CORPORATE LINE: Superman – born on a planet which has long since died – has been raised by adoptive parents on the Kent farm in Kansas. The young boy Kal-El is renamed Clark Kent, and though he has grown up among humans, he is not one of them. Under Earth’s yellow sun, he can do things humans can only dream of, but to co-exist with them he must live a dual life as mild, unassuming Clark Kent, secretly transforming into the Man of Steel when the world cries out for him.
But now, the world’s crises have gone unheeded for five long years since Superman’s mysterious disappearance. Without him, crime has risen in the city of Metropolis and beyond; that’s not even counting the future destructive acts of Lex Luthor, who has been sprung from prison with the specific intent of using Superman’s technological secrets for his own personal gain and glory.
Lois Lane, star reporter for the Daily Planet and the love of Superman’s life, has moved on since Superman left without a word. She has even won a Pulitzer Prize for her essay, “Why the World Doesn’t Need Superman.” Lois has other issues to contend with – she is now engaged to the editor’s nephew and has a young son to look after.
SUPERMAN
But for Superman, the long search for his place in the universe ends back at the Kent farm, among the only family he has ever known. His destiny lies in Metropolis, where one look in Lois’s eyes tells him that this place, among the flawed but ultimately good people of Earth, is his true home. And with Lex’s plan coming to fruition mere hours after his return, the world will never need Superman more than it does now.
THE REVIEW: The beauty of Bryan Singer’s Superman is that nothing has changed. Superman is still the same guy that he is in the comic book and previous incarnations as a cartoon or movie. Singer stayed faithful and that the way it be.
There have been some serious concerns over Brandon Routh as Superman. The beauty is that Routh is completely unknown—as was Christopher Reeve. You don’t sit and watch Routh thinking “this is Brandon Routh.” You watch and imagine he is Superman. Imagine Ashton Kutcher as Superman or anyone else. The entire time you’d be conscious of who they are in real life or in previous projects. Routh doesn’t carry any of that baggage; he is Superman.
Not to say that Superman is perfect. The story has lulls. The romance between Superman and Lois Lane seems to supersede the real story; the plans of Lex Luthor. Superman has missed opportunities.
SUPERMAN
FRANKLY: Storyline? Who cares about a storyline? Aren’t we more interested in superhero movies for the action and effects? Absolutely, however a storyline helps move the film along. The excitement and edge-of-your-seat action is what we all pay to see. No one goes to see a superhero movie looking for romance.
In the end Superman Returns is hugely entertaining on the level of the Singer’s first X-Men movie. One can only hope that Warner Bros. signed Bryan Singer for a few sequels.
+ Charlie Craine
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.