Superman Returns (2006)

After a long visit to the lost remains of the planet Krypton, the Man of Steel returns to Earth to become the people's savior once again and reclaim the love of Lois Lane.

Director:

Bryan Singer

Writers:

Michael Dougherty (screenplay), Dan Harris (screenplay),

Stars:

Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 10 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brandon Routh	...	Clark Kent / Superman
Kate Bosworth	...	Lois Lane
Kevin Spacey	...	Lex Luthor
James Marsden	...	Richard White
Parker Posey	...	Kitty Kowalski
Frank Langella	...	Perry White
Sam Huntington	...	Jimmy Olsen
Eva Marie Saint	...	Martha Kent
Marlon Brando	...	Jor-El (archive footage)
Kal Penn	...	Stanford
Tristan Lake Leabu	...	Jason White
David Fabrizio	...	Brutus
Ian Roberts	...	Riley
Vincent Stone	...	Grant
Jack Larson	...	Bo the Bartender

Storyline

After eliminating General Zod & the other Kryptonian arch-villains, Ursa & Non, Superman leaves Earth to try to find his former home world of Krypton after astronomers have supposedly found it. When he finds nothing but remnants, he returns home to Earth - to find out that Lois Lane is engaged to a relative of his boss, and that Lex Luthor is at it again - after swindling an elderly, terminally ill woman. The psychopathic Luthor, whose plans to destroy California failed because of Superman's heroics, vows vengeance against the Man of Steel and contrives a new sinister plot - using the crystals of Krypton to build a continent that will wipe out most of North America! Embedded in the continent's structure is Kryptonite - the lethal substance that is Superman's only weakness. Upon learning of Luthor's sinister scheme, Superman must again race against time to stop the psychopathic Luthor before millions - possibly billions - are killed.

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Plot Keywords:

return to earth | crystal | fortress of solitude | hope | kryptonite | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some intense action violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Warner Bros. [Australia]

Country:

USA

Language:

English German French

Release Date:

28 June 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Superman Reborn

Filming Locations:

Cnr Auckland & King Streets Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$209,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£4,337,637 (UK) (14 July 2006)

Gross:

$200,069,408 (USA) (27 October 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Legendary Pictures, Peters Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

154 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital Sonics-DDP (IMAX version)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The reappearance of Superman in Metropolis by saving an crashing airplane is a direct nod to an episode of Paul Dini's Superman cartoons titled: The Last Son of Krypton Part 2 as well as an episode of the Max Fleischer-animated Superman called Japoteurs.

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Goofs

Inconsistencies with Superman, Superman II, Superman III, and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace are not being counted as goofs. Bryan Singer stated that Superman Returns ignores the latter two film and is a loose sequel to the concepts of the first two, with chronology and other story details adjusted. Therefore IMDB is treating this film as a separate entity.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jor-El: You will travel far my little Kal-El. But we will never leave you. Even in the face of our deaths. You will make my strength your own. You will see my life through your eyes as your life will be seen through mine. The son becomes the father, and the father, the - The son.

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Crazy Credits

When the Warner Bros logo appears, the opening bars of the John Williams "Superman" theme are heard.

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Connections

References Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988)

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Soundtracks

"As Time Goes By"
(1931) (uncredited)
(From the 1932 Broadway show "Everybody's Welcome")
Written by Herman Hupfeld
(played during Warner Brothers logo)

User Reviews

Give it a minute to sink in

First off don't take advice on whether or not to see this movie from someone who didn't like the original film, doesn't know how to spell kal-el, and/or thinks Smallville is the only good representation of the superman story. Don't get me wrong I like smallville. I watch it all season because the writers will give me at least 3 very good episodes...but thats out of an entire season. That leaves a lot of crappy episodes too. That being said Tom Welling is great and Michael Rosenbaum is the best Lex I've ever seen. On to this movie... The casting is genius. Brandon Routh is amazing...not only does he capture the role of Superman perfectly. He recaptures the Clark that Christopher Reeves showed us. Its almost uncanny you'll see what I mean. The story line is where everyone gets hung up, but you just have to give it a chance. You have to look at it this way. Singer had the choice of whether or not to show us the same story we've all seen before or to come with something totally new. And thats what He did he brought us a story we haven't seen before we don't automatically know how this will end or even where he is going with it in the next film. But thats good. With Hollywood overrun with remakes and regurgitated story lines its exciting to NOT know where this is going. Another complaint you might hear is the pace. "Its not as action packed as spiderman 2 or x-men 2 it didn't live up to potential". For this answer you have to remember X-men 1. Singer likes to build a base storyline to work with. X-men 1 was not near as action packed as the 2nd one. But he built the characters. I feel like thats what he did in this film. He works a little character development in. It does slow up the pace and make the movie a little long. But I think overall the next film will benefit from it. So I would definitely recommend seeing this film...maybe not the latest showing. But its the first must see of the summer. I'm ready to see it again already