Superman Returns (2006)

Rating:
Director: Bryan Singer
Starring: Brandon Routh, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, Parker Posey, James Marsden

I was completely torn watching “Superman Returns.” It’s a terrific spectacle, visually one of the best superhero movies yet, but director and co-writer Bryan Singer betrays the essence of the character so thoroughly that the film is, at best, a guilty pleasure, and at worst, heresy.

Here’s what the film gets right: The action is big and fast, expertly staged. I’ve never been more convinced by special effects that this is exactly what a superhuman being would be like. And Singer pits Superman against pretty much every form of major disaster: Plane crash, shipwreck, runaway car, earthquake, fiery explosions, each made compelling, each looking so big against the lone figure in the red cape.

The visual design is top-notch. It’s a visually darker world that Superman is returning to, and it feels more modern without “edgy” nihilism. The Daily Planet has that retro art deco feel that’s just … right. The other major set pieces are diverse and fascinating. The film cost $260 million, but you’re seeing ever dollar on the screen.

The cast is strong. Brandon Routh makes a good Superman and an excellent (if underused) Clark Kent. Kevin Spacey retains some of Gene Hackman’s silliness as Lex Luthor, but adds significant menace. Kate Bosworth is too young to play Lois Lane, especially as a single mother, and the character is underwritten, but she makes the best of it. Cameos by Eva Marie Saint as Martha Kent and Frank Langella as Perry White are welcome, but not as welcome as seeing Noel Neill and Jack Larson — Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen from the ’50s Superman TV show — given worthwhile cameos.

What the film gets wrong isn’t slight. We’re given a Superman who abandoned Earth to go search for the ruins of Krypton. (Which, by the way, should be all kryptonite, so, um, bad move, Clark.) A Superman who didn’t say goodbye to anyone, even Lois, because that would’ve been too hard. A Superman who comes back to learn that Lois Lane — the woman he loved only from afar — is engaged to the man with whom she’s had a child, and proceeds to stalk her with X-Ray vision and tempt her with this lingering, longing flirtation that’s passive-aggressively hidden underneath a dishonest veneer of cool professionalism. A weak, selfish Superman who is trying to break up a small child’s family. It’s as though Singer and company have no concept of nobility.

The weaknesses must have been apparent to Singer, because the film doesn’t make much effort to justify these deviations, preferring to just get on with the story at hand. And these problems are never resolved. The resolution is not only unsatisfying between Lois and Superman, but Richard (who by film’s end has proven himself as brave and much more honorable than the guy in the cape) is entirely absent. Instead, Singer brings his best efforts to the action with edge-of-the-seat sequences. In these bits, he keeps Superman bright (except for that slightly off uniform) in a world that’s darker than Christopher Reeve’s, but that’s marred with a couple instances of intense violence that really are so off-tone they’re hard to watch.

The heart of the problem is the Big Reveal that comes as Lois is being savagely beaten by a crook clearly intent on murdering her in front of her paralyzed, asthmatic four-year-old kid. Can you think of a scene less appropriate for a young kid to see? Yes, the film is rated PG-13, but Superman is an all-ages character. You just don’t get to make a Superman movie without considering the pre-teen audience. That’s like making a Nora Ephron movie without considering stupid people. But I digress. The big reveal is the kid hurling a piano at the bad guy with sufficient might to crush the man to death — Perry White’s pleasantly reliable nephew is definitely not this kid’s father.

Singer has picked up the creepiest aspect of “Superman II,” which this film is supposed to follow. Superman so loves Lois that, once she sees through his Clark persona, he decides to marry her but, stupid plot device, must give up his powers to do so. He does, and he and Lois do it in the arctic Fortress of Solitude. Circumstances force him to regain his powers and resume his double life, so he magically (really, he kisses her and she forgets) erases her memory of his identity, their recent adventures, and the sex. It escaped me as a ten-year-old theatergoer how unnervingly creepy that is, until Singer gives us the implication that this is how Lois got knocked up with a gonna-be-super-someday kid.

Which means Superman abandoned Earth weeks, perhaps only days, after having saved the planet from being conquered by three crazed Kryptonian super-villains. Yeah, clearly we don’t need him around. And Lois must’ve fallen into Richard White’s arms awfully fast to have believed he could have fathered the child Superman left her with (what, did they not have condoms in 1980? Stupid “free love” generation …). So much for a mourning period, eh, Lois? Since Singer’s Superman is too cowardly to say goodbye, her true love might’ve been dead while she was falling into the arms of James Marsden’s mild-mannered journalist. And how’s Superman leave us at the end? He doesn’t tell Lois the truth. He just tells her he’ll be around and floats off. Classy. Who would’ve thought Superman would become a hero for absentee fathers everywhere?

Superman is a hero. He’s often criticized for not being complex enough, for being too purely good to relate to. That’s how he’s supposed to be. Superman is not our drinking buddy, he’s our ideal. He’s super. He does the right thing. Period. Singer’s idea to give Superman some emotional challenges, to throw a wrench into his relationship with Lois, was a good one. Even the absence probably could’ve been made to work. But Home-Wreckin’-Child-Neglectin’-Woman-Manipulatin’ Superman is not the action figure I wanted to buy.

And goddamn it, I really wanted to like this film. It looks so good. Somewhere in my notebook I scribbled, “All movies should feel this big.” Singer’s camerawork is as masterful as his grasp of character is weak. I wanted to be charmed by Routh and amazed by Singer. And I was, but not enough to make me swallow a Superman who hasn’t done one thing right that didn’t involve fighting the clearly labeled bad guy. Still, I can’t flatly say to stay away. It’s worth watching, and the saving grace is the knowledge that Superman isn’t one story, he’s a myth that will shrug off the shameful aspects of this episode like a mere hail of bullets.

FIVE DEGREES OF SEPARATION
Superman: The Movie—It’s corny and a bit slow by today’s standards, but it’s also gentle, sweet and inspiring. And the DVD commentary by Richard Donner and writer Tom Mankiewicz is fantastic; you feel like you’re overhearing old friends talk at the coolest cocktail party ever.

Spider-Man 2—Arguably the best comic-book movie ever. Tops the excitement of the first installment but remains true to the character. Action, darker edge, and still inspirational.

Batman Begins—This is the kind of return we wanted: Resurrecting a moribund franchise by going back to the basics, not by hijacking the hero into the wrong soap opera.

The Usual Suspects—Singer is more at home with the morally compromised characters in this complex, fascinating film than he is with Superman.

Hero—Zhang Yimou’s dense, dreamy tale of honor, bravery and kung fu gives us shades of morality without crippling the story. As the final credits roll, you feel wonder … not disappointment.