A Triumphant Return
Published by Pyrofenix under entertainment on July 11, 2006
I went to see Superman Returns over the weekend, a week after it’s opening. A trait I started last year the usually lends itself to me owning both arm rests as well as a lesser chance of annoyances in the row behind me. I walked into the theater just as the initial commercials before the previews were finishing. Perfect timining. From the glow of the screen I found myself a seat right in the middle of the theater and found that their were plenty of seats available - I counted only 12 people waiting for the flowing cape to make it’s return.
Christopher Reeve is Superman to me. No one will ever replace him for me, but with that being said, Brandon Routh LOOKS like superman. It’s actually kinda eerie how he reminds me of Christopher Reeve in his Clark Kent get-up. Looks are one thing, but his performance seems a bit flat at times.
Some of the supporting characters didn’t have the same stoic performances as Routh. In fact, I’ve read that people were saying that Kevin Spacey played Lex Luthor too ‘over the top’ to which I completely disagree. First of all, this isn’t a movie set in reality - Lex Luthor isn’t supposed to be a normal criminal and Spacey did it excellently without playing it the way Gene Hackman did. Lois Lane was a tough one for me. I mean, she is much more attractive in my opinion than Margo Kidder was but they shared a tough natured reporter shell to them. Yet, Kate Bosworth had a definate softer side to her that wasn’t as evident in the first film. This is natural though as Lois is now engaged and has a child. What woman wouldn’t soften up her toughness a little bit with a 5 year old boy of her own?
The movie is long, running at just over 2 and a half hours but not once did I feel boredom set in nor did I ever wonder how much longer was left. The movie is completely entertaining and I was transported back to my childhood as I watched the original Superman movie on VHS over and over.
Bryan Singer put together another winner in the comic genre after building the X-men franchise and I hope he sticks around for a second round with this series. The effects are top of the line as one would expect of a movie pushing toward the $300 million mark but the story has more to sell it than just what was done inside a computer, the story has great heart.
