| Superman Returns (2006) | |
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Rating: 6.1/10 (290,650 votes) Director: Bryan Singer Writer: Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris, Bryan Singer Stars: Brandon Routh, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth Runtime: 154 min Rated: PG-13 Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Released: 30 Jun 2006 |
| Plot: Superman returns to Earth after spending five years in space examining his homeworld Krypton. But he finds things have changed while he was gone, and he must once again prove himself important to the world. | |
So, I have told the story many times about how my earliest vivid memory (at least the one I can put a date to) is of being 4 years old and watching Star Wars on the big screen when it first landed on these shores. Thus, my love for the franchise through the years, and the disappointment levels when the franchise returned in the mess that it was. Well, Superman came out a year after Star Wars, and guess what? Yup…long love for the film. Perhaps the similar musical cues, by the genius that is John Williams, were part of the reason both those films had an impact. Perhaps it was just because they were beautifully crafted fantasy films. Whatever the reason, I believed a man could fly.
Could Superman Returns actually capture the feel of the original film? Would it be like Batman Begins and managed to relaunch a franchise that was soiled by the second half? Or would it turn out to be another Star Wars disappointment? Before we get to the answer, here’s a quick summary of the plot…
After events sometime around the end of the second film (for this franchise, although they are not saying 3 and 4 never took place, they are not going to include them as part of the story) astronomers reported that they may have found the remains of the planet Krypton, Superman’s home planet. Naturally he goes there to see what he can find. The film starts with him returning to Earth after the 5-year foray into space. Crashing once more at the Kent farm, he recuperates and heads back to Metropolis, and his job as Clark Kent in the offices of the Daily Planet. He finds that Lois has moved on, living with a new beau, Richard White. Not only that but they have a child, a young son. In addition, Lois has recently won the Pulitzer for an article titled “Why the world doesn’t need Superman”. Of course, this is a blow to the man-of-steel. That’s nothing, however, compared to events that unfold as his arch-nemesis Lex Luthor sets in motion plans for building a new continent that will plunge the rest of the world into disarray. Can Superman survive the events conspiring around him…and indeed does the world need a Superman?
Bryan Singer has delivered! What more can be said! He has not only managed to bring a new spark of life to an old, and long gone, franchise, but he has done it in a way that doesn’t ignore what went before, and can be viewed as a continuation of the old films (ignoring 3 and 4). Bringing the deftness of touch he has for super-beings that he showed in X-Men, and also the depth to character that he skilfully used in Usual Suspects, combining the two here to deliver possibly the best super-hero film of recent years! Not a scene is wasted, from the opening moments, through to the closing earth shot (a perfect replica of the way the original films closed). Not only has Singer captured the look and feel of Donner’s original (I say original, but there were earlier incarnations), but he has managed to combine a cast who are so perfect in their roles. Brandon Routh, a no-one cast in such an iconic role as Kent/Superman had some big red boots to fill. He fills them and also makes the part his own at the same time. With a look which makes you double take to ensure that Reeves hasn’t just appeared again, Routh takes the role in his stride and IS Superman. Spacey’s Lex is wonderful, and chews the scenery around him every moment he is on screen. All the cast are wonderfully mixed into the pot.
Throw in the iconic musical cues, from the opening theme to Lois’ theme, and a smattering of sly references (such as the “Fashion – has he got a new costume!” nod to the griping fans who moaned that the costume looked different), and the end result is a brilliantly realised and totally believable super-hero film. Yes, you will believe a man can fly! The most iconic comic-book hero of all time has finally returned. Please don’t let him go away again…. the world does need Superman!
