Finally, A Comic Book Movie that Doesn't Start At the Beginning...

So, thanks to the ever awesome Byalick, Irene and I were lucky enough to see SUPERMAN RETURNS last night. While waiting to get in, we ran into Evan, who had seen the earlier press screening. The movie made him cry, twice no less, which already made me somewhat suspicious. But anyhow. Once we got our seats through the larger than usual clusterfuck, we sat down, popcorn and Junior Mints in hand, and checked out probably one of the most anticipated movies of the year (for me at least).

Now, I knew this was going to directly reference the first two Christopher Reeves movies, but I didn't realize how much it would! This movie really is the third Superman movie as it references the first two films quite a bit. Even the credit sequence is an updated version of the earlier films. Anyhow, you don't have to be well-versed in the Superman mythology to enjoy this film. Let me also add that I think Bryan Singer is a genius and while I wish he had done X3 (and he might have had Fox waited for him to do this, but what do they care, theyre laughing all the way to the bank thanks to Ratner's half ass movie), I'm really glad he directed this film because I don't think anyone could have done a better job.

I'm not going to give much away, but it's a REALLY good film. I loved it less for the story but because it hit all the right beats, emotional moments and stayed more than respectful to the comics and mythology that came before. To me, it's less a movie than it is a love letter to an iconic character and his world. And while the movie isn't perfect by any means, it works well and is a lot of fun. Brandon Routh who plays Superman is awesome and carries the whole thing perfectly. After watching this, I can see why the ladies would want to mouth the Routh. Serial. He plays Superman and Clark Kent perfectly. Spacey of course is awesome and Kate Bosworth is good as well, not great, but I was expecting Katie Holmes BATMAN BEGINS level of wackness and she is way above that here. Also the little kid who plays her son is directed to be a real kid as opposed to some whiny little snot kid like so many other movies do and that helps tremendously, especially in the most dramatic situations this kid finds himself in.

Irene would kill me if I didn't mention her idol, Parker Posey, who plays Lex Luthor's moll, and does really well here. Normally, I would find this kind of character annoying as fuck, but she's funny, handled it well and kudos to the writers and director for actually giving her a REASON for being in the movie. Which is key here. Also, Cyclops is in it, once again being the guy who has the girl, but doesn't, and he kinda doesn't suck here either cause like Parker's character, he has a reason for being here and is not played to type (he's in fact quite heroic as opposed to being the dick boyfriend of Lois Lane).

Oh and stop worrying, the costume is fine. It works well in the design and lighting of the film. It makes perfect sense and totally fits and tone and the actor (who is in great shape for the role and came across more heroic than the photos would suggest)

And Singer directs this all like the superstar he is. Again, this is more about re-establishing this world and these characters than it is telling something new. But the FX, especially the fyling, are great and it's a lot of fun. In the same way I feel about the next Bat-Movie, and as Singer proved with X2, future Superman installments will be superior films because we've been taken through the process of bringing Superman and his friends back. This echo's something my nephew said recently when he wondered why every comic movie has to start "at the beginning" (meaning the origin) and told me "why do we have to see Peter Parker become Spider-Man? Why can't the movie just start with him as Spider-Man?" So, I think he's gonna like SUPERMAN RETURNS a lot!

Anyhow, the movie has plenty of flaws, the biggest being the lack of scenes between Superman and Lex. You wait basically the whole movie to get them onscreen together and while the confrontation is good, it's hard to believe that Superman (who has full knowledge that Luthor is out there) would not confront him earlier. It's a big lost opportunity. Superman is smarter than that. But these are minor complaints as the movie as a whole is a great time. The movie is fun, there's a lot of laughs, a lot of fun, and the movie has good action and isn't some somber or new dark approach to the character. These are very wise decisions! Oh, and while the movie didn't make me cry like the little bitch Evan obviously is, there were a few moments where choking up and tearing up a bit were certainly acceptable (not that this happened to me).

In the pantheon of recent great Super-Hero movies, i would list this under what I consider to be perfect movies: X2 and BATMAN BEGINS, but put it on the level of SPIDER-MAN 2 and certainly above the first Spidey, which I think is half good movie. But Superman is a fucking TASK and these guys have delivered big time. As long as Singer remains involved, I think we're going to see a lot of great Superman adventures in the future!

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