सुपरमैन रिटर्न्स

The movie experience wasn't bad enough. It had some good moments. However, yes, it's not one of the most spectacular films. The reason I wanted to watch is I want to enjoy Man of Steel, Batman v Superman and Justice League to the fullest. You can do that too, as I'm sure this won't completely disappoint you. It was a little dark, but pacy enough and not slow. The movie wasn't spectacular but Brandon Ruth definitely was. The story was on the average side, however, since it had its moments, it can't be considered poor!

After an absence of several years Superman/Clark Kent (Brandon Routh) returns to Metropolis. The world has moved on, Lex Luther is plotting another plan involving Kryptonite and Lois Lane now has a kid. Everyone is curious as to where he's been the entire time, but it turns out he went back to see the remains of his home planet. One big flaw about the Superman films/comics is no one ever knows about Clark when his only disguise is a pair of glasses. And it was even more obvious when he turned back up out of nowhere the same time as Superman.

Directed by Bryan Singer (X-Men, X-Men 2) Superman Returns is a reboot/loose sequel to the 1978 original. But even though it references a little bit from that film (be it a Marlon Brando cameo or the original John Williams music score) it's less a sequel and more of a homage to that film. It's done considerably well however it's best viewed as its own film. If it was a real sequel Lois Lane and Clark Kent would be in their late 50's with it being 28 years later.

Kevin Spacey is the highlight as Lex Luther, he's over the top and sometimes hammy but he appears to be the only one enjoying himself. The other actors do good jobs but they are often bland, but in a way that's oddly a relief because there are no goofy comedic performances. Clark Kent is not the cliché clumsy nerd this time and Lois Lane isn't as whinny as she was in the other films. There's also no annoying background extras.

There are a few intense action sequences, the plane rescue being the highlight but they tend to rely on CGI that looks dated even for the time. There are so many shots where Superman is recreated using CG effects and it looks like something taken straight out of a video game. His suit has a plastic look to it, but to be honest the Superman suits have never looked great, it was only until Man of Steel (2013) when they got his suit right. The bright colours and underwear are fine for the comic but they don't translate very well on screen.

Running well over two hours, the film runs at a sometimes plodding pace and some scenes are drawn out a lot. However the film has a solid story and great performance from Kevin Spacey. The tone of the film isn't too dark drawing a fine line between its lighthearted and serious themes. The cinematography, set designs, music score and editing are all great. It's a film that deserves to be watched even if it suffers from a slow pace.

Bullet points:

Good - using the Williams score, original titles style and Brando voice-over for the start sequence: all good calls;

Bad - Kate Bosworth: bad casting. No charisma. Never for a second convinced me that she was a spunky reporter;

Good - Brandon Routh: I thought nobody could fill Christopher Reeve's shoes, but this lad does well;

Bad - costume. They got it right in the 70s movies. The effect of darkening the colours, reducing the shield size and dropping the waistline of the trunks is well-known to clothes designers - it makes the wearer look tall and thin. Reeve looked broad and imposing.

Good - saving the shuttle/plane, and dealing with the Metropolis "quake";

Bad - not enough of that stuff;

Good - Spacey's Luthor. Clearly grown from the same seeds as Hackman's, but much more definitely a villain. I believed that this Luthor was fundamentally evil;

Bad - Kitty Kowalski. What an underwhelming character. Miss Tesmacher-lite;

Good - Richard White - a potentially interesting new character, to sit in a potentially very interesting group dynamic;

Bad - Tristan Lake Lebeau. Superman's son is autistic? Sorry, kid - you were rubbish.

Good - tweaking the franchise back into life again;

Bad - forgetting that Superman isn't Batman. Superman is supposed to be light. Superman is supposed to be FUN! Don't take it so seriously, next time!

Superman Returns is an underrated film. Made 19 years after the box office bomb that is Superman IV: The Quest For Peace, the film sees Superman return to Earth after being gone for five years due to hearing about a discovery of Krypton's remains. Because of this, Lex Luthor is released from prison due to him not appearing in court to testify against him, and Lois Lane has a kid. The man of steel returns to protecting Metropolis and tries to adjust to how the world changed, as Lex manages to break into Fortress of Solitude and steal Kryptonian crystals for use in a new sinister plan.

The film's story erases the third and fourth film from continuity, being set five years after Superman II. As most of the cast from the original two films are either old or passed away, most of the roles have been recast. Clark Kent/Superman is now played by Brandon Routh, who replaces the late Christopher Reeves (whom passed away before this film) and Kevin Spacey takes over the role of Lex Luthor from Gene Hackman. Kate Bosworth replaces Margot Kidder as Lois Lane. The film also utilizes archived footage of Marlon Brando as Kal-El (as the actor died two years before the film's release).

The film I actually enjoyed. Special effects have evolved in the 19 years between this and Superman IV, leading to the movie having some believable scenes (like Superman saving a Boeing 777 that had a space shuttle piggybacking, and a scene where a bullet is crushed making impact with one of his eyes, demonstrating his invulnerability). The script also has some nods to stuff said and done in the first two films (as a homage), and while the film is more serious, it does have its fair share of ridiculous scenes (Lex Luthor is as wacky as ever, especially with the scene where he says wrong, which became a meme, and another has Jason, Lois' son, playing the piano with one of Lex's henchmen). Despite it doing well with critics and making almost $400 million, it did not do good enough for Warner Bros., who cancelled a sequel in favor of a reboot, resulting in Man of Steel. This is an underrated superhero film that is a good homage.

I became curious enough to re-watch this movie after seeing Brandon Routh's performance as Ray Palmer/A.T.O.M. in Arrow, Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow.

I feel that it is a highly underrated film and gets an unnecessary bad rap. Brandon Routh's portrayal of Clark Kent/Superman, I feel, is second only to Christopher Reeves, whom he does a great job of capturing.

The action scenes are top-notch and fun to watch. It even has one of the most brutal fight scenes in any Superman movie which could be a bit hard to watch. Yes, even more than the Zack Snyder movies.

This movie is far from perfect, but it is a lot better than what it's given credit for. I do recommend checking it out.