Superman Returns Movie Review

After two decades, the blue boy scout flies back in style! Polished boots, new suit & perfect hair. Too bad the plot lands with less impact than a meteor in a cornfield.

Genre: Action / Drama / Fantasy

Directors: Bryan Singer

Cast: Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, James Marsden, Sam Huntington, Parker Posey, Kal Penn, Tristan Lake Leabu, Frank Langella & Marlon Brando.

Run Time: 154 min.

US Release: 30 June 2006

UK Release: 14 July 2006

German Release: 17 August 2006

This is it, my final retro review for Batman/Superman life action flicks before the new Suicide Squad blockbuster hits cinemas. Nearly two decades in the past, after the fiasco that was Superman IV, X-Men director Bryan Singer took over directorial roles, deciding to take a break from Marvel’s mutant universe. Trying to encapsulate Donner’s tone, as well as style, this fourth film supposedly takes place right after Superman II (the theatrical version), ignoring the events of Superman III and Quest for Peace. So let’s fly right into it!

— WARNING, THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS! —

Beginning with a title card, explaining the events of the first two movies, just like what happened off-screen after Superman II, it explains that the last son of Krypton left Earth when astronomers found the remains of his home world. From there onwards, we are launched into space travel, as Clark returns to Kansas, having found only death. Lex Luthor, in the meantime, swindles an old dying lady out of her fortune on her deathbed, prepared to return to the Fortress of Solitude, to make it his own. 

Clark resumes his civilian life at the Daily Planet, in Metropolis, where he learns that Lois, the woman he loves, has become embittered towards Superman after his disappearance and has a five-year-old son with Perry White’s nephew Richard. Having stolen crystals from the Fortress, Luthor conducts an experiment that causes a power outage around the northern hemisphere. Superman is forced back into action, saving an airliner piggybacking an experimental space shuttle, revealing himself again to the world. 

Struggling with the fact that his closest allies have moved on from him, Clark finds out what Luthor is planning, but is too late, as the evil mastermind launches a crystal encased in Kryptonite he stole from a mineral museum into the Ocean, raising a new Kryptonite landmass that threatens the eastern coast of the United States. Can Superman stop him?

Reintroducing the Man of Steel to a modern audience, Singer, together with writers Michael Dougherty plus Dan Harris, decided to maintain Donner’s tone in this new film, acting as a soft rebooting sequel to the series. It maintains the topics of legacy, as well as belonging, while expanding its narrative with a more personal emotional weight, as Clark needs to deal with loneliness, realising that the world moved on during his disappearance, leaning more on drama than a pure action display.

Unfortunately, this leaves Lex’s scheme of world domination somewhat underwhelming. His plan to shift landmasses, causing a worldwide crisis for habitation, feels low-stakes, being quite frankly boring. The revelation of Lois’ son being in reality Superman’s prodigy is intriguing; however, it is left unexplored. Finally, the pacing drags extremely as focus was given to atmosphere, rather than a quick-moving flow. 

A few classic lines are reused in dialogues, giving it a nostalgic touch. While exchanges between Clark and Lois are jammed with unresolved feelings, most of the time, it can sound stiff or even campy.

Brandon Routh was the perfect casting choice for the role of Clark/Superman, encapsulating Christopher Reeve’s charm, as well as his humility. Routh delivers a restrained portrayal, giving the persona a quiet, yet visual vulnerability. Regretfully, this also makes the superhero seem somewhat distant, lacking a little in humanity, even though the premise does display a faithful depiction of the DC hero. Clark, on the other hand, is missing a personality change that differentiates him from the last son of Krypton.

Kate Bosworth manages to give a faithful rendition of Lois Lane, even though her character has been stripped of her journalistic curiosity plus fiery spark. Bosworth also has less chemistry with Routh or Marsden. James Marsden gives a sympathetic rendition of Richard White, adding emotional complexity to the character.

Kevin Spacey does give a more subtle, threatening display of the villainous Lex Luthor, compared to Gene Hackman’s campy portrayal, but his evil plan lacks the urgent, high stakes to make it feel truly menacing. Luthor was also underwritten, lacking his maniacal brilliance of other modern iterations. 

Much like the screenplay, the camera is mostly good, yet suffers from stale, static frames during dramatic conversations. The muted tone makes the picture feel washed out, giving it a low contrast that impacts action scenes negatively. That said, it captures Donner’s classic composition for the Man of Steel well, utilising wide angles, just like heroic silhouettes. The dynamic shots, capturing Kal-el flying, deliver grace and might. The special effects are well handled, especially the airborne segments and subtle usages of superpowers. 

The sound design makes use of hums or distorted distant echoes to display the hero’s superhearing. It also makes use of deep pulses when X-ray vision is being used. John William’s score is used to anchor the film in nostalgia, while composer John Ottman blends in suave, melancholic notes to display Clark’s introspective of loneliness.

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Verdict: Bryan Singer successfully managed to revive the last son of Krypton, after two decades of cinematic absence, using Richard Donner’s movies as a blueprint, and integrating it into its timeline, erasing the embarrassing two follow-ups after Superman II. Atmosphere plus tone successfully emulate the spirit of the late seventies flicks, while the shift to a more dramatic plot gives the whole premise a more intimate sensation. That said, it also suffers from a ridiculous scheme by Lex, with an underwhelming outcome. Brandon Routh was a fantastic casting choice as Kal-el, though his duality as Clark is underwritten. Kevin Spacey makes for a fun, threatening Lex, compared to the campy rendition by Hackman. The cinematography is strong, employing state-of-the-art visual effects. It is not a bad feature, but the narrative is simply boring. I’ll give Superman Returns a 6.5 out of 10.

This is my final DC post before reviewing Suicide Squad in August. Do you agree with my thoughts concerning this entry into the franchise? Leave a comment & thank you for reading!