Weekly Review -- Superman weekend

Superman Returns (2006) -- Bryan Singer had brought the colorful world of the X-Men to the silver screen in 2000 and 2003. Now he has taken on Superman, with similarly excellent results.


**POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD**


The film starts off with Superman (Brandon Routh) returning to Earth, five years after he had gone to search for what astronomers thought were the remains of his home planet, Krypton. After his alter ego, Clark Kent, returns to Metropolis, he finds some things have changed. Superman's former flame Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) is engaged with a child, while his nemesis Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) has escaped from prison. Of course, Luthor does not just sit idly by and is ready to start preparing another bid to conquer the world...

Like the X-Men films, this film has a heart. Singer develops the story patiently, paying attention to the characters' emotional struggles and relationships. I found Routh to be a great choice for Superman. I would hate to compare him to Christopher Reeve, since he is inevitably getting that comparison all the time -- honouring as it is, he cannot be Reeve throughout his career -- but I will say that he has the same kind of twinkle in his eye as Superman and the same lovable klutz aura as Clark Kent, while bringing to the role his own charm and ingenuity. Contrary to many reviewers, I thought Bosworth made for a disarming and spunky Lois Lane, although she is too young to be believable as a mother. Spacey was a very good, bizarrely entertaining Lex Luthor, and it was fun to see his exchanges with Bosworth after having seen Beyond the Sea.

There were a couple of pointless things, though. The beating near the end was enough to make me glance at my watch. It was unnecessary and too violent for this kind of fantasy film, and it went on and on. The parts with the dogs were cruel and ridiculous. All these parts are enough, in my opinion, to make the film inappropriate for children. I did not appreciate the blatant political correctness of the anti-smoking commercial within the film, either. Another thing is -- do we really need to see Superman in the emergency room? I found that this scene did not fit into the Superman backstory at all.

Superman Returns is a satisfying comic book adaptation, with a fun directorial style, good cast and new kind of story. There are a couple of negative aspects, but it is enjoyable overall and a good revival of the franchise.

8/10