Superman Returned

I made my regular pilgrimage to Alamo Drafthouse, on Tuesday, to catch my weekly Screen 8 Fare (everything I've gone to see on Tuesday evening has been on Screen 8, I've grown attached to it, I think I'm just going to start asking for a ticket to whatever's in Screen 8). Fortunately, this week, the showing turned out to be Bryan Singer's Superman Returns. I'm hardly what could pass for a Superman fan. Rather, I prefer the Dark Knight, quite a bit more. Superman has always seemed too easy, too simple, too predictable, too self righteous.

However, there's something captivating about Superman. If there weren't, the character would've fallen by the wayside. Perhaps fading into obscurity, like Captain America. Or folly, like Aquaman. Instead, the virtue that makes him so basic, the integrity that makes him so noble and the strength that makes him so admirable have been mainstays of heroic fantasy for almost seventy years.

Somehow all of Superman's traits were ignored, in the 1980's, in favor of box office receipts. The plots of the third and fourth movies were so clunky and dated, they were meaningless by the time revenue began to return on them.

Fortunately, there has been a trend for the better, lately, in heroic cinema. Batman has been repaired and Spiderman has proven more insightful than many Oscar nominees. XMen appeared to be following the trend, but, well, Brett Ratner. I can't say more than that.

That being said, Singer has helmed Superman Returns with a careful devotion, which has been the center of a great deal of optimism and criticism. Given the overall simplicity of any Superman story, it doesn't seem fair to rebuke efforts toward a creative, timeless and fantastical attempt. I'm at a loss, therefore, to understand some of the harsh words used to describe this flick. My feedback is more basic, I think. Very simply, I felt:

1. Kevin Spacey was an excellent choice for the Lex Luthor role. He has the capacity and ability to play a villain of this caliber with little more than printed word. I genuinely hoped that he'd be afforded the screen time to consume himself with the role, to demonstrate that obscenely off-kilter nature so consistent with his most profound characters. Alas, it was not to be. While he was afforded memorable moments as one of the most entertaining villains of all time, those moments were cut far too short. One can only hope that a follow up is in the works, where Spacey's reins aren't held quite so tight.

2. The final 10-15 minutes were nearly interminable. It is only fair to mention that I had to excuse myself to the men's room before I died. However, the movie didn't seem to want to wrap itself up, once all was returned to right.

On the whole, the movie worked quite well. Brandon Routh and Kevin Spacey are more than capable of adopting their mantles, here. Each of them nearly channelling their predecessors. Kate Bosworth fit Lois Lane far better than Margo Kidder ever could have. She was less a stubborn damsel in distress and more a capable foil to Superman's righteous persona. Most importantly, James Marsden (again, with precious little screen time) engaged a new element to the story that took the film beyond what any other had done. He has interfered with the romantic dynamic between Lois and Superman in such a way that Superman cannot interfere. It would contrary to his personality and detrimental to the character as a whole. Simply because one cannot help but like Marsden's character.

I hope the same attention to detail will accompany any followups. Most importantly, I hope the studios respect Singer's efforts to make this film more than just a summer blockbuster and take every step necessary to avoid replacing him with the likes of Brett Ratner. Ever again.

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