Superman Returns (2006)

Director:

Bryan Singer

Writers (WGA):

Michael Dougherty (screenplay) &
Dan Harris (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

28 June 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Superman | Return To Earth | Christian Parable | Kryptonite | Hope

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 9 wins & 21 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Red Sun (USA) (fake working title)
Superman Reborn (USA) (working title)
Superman Returns: An IMAX 3D Experience (USA) (IMAX version)
Superman V (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some intense action violence.

Runtime:

154 min

Country:

Australia | USA

Language:

English | German | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | Sonics-DDP (IMAX version)

Certification:

Malaysia:U | Hungary:14 | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | UK:12A | Ireland:12A | Finland:K-11 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #42582) | Germany:12 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Norway:11 | Argentina:13 | Chile:TE | Brazil:10 | USA:PG-13 | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | Iceland:10 | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:11 | Hong Kong:IIA | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) | South Korea:All | New Zealand:M | South Africa:10V

Filming Locations:

Art Gallery Of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

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

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: The Daily Planet office is completely repaired, only one day after Superman is in the hospital. Millions of dollars in damage were incurred, but were all gone before Superman even left the hospital. However, Superman's not the only superhero on the planet: Martian Manhunter, Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Firestorm pooled talents/resources and got it done.

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Jimmy on Jimmy (2008) (V)

Soundtrack:

Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major

The name was perfect for the film.

What can I say about this movie? To say the least, it was beautifully crafted.

Brandon Routh- who, as Shaq pointed out at the film's premiere in less flowery language- sometimes appears to be Christopher Reeve reborn. Not in appearance and voice alone, but also in his representation of Clark Kent. Of course, this should not be too surprising seeing as he has admitted to studying Reeve's performances in the earlier Superman films.

Nonetheless, Brandon Routh is excellent in his own right. He "is" Superman as wholly and perfectly as Smallville's Tom Welling (who is, ironically 2 years older).

The other characters of the cast were as equally well -chosen. I had perhaps biased doubts about Kate Bosworth's portrayal of Lois Lane, but she does extremely well with the part. I had even more doubts about Kevin Spacey...I mean, come on, Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor? To my delight, however, he did more than just shave his head to prepare for the challenging role.

Over an hour of the two and a half the film provided was spent with Superman "returning." Note, that I already have a slightly biased dislike of Superman. You can probably guess what that dislike concerns.

However, I found myself enjoying Superman's excessive showing off.

The movie in general is probably one of the most aesthetically pleasing superhero movies that I have ever seen. I usually hate to focus too much on good graphics, but the 3D scenes are done amazingly well most of the time. Superman's red underwear is lacking most of its usual luster and utterly underwearish shape, much to my relief. In fact, thanks to the perfect length of his cape and good use of the camera, we avoid even seeing it most of the time.

All this, combined with that classical Superman theme song, makes our hearts cry, "It's Superman!" with a surprising joy.

The problem is, despite the perfection found in the cast and direction, the plot is sadly lacking. Lex Luthor's plan is foolish, rash, and surprisingly cheap coming from someone of his caliber. Last I saw of the old Batman and Superman adventures TV show on Cartoon Network those years ago, Lex Luthor was a man devoted to subtle mechanics. He would do things, like destroy land by draining oil from the wrong areas, sell weapons to the enemies of metropolis. Mass destruction was never his goal, although people were inadvertently hurt by his methods. He had huge factories, all covered with lead so that Superman could not see inside, and worked tactfully with the enemies of Superman to bring about his demise.

The one villain who could have saved this movie- Metallo, a.k.a. "The Man With the Kryptonite Heart" was left out much to my disappointment.

Instead of either adding a more powerful villain or making Lex Luthor the intelligent- however insane- businessman that he is, they surrounded him with idiots and gave him a faux plan.

In this way, they insulted the intelligence of the audience. They perhaps thought that an involved, complicated plot was the wrong way to bring Superman back, and the movie was probably also geared to young children (despite it's PG-13 rating, which was not understandable to me as the movie was quite mild) who were just being introduced to the Man of Steel.

Despite these major flaws, though, now that they have gotten over "bringing Superman back" the seeds have been planted for an excellent sequel. Sequels usually make me wary and I do not want them, but ironically, with this movie of all things, I hope for one with absolute anticipation and excitement.