Man of Steel, Saviour of Earth, Protector of Mankind, Purveyor of Truth
and Justice… Bryan Singer has been called many-a-name since his blazing directorial breakthrough The Usual Suspects, but for many, Mr Singer will be more favourably remembered for putting the bite (and claws) back into comic-book movie adaptations. Not concerned with the campery and (crappery) of the latter Batman movies (that’s pre-Batman Begins, of course), Singer directed and co-wrote X-Men; less as an excuse for capes and special effects, but more as an treatment of oppression, millennial angst and xenophobia.
The move boded well of Singer, not only was he heralded by the comic-book populace as their directorial saviour, his X-Men films received both commercial and critical successes, paving the way for a more intelligent breed of Supers (Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man and Christopher Nolan’s Batman being the obvious choices), this eventually drew Singer toward the mother (or father) of all comic-book iconoclasts, the Übermensch, a.k.a., Kal-El, a.k.a. Clark Kent, a.k.a… Superman.
It’s been nearly 30 years since director Richard Donner first brought ‘the caped one’ to the big-screen, and its been nearly 20 his last outing. So, in 2006, in a world on the brink of economic, political and environmental meltdown, do we really need a superbeing to swoop in and save us? Of course we bloody do. Set shortly after Superman II (but pushed forward to the year 2000) Kal-El had put that dastardly Lex Luthor behind bars and had disappeared back to his home-planet Krypton in the hope of learning more about his origins. Five (or six) years later, Superman returns, and discovers that the world (and Lois Lane) has moved on without him; many holding grudges as to the tragic events of the world in his absence– no prizes for naming one or two.
So, after the two decade hiatus, can we still believe a man can fly? Yes, we most certainly can. Bryan Singer has done what Bryan Singer does, producing a solid, gleaming, wonderful piece of popular entertainment. His casting choices, particularly with newcomer Brandon Routh as Clark Kent / Superman (he’d only previously had minor TV and film appears under his yellow belt) are inspired. Routh has taken the weight of the £250 million pound project squarely on his sizeable shoulders, providing both a glimpse of Christopher Reeve’s original performance and producing the required emotional fragility and heroic strength needed. Kevin Spacey (as Lex Luthor) puts in an enjoyable performance, darker than Gene Hackman’s original character, Spacey does evil without breaking a sweat. Kate Bosworth (as Lois Lane) is reincarnated somewhat differently than with Margot Kidder’s performance, she’s no longer quirky and loveably meddlesome, she’s a serious Pulitzer-Prize winning fiancé to X-Men’s now deceased Cyclops (or James Marsden, to his mum) and a mother to a son (this, as you’ll see, is an important part to the future of the franchise). Changes considered, Bosworth provides another strong performance.
A Superman movie being the quintessential summer blockbuster, there are, of course, thrills; (Lex Luthor creates a new Continent), spills (there’s a mid-air predicament ending in a non-more-Americana baseball stadium setting) and chills (there’s a nautical setback and a mass earth-quake) - all of which are done superbly and with resounding relish, even Superman’s CG-flying is near perfect. The only problem with Superman Returns is Singer’s devotion to Richard Donner’s original. The themes, acting, story, the opening credits and John Williams’ classic theme (expanded wonderfully by John Ottman) are all a little too reminiscent of Superman’s first adventures; it leaves a feeling of an enjoyable retread, rather than a whole new adventure; and compared to Singer’s X-Men it lacks a certain grittiness and bravado. Still, this misses the point, if emulation is the highest form of compliment then Superman Returns is brilliantly magnanimous; audiences of new and old will not be disappointed, this is as impressive as mainstream cinema gets, and as Superman Returns glimpses at forthcoming storylines and future super-heroic adventures, this could only be the tip of Singer’s Krypton-crystalled iceberg.