Superman Returns

Superman Returns! But alas, I was disappointed.

I write my thought as a rather uninformed viewer. I don’t read comics, and I don’t really remember the original Superman movies that well (the first came out in 1978 — almost 30 years ago). But I do know this one is supposed to take place after the events of Superman II.

Anyway, although there were apparantly a lot of homages paid to the previous version of Superman, I really felt like there was absolutely no real chemistry between any of the characters. Frankly, Lois was whiny and surly the entire movie. She barely pays any sort of attention to Clark, and they seem to have no relationship to speak of work or otherwise. I’m a bit disillusioned because I always thought she fell in love with Clark. After all, Clark always considers himself Clark first, and Superman second (see the Clark Kent subsection of the Wikipedia Superman article).

Lois also seems to be dumb as bricks. When investigating a strange yacht that could have potentially been the starting point of an unusual blackout, she decided to take her five year old kid along. Go figure that Lex Luther was hanging out on board.

Although Kevin Spacey did a good job as Lex Luther, what was the point of his minions? I agree Kitty was there for semi-comic relief, but the other three guys (one of which was Kumar from Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle) barely did anything and said even less. In fact, their only parts were just to exchange meaningful glances with each other, give menacing stares to Lois or Superman, or kick and punch Superman when he’s feeling low. Lame.

The special effects were fantastic, though. At least the shaky plot was coupled with some really neat scenes with lots of flying, explosions, and Superman looking cool in his outfit and perfectly placed lock of hair on his forehead.

The last thing that stood out to me was the retro-style opening credits. Very similar to how the new King Kong opened up. I guess the new-school way of opening a movie is the old-school way. Maybe it gives you more credibility? Or was it just another homage?