Superman Returns (2006)

After a long overlooking of his race's planet, the world suddenly gets astounded after Superman's reappearance. However, a rising foe then threatens to bring the USA to global domination using the Man of Steel's prior weakness.

Director:

Bryan Singer

Writers:

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

Stars:

Brandon Routh, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 11 wins & 26 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

Following a mysterious absence of several years, the Man of Steel comes back to Earth in the epic action-adventure Superman Returns, a soaring new chapter in the saga of one of the world's most beloved superheroes. While an old enemy plots to render him powerless once and for all, Superman faces the heartbreaking realization that the woman he loves, Lois Lane, has moved on with her life. Or has she? Superman's bittersweet return challenges him to bridge the distance between them while finding a place in a society that has learned to survive without him. In an attempt to protect the world he loves from cataclysmic destruction, Superman embarks on an epic journey of redemption that takes him from the depths of the ocean to the far reaches of outer space.

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Plot Keywords:

crystal | return to earth | christian parable | hope | fortress of solitude | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Warner Bros. [Australia]

Country:

USA

Language:

English German French

Release Date:

28 June 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Le retour de Superman

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

Johnny Depp was considered for the roles of Lex Luthor and Jor-El when McG was attached to the project.

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Goofs

When Superman follows the initial fault line back to Metropolis, the "Metropolis Pier" sign is reversed.

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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

Featured in The Science of Superman (2006)

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Soundtracks

Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major
Written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Concentus Hungaricus; András Ligeti (as Andras Ligeti), Conductor
Featuring Jenõ Jandó, Pianist
Courtesy of Naxos
By Arrangement with Source/Q

User Reviews

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.