After what has seemed an eternity in �development hell�, Bryan Singer was the man (and the right man as far as I�m concerned) to bring the man of steel back to the big screen. Those familiar with the troubled history of Warner Bros. efforts to bring back the franchise will have trembled before the prospect of Tim Burton�s typical gothic absurdity, with a capeless Nicholas Cage as Supes. Then we had the ugly possibility of Wolfgang Petersen�s Batman Vs Superman. After these attempts gloriously failed to get beyond pre-production a desperate flurry of directors like McG (Charlie�s Angels), Brett Ratner (Rush Hour) and even Michael bay (look for anything filled with explosions, cheese, and an ever-panning camera) were attached to the project, before a ray of sunshine broke through the clouds in the form of Mr Singer.
Bryan caused a lot of widespread gossip after suddenly departing the X-Men franchise to do Superman Returns, but this negative publicity soon turned into a mouth-watering prospect after realising his vision was to closely follow the well-loved Superman universe created by Richard Donner and build upon everything that worked for the old movies, and ditch everything that didn�t (namely Superman 3 and 4). Okay, enough of the history, onto the movie itself.
Superman Returns cleverly follows (but never accurately refers to) the events of Superman 2. Superman left the Earth to look for the possibility of some surviving fragments of his native planet Krypton. Unsuccessful, he returned to Earth after many years only to find a world that has learned to live without a Superman, with a free Lex Luthor and an engaged Lois Lane complete with son. True, the synopsis does not sound the most mouth-watering to a new, younger audience, and to the existing fanbase this seems like a wasted opportunity, but give it a chance. Singer has done an excellent job with what was a daunting task, to satisfy Warner Bros execs, an audience who already consider the Richard Donner vision the definitive Superman, and a new audience not familiar with the character. Casting was near spot-on, most notably newcomer Brandon Routh as Superman, this was dream casting, and Chris Reeve must be looking down with an approving smile. Kevin Spacey revells in his role as Lex Luthor, and a strong supporting cast including Sam Huntington, James Marsden and Parkey Posey round things off nicely. The only problem I have is with Kate Bosworth who seemed too much of a departure from Margot Kidder�s spunky Lois. Kate�s waif-like figure just didn�t seem quite right.
The action was sparse, but it delivered, most notably the awesome Aeroplane/Shuttle rescue. The ending left me a little cheated, and some scenes which should be quite operatic and grandiose seemed to lack a little punch - this is Superman for crying out loud! That criticism aside, Bryan has established an excellent base to continue the series, hopefully with new and exciting storylines that dare to push the boundaries of the onscreen Superman universe. He has a great cast with a wonderful Superman, and he has kept the elements that make you feel that this is the man of steel, including the rousing theme tune! The opening credits made me feel like a kid again.
I�ve read many a detailed review of this movie, some adore it, some were severely disappointed and some even spent the entire review desperately relating every possible aspect of the movie to the Bible. For me, personally, I think the movie is a success. |
