Superman Returns

This was another surprising one for me, since I was not much of a fan of the Christopher Reeve Superman films, which meant well, but I felt were a too cartoony to where I couldn't care about the story of those films. This one, on the other hand, felt like a much more realistic take on the Reeve based Superman story and I was very invested in where it was going.

The plot is about Superman, played by Brandon Routh, coming back to Earth after leaving it for five years to search for the remains of Krypton. When he returns, he reconnects with Lois Lane, played by Kate Bosworth, who is now engaged and has a young son, and he once again has to contend with the evil machinations of Lex Luthor, played by Kevin Spacey. This film was more about the character moments and how Christopher Reeve's Superman would translate to today's world, or, well, the world of 2006, I guess. The action scenes were amazing, full of spectacle and danger and I was on the edge of my seat, especially when Superman rescued a plane from crashing, which was very scary to see unfold, but it was a triumphant return to the character.

Brandon Routh was cast in the role because he looked a lot like Christopher Reeve and the resemblance is honestly uncanny. Even his impressions of both Clark and Superman bring Reeve to mind. Lex Luthor was a lot more despicable this time and he felt more like a threat to Superman than Gene Hackman's ever did, especially in the climactic scenes of the movie.

Overall, if you like, or at the very least, understand the appeal of the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, there is a lot to like here, as this takes that story and moves it in a darker and more dramatic direction, which I think largely worked and it's a shame this film never was followed up due to low sales.

Next time, we go into the supernatural side of the superhero world, with demons, deals with the devil, and daredevil motorcyclists. Will this direction provide a new view of superheroes? Find out when I review Ghost Rider.

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