The Weigh In #60

Part Two of Two

To wrap up my weekly coverage of Superman Returns news, here is:

My review of:

Superman Returns

Brandon Routh
Kate Bosworth
Kevin Spacey
Parker Posey
James Marsden
Frank Langella
Directed by: Bryan Singer

From opening credits to the final scene of Superman flying into the night, Superman Returns is nothing short of brilliant filmmaking. Director Bryan Singer uses Richard Donner’s original film, an iconic superhero film in most fans eyes, paying appropriate homage to its importance in the history of the character and to his fans while at the same time giving the Man of Steel a depth and humanity we’ve never seen on film. Singer takes more than a few cues from the original, from entire scenes to Lex Luthor’s crappy head wear, only really straying to allow Superman to connect with fans on a deeper, more emotional level.

After being away from Earth for five years searching for his home world, Superman returns to find a world ready to embrace him without question. One problem, while the world is happy to have him back, the one person he cares for more than anything has moved past him. Lois Lane has grown older without him and has moved on with her life, content to leave him in the past. While Superman deals with the idea of moving on, Lex Luthor is released from prison and is using his knowledge of Superman’s home world to attempt another takeover of the world.

Have no fear, Brandon Routh is a wonderful Superman and Clark Kent. He was an inspired choice to replace the person most of us have grown up to see as our image of the hero and his alter ego. He plays the awkward and bumbling Clark Kent almost as well as his predecessor and even carries the “S’ with dignity. At times in this film I caught myself smiling, because I had just seen something that I was certain only one man could pull off in this role. Kevin Spacey played a more subdued Lex Luthor in this film and while he did go off his nut occasionally, he was just as likely to show you a glimpse of the pure evil of the character. Parker Posey as Kitty Kowalski plays a perfect nincompoop to Lex’s brilliant madness and (contrary to what seems to be popular opinion) Kate Bosworth pulls off a spunky, yet more mature and maternal, Lois Lane.

Enough about the characters and now to the movie. Bryan Singer takes full advantage of the current technology to pull of some amazing feats that Donner could only dream of doing in the original. The special effects seem to pull Superman’s feats of strength and dexterity straight out of the comic books and the plot contained enough outlandish comic book action to make my inner child giddy. The use of CG to see Superman pull off the things he does in this film are more than enough for the price of admission.

As important as the action, special effects, and crazy antics of Lex Luthor, this film is a love story. A lingering glance from Clark Kent using his X-Ray vision as Lois Lane climbs in an elevator is just as powerful as watching the Man of Steele save a crashing airliner. The awkward tension between the Superman and Lois Lane’s fiancée is just as important as Superman saving the world from the likes of Lex Luthor. Richard Donner was able to create the quintessential Superman by bringing the ultimate hero to the big screen; Brian Singer was able to show the ultimate superhero on a more human level, by creating an alien who is as alone in a world of people who adore him as he is next to the woman who adoration matters most.

The mix of old school action, humor, and swelling music from the original, the deeper almost heartbreaking at times emotion, and groundbreaking special effects, gave this fan more than I could have possibly hoped for. This film exceeded all of my expectations and I couldn’t recommend it more highly.



As always, please send your hate mail or undying admiration to DPlace76@yahoo.com. You can also check out my random musings at www.livejournal.com/bigdpimpin. Come by and learn about the newest adventures of the Stumblebum crew on our myspace account at: www.myspace.com/stumblebumstudios.