Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

I take a pause from my Christopher Moore diatribe to bring you SUPERMAN!

I rented 2 highly publicized and anticipated films over the week-end (the other was DaVinci Code…ehhh…) and what a world of difference.

PLOT:

Superman returns to earth after disappearing for five years. Astrologers thought they had discovered Krypton and he had to see if it still existed.
All he found was a graveyard in space.

In his absence, Lois Lane has become engaged to pilot and nephew of Perry White, Richard White. She is about to accept the Pulitzer Prize for her article “Why The World Doesn’t Need Superman.” and it is obvious that this was written as her way of dealing with the heartache of him leaving and not saying goodbye. She says she is well over him but we know that she’s lying to herself. It is by chance that Superman’s first act is to save her life again.
She has a son by Richard White who is, coincidentally, about five years old. He is a good hearted, smart but “fragile” child who has to carry an inhaler for his asthma and fails gym.

Also, since Supe has been gone, Lex Luthor has been released from prison. Supe is partially responsible for this because he didn’t show up to Lex’s parole hearing.
Lex is independently wealthy, having swindled an elderly woman of her life savings while she was on her deathbed. He takes his henchman and love interest/ bimbo, Kitty Kowalski up to Superman’s Fortress of Solitude and, after accessing Superman’s information code, learns how the Fortress was built.
Superman has magic crystals that create landmasses. Just Add Water.

His “Diabolical Plan” is to toss a crystal in the Ocean and create an entirely new continent. Since the creation of his continent will unfortunately wipe out an already existing one, Lex knows that he will make a fortune in real estate sales; unfortunately the side effect will be the death of “billions” (insert maniacal Dr. Evil laugh here)

Wait… What to do about pesky Superman? Surely he won’t let Lex destroy North America and create “Lex’s Happy FunLand”. Well, Lex has that covered. He’s stolen a sample of Kryptonite that fell to earth years ago and landed in Ethiopia. Once he wraps the crystal in the Kryptonite, the new continent will take it’s properties and render Superman completely powerless.

…at least in theory…

OPINION:

Welcome back Superman. We missed you.
A wave of nostalgia will wash over you as you watch this and anyone above thirty will have their heart race a bit. It is exciting.

This movie had a lot to live up to. It had to overcome not only the stigma of Christopher Reeves but also the near death of the franchise.
Much as Batman and Robin almost ended that series forever, so to did Superman IV: Quest For Peace almost destroy this story. I would go so far as to say that the Superman saga was in worse shape than Batman; at least Batman set the precedent for other actors to take the lead role on the Big Screen. While Superman started out strong, using state of the art special effects (for 1978) it quickly deteriorated in to horrible effects, slap stick comedy and pathetic plot lines.
Rumors have been flying for 10 years about who was going to be Supe, who was going to direct and when it was getting made.
At one time Nicholas Cage was attached as Clark Kent.

Well, the Director ended up being Bryan Singer whose film credits include X-men, X-men 2, The Usual Suspects and Apt Pupil.
He’s proven that he not only knows how to direct comic book flics but serious film as well.
In the lead role he’s chosen a virtual unknown, Brandon Routh. Singer shouldn’t be second-guessed for this. Had he gone for a brand name actor, people would have spent the entire movie thinking “Hey… it’s Nick Cage as Superman” and not “Hey… it’s Superman.”
While Brandon Routh isn’t necessarily as beefy as you would think Supe should be, he does possess honor, nobility and goodness. It appears that Singer went for a “boy next door/ All American” quality for Superman and this choice works very well. You know that this Supe will never lie, never be bribed, never be impolite.
Physically he’s not far off, coming in at six foot three.

Choices that Singer made will make you smile. He has peppered this film with most of the original John Williams score.
He has used thirty-year-old footage of Marlon Brando (Superman’s father Jor-El) and has reflected it off crystal walls to make it fresh and modern.
He has tipped his cap to various Superman references of the past and even tributes the cover of Action Comics #1 (possibly the most famous comic book cover of all time).
He has made Lois Lane less of an annoying woman reporter trying to overcompensate in a man’s world and more of a savvy businesswoman who can cope on her own, a woman who falls in love and doesn’t just “gush”.
Jimmy Olsen is less the boyish, innocent cub reporter and more the guy in the office who is slightly annoying but doesn’t know it. The overly friendly guy who will chat with you while you’re at the water cooler or the photocopier and then follow you back to your desk.

Lex Luthor is played very well by Kevin Spacey who chose a more subtle approach for the main villain instead of the “over the top” evil that we’ve seen. He plays Lex almost completely straight. He is smarter than you, more aware of his surroundings than you and it excites him, but he doesn’t have to prove it to anybody. His humorous, egotistical lines, while not thrown away, are said as almost certain fact and the humor comes from people’s reactions around him.
He does have one moment where his excitement can’t be contained but it makes him appear almost boyish and charming instead of maniacal. He will kill you (or simply allow you to die) and it will be fun.

Singer and the cast managed to change what was an up hill climb in to an effortless stroll. I had to take one star away because the movie did drag a bit after hour number two and a few of the special effects were obvious CG (Supe against a matte painting of Outer space and a young Clark Kent “leaping buildings in a single bound”) but other than that I was surprised and pleased with the turn out.

Welcome back Supe. This movie is worthy of you. You were always the greatest of all the super heroes and one that deserved better than what happened to you.

If, for some reason, you see this series deteriorate in to silliness and fluff, hang up your cape and take a break. We’ll be here for you when you get back.

We need you.


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up to Age 4