SUPERMAN RETURNS
And boy, has he! Forget SUPERMAN III (we'll draw a merciful shroud over the bolus that was SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE) -- this is most definitely the third movie in the series, from the lookalike titles to the many, many homages ("How many Fs in catastrophe?"), to the fact that if you close your eyes and listen to Brandon Routh as Clark Kent, you'd swear you were listening to Christopher Reeve.
But SUPERMAN RETURNS isn't a cookie-cutter duplicate of its predecessors by a long shot -- the new Superman is more nuanced, and has to deal with complex issues such as dealing with a scorned lover who's moved on and a world that's learned how to live without a costumed superhero. And this has happened because Superman's spent the last five years in space chasing down the remnants of the planet Krypton; by the time he returns to Earth, he learns that Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) had a child in his absence and is now engaged to Perry White's nephew (played by James Marsden, and now we know why Cyclops only had a cameo in X-Men III). Meanwhile, Lex Luthor (played with delicious menace by Kevin Spacey) parlayed his early exit from jail and new fortune from his now-dead heiress wife into more plans for world domination, this time using crystals stolen from the Fortress of Solitude and a big ol' hunk of kryptonite. Angst, rejection, conflicted love, giant crystalline islands rising from the ocean -- man, it just doesn't get any better than this.
Right off the bat, the casting was brilliant -- as well as having a wonderful voice and killer blue eyes, Routh conveys all three aspects of the lead character -- Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman -- in a way that reveals both the underlying strength and the bittersweet loneliness of this alien far from home. I'm still a little dubious about Kate Bosworth's hairdo (that forehead really needs bangs), but her characterization of Lois was spot on -- strong, smart, hurt as hell about Superman's disappearance, conflicted about his return versus her relationship with Jack White, and very, very protective of her son. And Spacey -- oh, Christ, just give the man another Oscar, already. He managed to out-Hackman Gene Hackman without once lapsing into parody or making Luthor anything less than what he is -- a brilliant, deadly criminal. Absolutely lovely.
In addition to the well-placed homages, muting the cartoon colors of Superman's costume into jewel tones and using just enough CGI to give us the sense that Superman really IS flying, director Bryan Singer also did something very, very smart -- he used the original theme music from the 1978 movie, and the moment I heard that first trumpet call I had goosebumps all over. SUPERMAN RETURNS isn't so much an update as it is an organic continuation of SUPERMAN II, reminding us that truth, justice and the American way is still a possibility even in this cynical day and age.
Speaking of organic continuations, yes, there is a twist that astute moviegoers will probably be able to guess right off the bat, but I'll put money on it that you'll be cheering when it's revealed. I can't wait for the sequel.
But SUPERMAN RETURNS isn't a cookie-cutter duplicate of its predecessors by a long shot -- the new Superman is more nuanced, and has to deal with complex issues such as dealing with a scorned lover who's moved on and a world that's learned how to live without a costumed superhero. And this has happened because Superman's spent the last five years in space chasing down the remnants of the planet Krypton; by the time he returns to Earth, he learns that Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) had a child in his absence and is now engaged to Perry White's nephew (played by James Marsden, and now we know why Cyclops only had a cameo in X-Men III). Meanwhile, Lex Luthor (played with delicious menace by Kevin Spacey) parlayed his early exit from jail and new fortune from his now-dead heiress wife into more plans for world domination, this time using crystals stolen from the Fortress of Solitude and a big ol' hunk of kryptonite. Angst, rejection, conflicted love, giant crystalline islands rising from the ocean -- man, it just doesn't get any better than this.
Right off the bat, the casting was brilliant -- as well as having a wonderful voice and killer blue eyes, Routh conveys all three aspects of the lead character -- Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman -- in a way that reveals both the underlying strength and the bittersweet loneliness of this alien far from home. I'm still a little dubious about Kate Bosworth's hairdo (that forehead really needs bangs), but her characterization of Lois was spot on -- strong, smart, hurt as hell about Superman's disappearance, conflicted about his return versus her relationship with Jack White, and very, very protective of her son. And Spacey -- oh, Christ, just give the man another Oscar, already. He managed to out-Hackman Gene Hackman without once lapsing into parody or making Luthor anything less than what he is -- a brilliant, deadly criminal. Absolutely lovely.
In addition to the well-placed homages, muting the cartoon colors of Superman's costume into jewel tones and using just enough CGI to give us the sense that Superman really IS flying, director Bryan Singer also did something very, very smart -- he used the original theme music from the 1978 movie, and the moment I heard that first trumpet call I had goosebumps all over. SUPERMAN RETURNS isn't so much an update as it is an organic continuation of SUPERMAN II, reminding us that truth, justice and the American way is still a possibility even in this cynical day and age.
Speaking of organic continuations, yes, there is a twist that astute moviegoers will probably be able to guess right off the bat, but I'll put money on it that you'll be cheering when it's revealed. I can't wait for the sequel.