Movie Review: Superman Returns - Low Expectations, Not Low Enough

Tania Says:
Superman Returns in a little further down our list but we jumped ahead because it was a movie we were sad to have missed in the theater last summer. I had heard mostly negative reviews on the movie but I was still excited to see it.

I thought the movie started off pretty cool and was very engrossing and interesting. I like the idea of Superman leaving for personal reasons. I would have liked to see more of what it was like when he was away and more of how his return affected the people of Metropolis. So, I liked the idea and I thought that I was going to be one of the few who wouldn’t provide a negative review. However, pretty soon the movie completely fell apart. The promising storyline disappeared and pretty much NOTHING happened or developed. It started to go downhill for me (minor spoiler ahead) when Lois Lane and HER SON end up at the bad guy’s liar. What? Lois I know you didn’t know you were going to end up with the enemy when you took your kid along on an assignment but why would you ever take your child in the first place? From here on out, I completely checked out of what I think was suppose to be the most exciting part. In fact, I have to admit that I fell asleep – that is how much I gave up and how bored I truly was. I woke up right as the battle seemed to have ended and although the ending was probably suppose to move me in some way it didn’t. I think the story was never fully realized and if it was, then the story was very poorly executed.

I thought Brandon Routh actually made a good Superman and Clark Kent and he was the one bright spot in the movie for me. I thought he did a great job. Kate Bosworth was woefully miscast and it appeared to me that a 16 year old cheerleader in a brown wig was playing Lois Lane. And then there is Kevin Spacey. I love Spacey, I do but he was just really bad. His Lex Luthor made no sense at all to me and he never fully developed a villain that I could figure out and that shouldn’t be too hard. Parker Posey was wasted in another role that made no sense and really didn’t need to be there. I guess they wanted her to be there for comic relief or something but she wasn’t funny and she and Spacey have no chemistry at all.

Since I know many of you saw this in the theater I am really curious now to hear what others thought and if I am in the minority on this one.

Josh Says:

I didn't hear much good about this movie so my expectations were pretty much as low as they could get. Somehow, this movie still managed to disappoint.

For starters, I didn't like Brandon Routh as Superman, his voice while in a way very similar to Christopher Reeves' never seemed to change from geeky uncomfortable Clark Kent which I think was a pretty big blunder. It's a subtle change that Reeves' made and it's lacking made a huge difference. He also just lacks the screen presence to pull off such a huge character.

I didn't like Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane. She wasn't strong enough for this character and worse yet, she was.........bland.

I didn't like Spacey as Lex Luthor. I actually thought he made some really bad choices with this character and overall seemed confused at times as to whom it was he was trying to portray. He had a terrible story to work with, however so perhaps his bad decisions were just a form of protest.

Being a big fan of Parker Posey, I was disappointed that even she couldn't impress me here......two words for the casting director with regards to Parker though...........LOIS LANE

I liked Brando though, that was pretty neat and Jack Larsen as Bo the Bartender was top notch!!

Next we have the "story". Yes, that's right quotations cause there really isn't one here. Superman returns, that's a story, I guess. Of course it'd be less of a story had Superman told one person of his plans before leaving which apparently he didn't?

Then there's the Superman/Lois Lane love thing, which is a story I guess, though it manifests itself more in the Superman the Stalker vein than in the traditional love story way. I mean, when he flies over and hovers outside her window to spy on her it's downright creepy and in my mind degrades the whole idea of Superman.

Luthor's 'evil master plan' isn't even a story save for the fact that it's so completely ludicrous and worse yet totally senseless. I guess the sheer ridculousness of it is a story in itself. I'd expect so much more from Lex. In Spacey's defense, even Gene Hackman would have had trouble pulling this one off.

The CGI was pretty good I guess, right down to Routh's eyes, which I later found out were CGI'd(?) in as opposed to simply using contacts............on overly complicated solution to a very simple problem which might be symbolic of every decision made in this film.

I know this review isn't very well done, but I'm so disappointed that I'm having a hard time gathering my senses here. If you're going to bring back something like the Superman saga, YOU.NEED.TO.DO.IT.BETTER!!!! See Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins for an example.............

I guess if you give Parker Posey the Lois Lane role, give the Superman role to anyone better, give Spacey a good story or at least a good 'evil master plan' so that he CAN be evil and we might have a winner...