astronomers claimed to have discovered the remnants of Krypton, so he had to go see for himself if there was still anything left. 

Big shock: no. 

Things certainly changed while he was away: Lois Lane is now a mom and Lex Luthor managed to get out of prison and trick a wealthy dying woman into parting with all her money. Luthor then proceeds to steal crystals from the Fortress of Solitude in order to hatch a diabolical scheme of creating a new continent. 

Yes, it is as convoluted as it sounds. 

Cue the struggle of brains versus brawn, as Luthor infuses the crystals with kryptonite, thus making sure Superman is pretty helpless, even if it doesn't stop him from eventually lifting the entire island up into space. I never quite knew kryptonite was so picky about when it influences Superman's powers, but hey. 

There is some good stuff here. They pick up right where the second one left off, and they did try everything in order to make that work. So there are a lot of callbacks, nudges and winks to the first two. Of course, even a blind person could see from the start that Lois' child is also Superman's and the revelation that this is the case is hardly a revelation at all. The pose that mimics the very first comic is a nice touch and the action sequence with the airplane early on is truly exhilarating. Castingwise, they made a good choice with Brandon Routh, as he does his very best with the lines he is given. Also, Kevin Spacey is channeling his inner Gene Hackman and goes fairly close to the original Luthor, albeit a little more shouty.

But then this film has myriads of problems. See, all those winks, nudges and callbacks are fun for the fans, but don't really add all that much to a flimsy story. Heck, Luthor's plot is literally a rehash of the first Superman. It all feels like too much of an ode to it all and somehow, somewhere, they forgot the excitement and wonder that the older films did bring. Heck, they even forgot most of the fun, as this is played pretty darn seriously. I have no idea why, it is after all a story about a flying alien that wears his undies on the outside. 

Yes, of course I'm being harsher than I should be. We like our superheroes just fine, thank you very much. But not the tepid story they get thrown into. 

True, if they tried something new, they would have probably been crucified by the fans. But by sticking too close to what has already been done and leaving out the fun part, this is just a very boring film. The ariplane sequel is great, but it comes so early and there never is anything on the same level after that. Heck, you get pumped at the opening titles, as they are a carbon-copy of the original ones, with that epic John Wiliams' tune. 

Ultimately, 'Superman Returns' is a very forgettable film and not up to the standards of the Man of Steel. Heck, if III and IV are more fun and more memorable, you are not doing it right.