Directed by Bryan Singer — Screenplay by Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris.
It seems crazy when you put it like this, but after Superman IV in 1987, we didn’t get to see the Man of Steel on the big screen until 19 years later. In that waiting period, several projects were tinkered with and abandoned, including a fifth Reeve-led Superman film, a Tim Burton-directed and Nicolas Cage-led film titled Superman Lives, and Superman: Flyby, which had people like J.J. Abrams, Brett Ratner, McQ, and various actors attached before it was eventually let go. But in 2006, we finally got a new big-screen Superman with X-Men director Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns, which received a decent-enough critical reception despite the fact that Roger Ebert gave it a negative review. I’ve always been quite underwhelmed by the film, and I had hoped that my latest rewatch could change my stance on the film, but, unfortunately, I still think this film is a little bit of a dud.
Functioning as a direct sequel to Richard Lester’s Superman II, Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns sees Kal-El (now played by Brandon Routh) return to Earth after having been absent for five years, during which time he has inspected the ruins of Krypton. Now back in Metropolis, he finds that Lois Lane (now played by Kate Bosworth) is engaged and with a five-year-old son. Elsewhere, Lex Luthor (now played by Kevin Spacey) is back at it again, as he has made plans to use crystals from the Fortress of Solitude to create a new continent for him to control, which also doubles as a way for him to try to take down the Last Son of Krypton.
Where to begin with Superman Returns? Well, I guess, for me, the problems really start in the confusing setting and its identity as a sequel. So, upon release, it was announced that it was decanonizing Superman III and IV, and that it existed as a direct sequel to Superman II. However, given that the film is set five years after Superman II, you would expect this film to just look like the 1980s. And yet it doesn’t. There are anachronisms all over the place, like modern cars or cell phones. And though you may argue that these are deliberate anachronisms to sort of make this universe its own separate thing from our world, I just think it is so confusing when you watch the film. Then, you have the idea that it is supposed to be a sequel to Superman II. But, notably, the theatrical release of Superman II ends with Superman kissing Lois Lane and, in effect, taking away her memory of them having slept together and her knowing his identity. There are massive red flags all over this film, and it all sprouts from this one instance in the Richard Lester theatrical cut of Superman II. Frankly, I think Superman is depicted as a little bit of a creep in this movie because of the film’s connection to Superman II and the fact that this film explicitly features his son, whom Lois birthed and raised while Superman was away for reasons that the film fails to properly justify. So, essentially, in this movie, Superman is a deadbeat dad who slept with the mother of his child without her knowing it, and who, at no point in the film, has a real conversation with Lois Lane about the fact that they had slept together and that it is his child. This is down to the script being poorly designed. Because, of course, Lois Lane should also want to have a conversation with Superman about her son having superpowers. I don’t often like to use the word plot hole, so instead I’ll say that this is a massive narrative leap in logic that betrays the characters and our trust in them. Oh, and don’t get me started on the inconsistencies with regard to kryptonite in this movie.
So, it starts off on the wrong foot, and it never really confronts the problems inherent with its identity as a direct sequel to Superman II. But, even if we were to ignore those aspects, there are still a lot of things about this film that don’t really work for me. I even have problems with something as simple as the look of the main character. Now, don’t get me wrong, I think Brandon Routh looks the part. He is a decent Clark Kent, and his performance is decent enough as Superman. I have absolutely no problem with his performance. But the writing of the character and the look of the character are both massive issues in this film. I’ve already talked about the writing, so I’ll now go on to talk about the look. For one, the filmmakers opted to change the color of Routh’s eyes in this film, either using blue contacts or digitally altering them with VFX. Whatever the reason, the effect is that it gives him this alien and unnerving stare in certain scenes. Then there’s the suit, which is also a complete trainwreck. Sure, it’s got a decent enough shade of blue, but the red in the suit is way too dark or maroon. The cape looks rubbery, and so does the logo on his chest, which is also way too small. Oh, and his red trunks also appear to be way too small. Sure, some might say these are only nitpicks, but when you add everything together, it’s a really difficult way to reintroduce a character. Especially given the fact that they want us to believe that this is still Christopher Reeve’s Superman. And because we’re meant to think this is still that character, or that version of the character, it also complicates every other supporting character around him that is returning for this film. Kate Bosworth is OK as the Margot Kidder version of Lois Lane, and Sam Huntington is decent enough as Jimmy Olsen. But the characters look way too young (and the same even goes for Brandon Routh), if you want us to believe that five years have passed since the end of the second Superman film.
This is, of course, a legacy sequel, so it is trying to update the world of the previous film with the same legacy characters and, at the same time, turn in something relatively safe with regard to plot. However, it is way too safe here. Numerous plot beats are essentially just a redo of what happened previously in the first Richard Donner Superman. Lois gets to fly with Superman, Lex wants to own land, Superman has a plane sequence, and so on and so forth. Beats are repeated and not always with improvements. Frustratingly, there also isn’t enough action or stuff going on here. The movie is over two hours long, and it feels longer than it is. It is very poorly paced and borders on tedious at times.
So, what works? Well, I will say that Kevin Spacey does turn in a fairly good performance as Lex Luthor. Admittedly, I think his line delivery is sometimes a little bit too ‘Frank Underwood,’ or a little bit too dark for the version of Lex played by Gene Hackman in the past, but Spacey mostly gets the job done with an interesting portrayal, despite having some odd plot developments concerning his character. I also think Parker Posey is very entertaining in her Miss Tessmacher-esque role. I’ve already mentioned that Brandon Routh did the best he could with what he had. But I will also add that I think the big plane sequence is thrilling and looks really good even today. It is incredibly intense and is probably one of the best moments of action in any Superman film. Unfortunately, it’s the only memorable moment of action. Of course, yes, there is the famous shot of a bullet hitting his eyeball and ricocheting off, but it’s a fairly unmemorable scene. As a sidenote, I do think it is interesting to see that, upon rewatch, Superman Returns has many of the same elements that Man of Steel is known for. This is a darker Superman film visually than we had been used to before, just like the Snyder film, and there is a lot of Christ-like imagery to be found here, especially in the final elongated act.
Every so often, there are glimpses of how this could’ve been a solid Superman sequel. However, in summation, Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns is a confusing hodgepodge of modern updates and fealty to the original films that, strangely, also has borderline character-staining moments, odd visual updates, and a frustrating lack of action. It is an overlong, slightly tedious superhero film that needs an energy boost of action.
4.5 out of 10
– Review written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.
I'm Jeffrey Rex 