Superman Returns (2006) - User Reviews

You know you're not off to a good start when a film with this big a budget begins with a paragraph of text explaining the setup of the movie rather than just *showing it*, seeing as this is a visual medium.

Brand Routh is absolutely perfect as Superman, and the supporting cast all do very well - with the possible exception of Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, but then he has large shoes to fill and the script gives him little to work with.

No, the problem is not with the cast but with some of the basic concepts of the film. Superman has been away for 5 years, and his absence and sudden return only seem to upset his ex-girlfriend - wouldn't it be more interesting to see the trouble Superman has re-integrating into society at large: a society that has had to survive without him and has done so okay-ish for 5 years?

In fact wouldn't it be more interesting if Superman's 5 year trip to Krypton's blasted remains actually had some bearing on the plot of the film or Lex Luthor's plan? "That place was a graveyard" says Superman - in other words, his trip and his absence was a total waste of time, and pointless to the film except for giving him a reason to have been absent.

And Luthor's plan of creating a new continent/destroying north america - all very good, but not particularly interesting, as it's just an ugly lump of rock - no buildings, no weapons, no action - just a bit of a fist-fight and the superman throws it into space. What a let down.

And yet for all these moans the film still held some excellent character-driven drama, some excellent action scenes (Superman saving the plane and tackling the initial earthquake-caused disasters in Metropolis were all superb) but in the end it lacked a coherent driving plot - which neither Lex's plan nor Superman's trip away really provided.

A good effort, but a more well thought out script and plot was definitely required.

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