Superman Returns

February 07, 2007

To start with I will let you know that I do not read "Superman" the comic book. His month to month adventures have never appealed to me as a comic book reader. Let's face it the guy is king of the hill and always will be. Personally Spider-Man is who I identify the most with, but that is another review.  When it comes to Superman: the character, the idea, and the duality of Clark and Superman (Kal-EL) are what have always appealed to me. In short, take the character that we all know and love and spin him in a different direction. The original 2 movies did this with grandeur. There have been many writers that have spun great tales about Superman which deal with more than fighting Lex Luthor or Brainiac. Joeph Loeb, Frank Miller, Alfred Gough, and Miles Millar are some of my personal favorites. Bryan Singer steps to plate and gives us the story, "Does the world still need a Superman"? What if Lois Lane moved on, does she still need (a) Superman? Singer hits a homerun all the way while paying homage to Richard Donner's classic film and seeding his own Superman tale, a tale that is apparently going to be told in the next movie, SORRY NO SPOILER HERE.

Now I obviously love the original 2 Superman movies and keep a special place in my heart for 3 and 4 out of respect to Christopher Reeve, but what about the average moviegoer? Superman Returns is another (yes, Hollywood is starting to get them right with the big name heroes anyway) great superhero flick. And as my wife pointed out there were no cheesy moments. Nothing that stood out like a sore thumb. The movie is simply great; a rarity in these times, but it is great filmmaking. Finally a movie that anyone can go and see, sit back with the family or a group of friends and enjoy. We need more movies like this. Movies where a group of strangers can sit together and cheer on a hero we can all believe in. That might be the greatest part about Superman Returns, we all believed that there is a man who fights for truth, justice, and the American way. That no matter what he will do what is right and inspire others to do the same... a rarity in these times.

Click here to read the staff review by Mania.