Last night, while trying to soak up as much pre-Superman Returns hype as I possibly could, I tuned into The Late Show to find David Letterman chatting comfortably with Kevin Spacey, noting that he had seen the movie in which his guest plays notorious arch-villain Lex Luthor. “I saw Superman Returns, and you know,” Dave observed, “people are pretty happy to see him.” They are indeed. I didn’t need to hear it from him; I saw it for myself when I joined the throng of fans with stylized “S”s emblazoned on their shirts, cheering along with the millions on-screen when Superman makes his earth-shattering comeback. The world still needs a hero, even if only to inspire in our imaginations the potential for good within each of us.

One of the most anticipated films of the year, Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns picks up where Superman II left off, dismissing the more dubious third and fourth cinematic outings and making no attempt to align itself with the revolutionary, revisionist Smallville - or, for that matter, the somewhat steamy Lois and Clark. Lois (Kate Bosworth) does play an important role, of course, though her potency as a love interest is diminished by the presence of a long-term boyfriend and young son. Superman’s five years of “looking for space, and to find out who [he is]” by seeking the remnants of his home planet, Krypton, have brought him little peace, and his absence has had many consequences, both for his personal life and for the rest of the world. These are the things he must come to grips with as he makes his way back to the life he abandoned.

Not only is Lois settled into a cozy relationship that seems like marriage in spite of her prickling at the subject of engagement, she has won a Pulitzer for an article she wrote explaining why the world has no further need of Superman. Have the citizens of Earth really moved on, or is there still great good for Kal-El to accomplish? As he zips around the world trying to make up for lost time, Lex Luthor, who has just managed to get out of prison and amass a sizable fortune, uses a crystal (an object whose enormous capacity for both creation and destruction recalls the Genesis project from Star Trek II) from the sacred chamber where Superman confers with his long-deceased father Jor-El (whose gentle, paternal wisdom is conveyed through the archived voice of Marlon Brando) to create a new continent that will eventually leave most of the United States submerged. Lois, investigating the power outages caused by Lex’s test run of the crystal’s power, finds herself and her son Jason inadvertently in his grasp, giving Superman a personal link to Lex’s villainy.

There was much discussion prior to the release of this film as to whether Brandon Routh could fill the iconic suit so long occupied by Christopher Reeve, to whom the film is dedicated, along with his wife Dana. Happily, the handsome newcomer, who bears a striking resemblance to Reeve, carries the legacy more than ably, with style, grace and compassion. I’ve read that Routh is an avid Superman fan, so the burden must have been especially great for him. He shoulders it well, a picture of strength and civility when bedecked in the famous suit and cape, a nebbish reporter with a goofy grin and glasses that scream geek when settling into the guise of reporter Clark Kent. We get a few charming scenes of him in the office of the Daily Planet but don’t really see him accomplishing much; my guess is he’s little more adept at his job than naive, fashion-challenged Jimmy Olsen (Sam Huntington), who worships Clark (and who, in spite of his state of the art camera, can’t get better shots of Superman than a kid with a cell phone). It’s almost a wonder no-nonsense Perry White (Frank Langella), the rather crusty editor-in-chief, gives him his job back. Somehow, though, Clark is just a comforting guy to have around…

I’ve never been a fan of Lois Lane, but here, while she’s still somewhat peckish and a little too investigative for her own good, Bosworth imbues her with a wistful sweetness that makes her more likable. Most likely motherhood has softened her, and her son is certainly a child of whom to be proud. Affectionate, imaginative, asthmatic Jason (Tristan Lake Leabu) is wide-eyed and intelligent, taking in his surroundings with sensitivity. He has a knack for playing the piano - which allows for a duet with a most unlikely partner partway through the film - but other talents lie untapped until he realizes that he may be the only person who can rescue his mother from the thugs that threaten. Noteworthy, too, is her boyfriend Richard (James Marsden), who it seems like we should dislike on principle, unless we’re in the camp of those who would just as soon see Superman move on. In either case, Richard, while understandably insecure upon the return of his girlfriend’s old flame, is courteous, considerate and in all other ways far too nice a guy to be the sort who can be conveniently tossed aside to make way for a renewed romance.

I was eager to see the always excellent Spacey playing Superman’s arch-nemesis, and I was just as impressed with the villain as the hero. Having just finished watching the third season of Smallville, I wasn’t particularly comfortable with the idea of abandoning Lex to the realm of soulless evil mastermind but had basically resigned myself to it. However, while the shiny-headed menace is ruthless in terms of what he is willing to destroy in order to ensure his rise to the top, with Spacey’s incredibly capable performance, I still feel I am able to see tiny threads of good in him. At the very least, he is charismatic, as dashing as he is dastardly and devious. And he’s so clever, witty and even occasionally giddy that I often nearly forgot that he is the bad guy.

One of the greatest things about Lex is that he is genuinely funny much of the time, and humor is prevalent throughout the film, in the aw-shucks antics of Clark, the sly twists of the tongue that reveal more than they should, the henchman who films almost everything Lex does like the designated family videographer. Almost always amusing is Lex’s arm candy, Kitty (Parker Posey), a ditzy floozy who, as is often the case with the sidekicks of super villains, actually turns out to be a pretty decent person. Meanwhile, Lex's merry band of minions is both menacing and comical. Most noteworthy is tattooed, brooding Brutus (David Fabrizio, who happens to be a native of my hometown), who seldom speaks but nonetheless commands the attention of the audience whenever he appears. There is genius in the film's small moments, and one of my favorites occurs on the Smallville family homestead when Clark takes in the quiet beauty of his first morning back on Earth and indulges his dog in a game of fetch, not quite recalling his own strength.

These serene rural scenes, which allow for a few tender moments with adoptive mom Martha (Eva Marie Saint), are a nice way to ease into the fast-paced Metropolis lifestyle, while the shots of Superman floating high above the city are dreamily gorgeous. But people flock to Superman Returns to see plenty of action and special effects, and the movie most certainly delivers. The opening sequence, in which John Williams’ triumphal theme music accompanies Superman’s dizzying journey across the universe as the credits practically jump off the screen in a pale blue rush, is one of the most thrilling I have ever seen, and I would heartily recommend seeing the film in the theater for this scene alone. But that’s only the beginning, and we’re treated to all sorts of flawless special effects shots, including the exhilarating rescue of an airplane as it plummets toward a baseball field packed with fans and the desperate attempt to prevent Metropolis from collapsing upon itself in a calamitous scene that couldn’t help but carry slight echoes of September 11. Enhancing it all is the stirring score, and while the resurgence of the familiar theme music each time Superman performs an extraordinary feat provides an adrenaline rush, John Ottman’s original score is equally impressive, and most moving are the elegiac strains accompanying a climactic free fall from which it seems our hero may not be able to recover.

All this adds up to a movie that answers the questions of whether the Superman franchise can survive with a new man at the helm and whether there is even room for this particular icon of American mythology in this cynical, modern world. Does the world still need Superman? Here’s one fan who says we do, and it’s nice to have him back.

Smallville:
Season One
Season Two
Season Three
A Poem About Lex
A Poem About Lionel
Another Poem About Lex

Recommended: Yes