Superman Returns

Alright, here goes my most prompt review probably ever, fortunately it's a very worthy movie. First some history: I watched Superman the movie like seven years ago, and I watched Superman 2 about a week ago because I heard this new addition picked up were number two left off (wisely ignoring the sad existence of movies 3 and 4). So I'm off to the movies, excited and anxious to see if it's gonna be good or what? I couldn't help but recall the time about a year ago when I was similarly excited to see Batman Begins and we all know how well that turned out. All that to say that by the time I actually watched the movie I was ready, knowing the previous elements, but prepared, knowing how Hollywood is able to completely ruin a perfectly good comic book. Let me just say that from the vintage Superman opening credits, through John Williams classic score as well as a rousing new score, a marvelous Kevin Spacey with the always sensational Parker Posey, all the way to the emotionally rich finish, this was one of my favorite Super Hero movies I've seen. It has remarkable set pieces (gives the action in X-Men 3 a run for its money) but more importantly it has a good story and characters we care about. I'm sure a lot of Superman gurus will have scathing things to say about his costume alterations (an improvement if you ask me) or the way Lex Luther uses the power of the Kryptonite against him, or his nerdy Clark Kent speech patterns, or any other of the thousands of things used in this movie, but there's a point at which you need to let go. There's so much more to this movie than the flying around and stopping bullets with one's eye (though that was pretty freaking sweet) there's a lot said about people needing some one to save them and about the power of people who do good without expecting something in return, it's not a rehash of Spider-Man, and it's not trying to make some grand moral out of nothing. Superman Returns sends no cracker jack sesame street messages, it really has something valuable to say about the nature of mankind and so forth. The only notable possibility of flaw is the two and a half hour running length of this movie. As you may know, the worst thing for a movie to do is bore its audience, at least that's what I think. The way I evaluate these things is this. If you're having fun, you aren't bored right? Right. And just because a movie takes a break from aerial jet rescues to delve into plot and/or character development doesn't mean that you have to stop having fun. Superman Returns may pace itself, but when the Man of Steel himself isn't on screen being heroic you see either Spacey's Lex Luther plotting his plots with hugely entertaining villainy, or we see Brandon Routh's Clark Kent bumbling his way around the Daily Planet trying to pass as an average Joe. (On this topic of Superman vs. Clark Kent, see Bill's monologue in the final chapter of Kill Bill vol. 2 for some food for thought) The point is that in Superman Returns, we're always having fun, but we're not being sold short when it comes to emotions and integrity of the story and its characters. I really loved this movie, and strongly recommend it to all who are willing to give it a fair chance, I think you'll find that after years off the silver screen Superman has made his return with style and sincerity. As of right now, Superman Returns is flying high as my favorite movie of the summer so far, if only all summer movies could be this good.

A-