Superman Returns

When Bryan Singer jumped ship from the X-Men franchise to make Superman Returns there was a mixed response. Few people had doubt his Superman film would be great, but it was the fate of the X-Men franchise that people were concerned about. Well in a strangely ironic turn of events neither expectation was properly fulfilled, X-Men 3 turned out to be pretty good, and unfortunately Superman, while really good, falls short of the greatness many had hoped for. Picking up 5 years after Superman II (this has been widely reported as the ‘true’ Superman 3) the story sees Superman (and Clark) return to a changed world. Lois has become a mother and is engaged, the rest of the world seems to be coping without having Superman around. As he starts to get back to his old life Clark finds it hard adjusting and add into this mix Lex Luther, released from prison and bent on revenge and you have a classic Superman set up. And for the most part it works great. The universe Singer and co. have created here feels like a natural progression from the original films and the film makes constant reference to those films honouring them and yet changing the rules and adapting the characters. A film like this lives or dies on the shoulders of its leading man and thankfully Branden Routh steps up to the plate big time here. As a newcomer he displays amazing confidence and charisma as both Clark and Superman making a clear distinction between the two and, though he has few lines, he manages to imbue Superman with a very real humanity, a man conflicted by emotion and struggling to fit back into the world. Superman is the archetypal outsider and the emotional investment you gain with the characters is well woven and developed. Unfortunately though the actual plot of the film has had less attention. Whilst spectacular at times is feels rather generic and ludicrous and while Spacey’s Lex Luthor is a definite improvement on Hackman’s 1970s version he has no clear motivation and it’s a shame Superman does not have a classic villain to contend with here. That said the special effects are generally excellent and Singer creates some truly beautiful shots. The most work seems to have gone into those of Superman flying and they are truly spectacular at times fully engaging you in the moment with John Ottomans reverent and clever use of John William’s original score furthering the nostalgic but contemporary feel of the film. Overall I think the problems the film suffers from are pacing issues, it is quite long and can drag especially at the end, but also the fact that it is re-launching a series yet acting like a true sequel to the originals. It seems stuck in the past, yet modern and it’s an unusual mix. Add to this some plot holes and inconsistencies and the pure fact that Superman is pretty much invulnerable makes the tension hard to create. We don’t ever really feel like he is in danger, in some ways he is the least human of the Superheroes and with seemingly no limit to his powers it makes it hard to feel like he can lose. But despite these flaws this is a great film, it is entertaining, funny and genuine with great performances and real heart, something X-Men 3 was lacking. So why the same score? Purely because I feel what it makes up in characters, it loses in plot and excitement. I hope though that a sequel gets made because now that a new Superman film has finally been released, hopefully Singer and co will be freer to move on and create something that we truly, have never seen before. Lovingly made and beautifully crafted, this is an emotional and reverant film with some great acting and FX let down by a lackluster plot and fixation on the past.