Review of Superman Returns (2006) by Harry W — 02 Jan 2016

Boasting a return for my favourite superhero with Bryan Singer as director, Superman Returns sounded like a long-overdue spectacle.

Since Superman is considered one of the most popular superheroes of all time, a contemporary adaptation of the comic book hero is long overdue. Superman II and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace were films so poor that they destroyed the series, yet Superman and Superman II remain classics of the genre. Bryan Singer recognizes this and has decided to make his film a continuation of the series which ocassionally reminds us of the former glory of the series while also working to bring it into the modern day, albeit ignoring the events of the two lesser elements of the series. He does this through a use of new flashback scenes to remind us of his origins without making the film an entirely origin story, an intro sequence which mirrors the style of the original Superman films in terms of both visual style and musical score and contemporary visual effects techniques to make sure the role of Jor-El is reserved for stock footage of Marlon Brando. As a large fan of the first two Superman films, I can honestly say that many elements of Superman Returns brought out the passionate spirit in me, though I did also find that some of the plot points treaded over familiar ground a bit much. This is only a problem since the film is not just a reboot but a sequel, so there is occasionally an imbalance between attempting to establish both of these.

Much of the story relies a little too much on coincidence. At exactly the same time, Lex Luthor finally gains control of massive amounts of funds and Superman returns home. Clark Kent also manages to return to his job with few people considering his return at the same time as Superman's coincidental, and moments later he has to fly off to rescue the one plane which experiences a malfunction and happens to have Lois Lane on it. The is the first encounter the two have, after she won a Pulitzer Prize for an article entitled "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman". So the film doesn't kick off to a great start, and from there a tonal imbalance takes over.

In terms of characterization, Superman Returns achieves mixed results. Due to its large scope, there are many characters that it wishes to focus on which means that the overall characterization of the titular hero is rather diminutive. In actual fact, the majority of the film seems to be about Lois Lane and to a lesser extent, Lex Luthor. This means that the main focus of the film is placed on the romantic interest of the main character and the worst cast member, while the secondary focus ends up on the primary villain and the best cast member. Either way, the title of the film is Superman Returns, and though Superman returns to the screen it is a little too brief. Also, there is a feeling that Superman Returns wishes to capture a darker side of a world full of violence and superpowers.

It doesn't have sufficiently clear focus to truly establish this, but worse it has a colour scheme which is often too grim. Following the same sort of style Bryan Singer used to bring the X-Men to life with his two films, Superman Returns uses a rather monochromatic colour palette and quite a lot of shadow. As realistic as this is, it pales in comparison to the bright colour scheme of Superman's former glory in the Salkind productions. Though it attempts to add a dark sense of drama to the film, it ultimately just ends up filling Superman Returns with an abundance of visually incomprehensible scenes which neither astound the viewer nor build atmosphere.

In another story flaw, there is also an entire subplot about Lois Lane's son being the offspring of Superman. Ignoring the mysterious logic in which a Kryptonian's DNA can splice so easily with a human or just what kind of molecular structure this child has, the addition of this character adds nothing to the story. Seemingly a mystery intended to be resolved in the intended sequel of Superman Returns, this plot point ends up being little more than one of the factors responsible for stretching Superman Returns beyond a sensible running time. For a film with so many issues, Superman Returns manages to drag them out for so long with such a slow pace which means that the occasional flairs with glory in between everything are the only truly brilliant moments that the film has to offer. The best thing that Superman Returns does is remind viewers of the once-graceful glory of the series with its production values, but it ultimately proves to be a lesser superhero film than the contributions Bryan Singer made to the X-Men series.

The X-Men films are ripe with political commentary, but Superman Returns fits the context of the post-9/11 superhero films more where the commentary is far more underlying. This is made clear by the fact that the first major action scene depicts Superman rescuing a malfunctioning flight from crashing into a Baseball stadium, the home of "America's Favourite Pastime". He ends the scene by reminding passengers that flight remains the safest form of transportation, becoming the final piece of clarification for this theme. The fact that the film attempts to balance the patriotism of its main hero with a dark tale of Lex Luthor's evil as well as a misplaced love story proves to take viewers all over the place with an inconsistent tone, leaving things rather shaky. And when this all comes to an end with an overly quick and tension-free climax, that is the final nail on the coffin of disappointment in Superman Returns.

The one great thing about the story in Superman Returns is the film's treatment of Lex Luthor. Since the original Superman quadrilogy has a rather campy tone to it, Lex Luthor was not characterized as being villainous enough to be the true mortal enemy of the Man of Steel. In Superman Returns, his plans for world domination are far more ambitious and cruel than ever before. As well as that, the role is given to Kevin Spacey who is a man who cannot falter in any role, let alone a villainous one. Whenever he is on screen, the film is at the finest point in its narrative.

And in terms of production values, Superman Returns is not bereft of visual gusto. Outside of the poor lighting, Superman Returns boasts incredible visual effects which push the film's titular hero through the skies and against his enemies. The extensive detail in them brings his flight back to live with exhilarating grace, and the surrounding production design helps to keep the universe of Metropolis convincing. The cinematography helps the film by capturing this all with an atmospheric scope which is appropriately large or small depending on the nature of each scene. The sound effects are also impressive.

And adapting the original work of John Williams, John Ottomon proves a worthy successor as the composer of the soundtrack for Superman Returns. Effectively capturing the scale of the story, Superman Returns has music which is perfectly patriotic and intense at all the right times, flowing consistently in the wind with Superman's cape.

When it comes to the cast of Superman Returns, it's hard to fully certify what the general consensus is since there is mixed quality all over the place.

Following the same tradition used to cast Christopher Reeve, the role of Superman is given to an unknown young American actor by the name of Brandon Routh for Superman Returns. Brandon Routh has a distinctive physical similarity to Christopher Reeve as well as a natural sense of charm, but his decision to take a more dramatic turn with the role than to make him the larger-than-life man of romance and gleaming smiles which make him a perfect patriot. Brandon Routh has a friendly appeal to him and the ability to capture the heroic spirit of Superman, but when it comes to actually trying to be dramatic there is limited capabilities that the actor can display. He doesn't grip the intentions of the screenplay and instead takes a meandering approach to the drama which is perhaps a result of his limited experience as an actor. Clearly the casting of a little-known star do not match the intentions of the screenplay which require someone far more accomplished, but since it hardly lines up in the film all that well I don't put all the blame on him. For what it's worth, I find that Brandon Routh is not miscast, he is merely in a screenplay which works no better for him than the rest of the film. At the moments where there is more energy, Brandon Routh manages to shine.

However, Superman actually plays second fiddle to his romantic interest and arch enemy. And like I said, this means he gets buried beneath the worst and best of the acting Superman Returns has to offer.

In terms of the worst, it is Kate Bosworth who lacks any essential spirit in the role of Lois Lane. Actresses who have portrayed her such as Margot Kidder or Amy Adams have their own distinctive charm to them, but Kate Bosworth appears to have no such spirit in the role. In actual fact she just repeatedly rants on in such an annoying tone of voice that viewers are most likely to spend their time wondering just what the Man of Steel actually sees in her. Kate Bosworth based her performance as Lois Lane on the acting style of Katherine Hepburn, an actress considered to be the greatest of all time. However, Katherine Hepburn would never be right for the role of Lois Lane. Lois Lane is a smart and determined woman who loses sight of everything due to her love of Superman, a relationship which can never be. If you cast Katherine Hepburn in the role you'd have a woman constantly speaking over the Man of Steal and stealing attention from him. So to have someone doing a half-assed imitation of Katherine Hepburn in the role with little more than a repetitive and emotionless demeanour is of no real benefit to any film, let alone a $204 million summer blockbuster. Kate Bosworth's second film with Kevin Spacey brings out the worst in her, a contrast to their first collaboration on Beyond the Sea (2004) which brought out the best.

Bryan Singer has proven capable of bringing the absolute best out of Kevin Spacey in a villainous role when he directed the man to win an Academy Award for their collaborative effort on The Usual Suspects (1995), and so a reunion is overdue. Though Kevin Spacey captures the pretentious arrogance of Gene Hackman's characterization, he is far more sadistic and knowing of his evil capabilities this time around which he pushes to the limits with intense voice articulation. He easily hones the part due to being inherently capable of articulating his words with a dark wisdom. This creates a very heavy feeling of manipulation in which Kevin Spacey uses to dominate the screen in Superman Returns as the absolute greatest cast member. His performance is the one consistently rich element of the film, capturing the ideal extent of insanity and intelligence to convey the perfect spirit of an criminal genius which manages to match brawn for brains in his plight against Superman. Kevin Spacey is able to use his intense line delivery to condescend any character he deems inferior, playing it to be a brilliant villainous edge and effectively serving to ensure that at least one character in Superman Returns rises beyond any kind of meandering standard.

Sam Huntington is a perfect cast member as Jimmy Olson. With such a tenacious grip on the character, Sam Huntington manages to stand out as one of the best of the cast because of the manner in which he mirrors Marc McLure's characterization of the role very closely while applying the correct tone to bring him into the 21st century. He captures the geeky nature of the character pushing it overboard, instead letting his natural charm take over to captivate the likable spirit of Jimmy Olson which sparks a friendly chemistry between him and Brandon Routh. Sam Huntington is very brief, but he is truly a perfect fit for Superman Returns.

James Marsden also brings in an effective supporting effort.

But Tristan Lake Leabu is no brilliant cast member. The young actor makes his debut in Superman Returns, but like I said, the character Jason White is completely unnecessary to the story. But as well as that, the genuine characterization of him is that he is a fragile imitation of every stereotypical child character from every other film ever made. I blame this on both the script and the direction most of all because the young actor cannot be held to such a standard, but I will admit that he seems to spend the entirety of Superman Returns staring confusedly around the set not even pretending that he has charisma.

So Superman Returns boasts impressive production values and a villainous Kevin Spacey, but its extensive length and slow running time make the meandering cast, dull script, poor lighting and lack of action all the more clear amid sporadic moments that allude to better films of Bryan Singer or of the Superman series.