SUPERMAN RETURNS

Written by Hombre Divertido

Superman Returns, but fails to take off.

Bryan Singer (Director/ Producer/ Story) must not have many cell minutes left considering the amount of performances phoned in to his new film Superman Returns.

The director did a fine job of creating a visually exciting film, but the story and performances let him down.

The story, though initially intriguing, wraps far too conveniently, and the writers seem confused as to which story they are to be telling. The storyline jumps around between the current situation created by Lex Luthor, the return of Superman and the inconsistent reactions said return prompts from his friends and co-workers, Lois and her new family including the lineage of her son, and flashbacks to Superman’s past.

All roles should be open to an actor’s interpretation, but we are dealing with an institution here, and it appears that the majority of our actors did not do their homework.

Kate Bosworth looks lost in her role of Lois Lane. She appears to have acquired some of Superman’s powers, as she gets hit and knocked unconscious a few times, which is something we are not used to seeing happen to this character, and yet never shows a mark. Perhaps those blows accounted for her wondering aimlessly through this film.

Frank Langella plays Perry White with none of the energy required, to bring across the overbearing newspaper editor.

Sam Huntington is completely miscast as Jimmy Olsen. Like Bosworth, he seems confused in what to do with his role, and in many scenes actually looks older than Clark Kent.

Brandon Routh does a fine job of looking and sounding like Christopher Reeve, but looks too young in his role, delivers a one dimensional performance, and is not even consistent in his facial expressions when performing feats of strength.

Kevin Spacey is adequate as Lex Luthor, but we have seen him meaner and more maniacal in Swimming with the Sharks.

Parker Posey is a pleasant surprise playing subtle comedy perfectly as Lex Luthors cohort Kitty Kowalski.

It was also a nice touch including Jack Larson and Noel Neil in the cast.

Perhaps Singer needs to stick with Marvel Comics, as they continue to translate better to the big screen than those of DC. Perhaps Singer simply needs to remind his cast that it is indeed a comic book they are attempting to bring.

Recommendation: Rent the first Superman movie, or the DVD’s of the television series, unless you want to see what Superman can do with the most current special effects behind him, in which case, Superman Returns delivers just that, and only that.