Review of Superman Returns (2006) by Arrivist — 20 Aug 2020

Bryan Singer said himself he set out to make a 'chick flick.' Written mostly from the perspective of a self-involved, workaholic, Lois 'I've done Superman' Lane. The Man of Steel is portrayed as an absent father who abandoned his child after a one night stand with the mother.

In this incarnation, our American hero is lowered to the ranks of Super-Stalker, as he peers into and creeps around the Lane residence, uninvited. Routh looks the part and does his best Christopher Reeve impression, but the campy costume reduces him to looking like a plastic action figure.

It appears the costume dept. wanted to set the film in the 50s, but the production designers didn't get the memo. Maybe if Singer wasn't flying around on the producer's jet, diddling twinks, there would have been a greater synergy during pre-production.

There is plenty of the usual Singer homo-eroticism combined with unnecessary and borer-line blasphemous references to Christianity. The action scenes and practical effects sequences are well put together, as expected - the cgi sequences looked dated by today's standard.

Real life villain Kevin Spacey does a decent turn as the film's antagonist, although he never really breaks sweat. The film disregards a second act; instead, the third-act of Superman Returns begins at the halfway mark, concluding with the scriptwriters' re-written fantasy of why their dead-beat dads abandoned them.

In the cancelled sequel, Richard gets friendzoned because he can't shoulder-press an entire island.