Is Brandon Routh convincing as the new Superman? After nearly thirty years since Richard Donner's original Superman movie in 1978, director Bryan Singer attempts to revive the first superhero that hit theatres. Of course, Singer had two different audiences to please: the young audience that expected great special effects and entertaining characters, and the audience that grew up with the super hero and anticipated a film just as great as when Christopher Reeve played Superman. Singer definitely had some challenges ahead of him, but overall Superman Returns passed with approving nods.
Superman Returns not only refers to the character's return to the theatres, but also his return to Metropolis after disappearing for the last five years. After unsuccessfully finding his home planet Krypton, Superman is able to get his old job back at the Daily Planet to discover many things have changed. His love interest, Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth from Win a Date With Tad Hamilton! [2004]), is engaged to the editor's nephew, Richard (James Marsden from X-Men [2000]) and has a five-year-old son, Jason (Tristan Leabu). She's about to receive a Pulitzer for an editorial titled "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman."
And Lex Luthor was released from prison after Superman's failure to show up in court. Since then, he married a wealthy elder woman who left him all her possessions before she died. Now that Superman has returned, Lex discovers how to use Superman's powers against him.
The story of Superman Returns is more like a continuation of Superman's life. Therefore, what needs to be analyzed are the actors that replaced the original cast. And considering all these characters are taking the place of icons, there is always room for criticism. Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane was a bit disappointing. She couldn't completely grasp the audience's attention as the love interest for Superman. The chemistry between them was hardly convincing, and Bosworth's acting wasn't tough enough to represent the feisty Lois we all expect. Frankly, Bosworth just didn't seem like she'd be a person to win a Pulitzer.
Kevin Spacey, on the other hand, was a great choice to play Lex Luthor. He created an entirely new villain, both comical and ruthless. In some ways, he reminded me of Dr. Evil from Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), although I'm unsure if this was intentional. His wry humor and perfectly matching sidekick, Kitty Kowalski (Parker Posey), made an ingenious combination.
But I'm somewhat on the fence whether or not Brandon Routh was a convincing Superman. Routh successfully portrayed Clark Kent's vulnerability as he reacquaints himself with Lois after five years of being apart. He's definitely a good copy of Reeve - tall, handsome, and sincere. But there was something missing that made Superman incomplete. Although he effectively imitated Superman's persona, Routh was too restrained to create any genuine character of his own. There was no defining personality that made Routh different from every other Superman. Sure, he looked just like Superman, but that wasn't enough for me.
Kristin's Grade: C+
Director: Bryan Singer
Screenwriter: Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris
Based on: DC Comics
Genre: Action / Adventure / Science-Fiction
Running Time: 154 minutes
Rated: PG-13 (for some intense action violence)
