3/4 stars
Superman Returns makes a solid effort to recapture the spirit of the original Superman movies. This is most clear in the film’s casting, where the performances are largely imitative of the original actors. It all makes for a conscious and deliberate attempt at producing a theoretical reconstruction of what a Superman 5 could have been had it been made back when Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, and Gene Hackman were in their prime. And it mostly succeeds.
Kevin Spacey, in particular, fills in Hackman’s shoes as Lex Luthor remarkably well. Spacey doesn’t stoop to parody, but makes the role his own while keeping Hackman’s mannerisms and tone largely intact. What he does best is recapturing the narcissism of the character. He portrays arrogance and indifference to humanity a bit more convincing than Hackman did, but he is not as charming or funny. Their respective performances complement each other, broadening Luthor as a character, while each puts their own spin on him.
Among the more minor characters like Jimmy Olsen and Perry White, the recasts involve performances so spot on in imitation that there isn’t much to say about them if you had seen the previous movies. Sam Huntington is the spitting image of Marc McClure as Olsen, aside from being slightly more animated than McClure was. Frank Langella meanwhile plays White exactly as I remembered him when Jackie Cooper played him.
Brandon Routh as Superman, however, is a bit of a mixed bag. He has the right build for Superman, square jaw and everything. But, Routh’s performance as Superman is a trifle dull. He has the physicality of the character down, but not quite the personality. As Clark Kent, he is a bit better, although his imitation of Reeve’s winsome mannerisms boil down to mere mimicry. Reeve’s behavior as Kent was more charming and believable than Routh’s which is flat at times and doesn’t command as much attention.
Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane is the most transformative of all the performances in Superman Returns. Margot Kidder was more charismatic and more fun than Bosworth, but Bosworth adds a level of maturity and emotion to the role that Kidder didn’t quite capture. Of all the recasts Kate Bosworth is the least convincing as a continuation of the character in the originals, but she is better written.
The film opens with a bit of expository text saying that Superman had left Earth some time ago – later revealed to have been five years – after learning that scientists had discovered Krypton, his homeworld. He had flown off to go find it, but the movie never quite makes it clear what he intended to do when he got there. When he returns he says the planet was completely barren of life and that he truly is the last of his race. Would he have stayed if he found living Kryptonians there? Superman never says.
What makes for a point of contention with his friends and family is that he never said goodbye to anyone when he left. Lois is still angry with him and we discover that in his absence she had written an article for the Daily Planet called Why the World Doesn’t Need Superman which earned her a Pulitzer for journalism. The contents of the article are not specified other than that Lois began to feel that the Earth’s reliance on a godlike savior was not in the people of Earth’s best interest. She later expresses some regret for writing it, although she obviously keeps the Pulitzer. I know I would have.
Clark Kent, speaking for Superman, tells Lois that perhaps the reason he had not said goodbye is because it was too painful for him. I find this flimsy at best. It’s not a strong and emotionally detailed explanation and I couldn’t but wonder about his poor mother, Martha. The old woman spent five years wondering if Clark was dead and I don’t think avoiding a painful goodbye justifies putting one’s widowed mother through that.
When he comes home he finds a lot of things have happened since he was gone. Lois is with a new partner (James Marsden) and she now has a son. The revelations of what Clark had missed while he was gone suggests that Superman was mistaken in thinking that his kinship with Krypton was more important than the relationships he had on Earth. The theme is not dealt with explicitly, but these events say something about what family really means. Family is not always blood.
Luthor, meanwhile, is involved in a plot to raise a new continent from the sea where he would be its absolute ruler. That’s good old Lex for ya. After acquiring several of the same Kryptonian crystals used to build the Fortress of Solitude – Superman’s base in the North Pole – Lex wants to use them in a similar way to create a new landmass in the Atlantic. The only problem is such an event would eliminate much of the American east coast and even destroy parts of northern Africa. Naturally, Luthor doesn’t care. But the return of Superman won’t make this easy.
Superman Returns is a breath of fresh air. It’s story is solid and ends the series on a poignant note. Director Bryan Singer, who had given new life to X-Men a few years prior, salvages the Superman series from the dimwitted dreck that characterized the earlier sequels. It is certainly the second best film in the series after the first one.
It’s only weak points are the occasional pale imitations made by some of the cast and I have some reservations about its visual treatment of Superman. In the original movies when Superman was flying and saving the world he was the central focus of the camera. He soared gloriously with each shot good enough to hang on a wall. But, by 2006 Superman in flight is achieved through CGI which was still a bit primitive at the time. To avoid these problems Superman is often shot from a distance or in shadow, obscuring a clear view of him. When he flies he zips past the screen quickly instead of letting the camera remain fixed on him like in the original movies. My favorite parts of the older films were when Superman would fly toward the screen, his fist thrust forward heroically as John Williams’ classic score heightened the excitement. That is sadly lacking here most of the time and I missed it. This movie was made in a time when CGI objects would move at high speeds to disguise the fakeness of the special effects. The older filmmakers, however, didn’t balk at the matte lines and obvious super-imposures the flying scenes entailed and they were better for it.
As throwbacks go, Superman Returns is satisfying and a joy to watch. The series at the time was in sore need of revitalization and Singer delivers. Binge-watching the series has altered the experience a bit, but in 2006 this movie was like revisiting an old friend and it was a happy reunion.
Director: Bryan Singer
Writers: Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris, Bryan Singer
Producers: Jon Peters, Bryan Singer, Gilbert Adler, Loren Orleans (IMAX version), William Fay, Chris Lee, Scott Mednick, Thomas Tull, Stephen Jones
Cast: Brandon Routh (Superman/Clark Kent), Kate Bosworth (Lois Lane), Kevin Spacey (Lex Luthor), James Marsden (Richard White), Parker Posey (Kitty Kowalski), Frank Langella (Perry White), Sam Huntington (Jimmy Olsen), Eva Marie Saint (Martha Kent), Marlon Brando (Jor-El [archival footage])
Composer: John Ottman
Cinematographer: Newton Thomas Sigel
Editors: Elliot Graham, John Ottman
Perspectives on Film 