Available at Amazon.com
Directed by
Bryan Singer
Cast:
Brandon Routh …. Clark Kent/Superman
Kate Bosworth …. Lois Lane
Kevin Spacey …. Lex Luthor
James Marsden …. Richard White
Parker Posey …. Kitty Kowalski
Frank Langella …. Perry White
Sam Huntington …. Jimmy Olsen
Eva Marie Saint …. Martha Kent
Marlon Brando …. Jor-El (archive footage)
Kal Penn …. Stanford
David Fabrizio …. Brutus
Tristan Lake Leabu …. Jason White
Ian Roberts …. Riley
Vincent Stone …. Grant
Jack Larson …. Bo the Bartender
Noel Neill …. Gertrude Vanderworth
As a character, no superhero may be harder to write for than Superman. Sure the hero is essential Americana and a major part of modern mythology, and yet to examine the inner workings of the character it’s difficult to really make him interesting. He isn’t faced with the inner turmoil of Spider-man or the need for vengeance like Batman. Supes isn’t faced with a world that hates him like the X-Men or forced to work with handicaps like Daredevil or Hellboy. So with basically the powers of a god, to be able to make Superman interesting a film maker must give Big Blue a conflict that is either insanely huge or as intimate as possible in order to give him more humanity. Amazingly, with Superman Returns, Bryan Singer is able to give us both.
Not since 1978’s Superman: The Movie has the Man of Steel reached this type of greatness, as Singer has crafted a picture that doesn’t simply use bombast and action as a crutch, instead vying for real emotional impact within a character that has often been seen as too powerful to deal with such trivial matters as human feelings. Yet Singer has found that conflict; that of an orphan who had found acceptance as the world’s hero, only to be shunned by the woman he loves after returning from a journey to find his real home. Of course, being a Superman movie, Big Blue must save billions of lives as well while trying to put his life back together.
As the face of this conflict, Brandon Routh turns out to be a perfect candidate to take up the mantle as the Man of Steel. Taking the role from Christopher Reeve is no small task, and Routh does so with humility and power, building a character on the foundations of Reeve’s performances while still making the character his own. I especially love his work as Clark Kent, displaying the definite shift from the Kansas farm boy to the goofy antics of his “mask”; the stumbling, mild mannered Clark Kent of Metropolis. Every moment with Routh on screen is sheer joy, as his puppy dog Clark keeps you laughing, while his Big Blue fills you with wonderment.
Any reservations people had about Routh in the costume should also disappear the moment he dons the red cape. Routh emerges as a Superman with great strength of character while still keeping his emotional distress just under the surface. His conflict is taken out on criminals and tragedies, as Superman binges on “saving the day” to keep his mind off of his troubles with Lois.
But even with his amazing abilities, Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) is an obstacle that Superman just can’t overcome. Lane has moved on his Superman’s absence, building a relationship with a Daily Planet Editor named Richard White (James Marsden) and having a child (Tristan Lake Leabu). With these emotional walls built up, not even Superman can get past them, but Singer smartly still makes the conflict even more interesting by keeping everyone likable. Bosworth, Mardsen, and Leabu are all terrific, with Mardsen getting to show a charisma and warmth that he never really got to display in his X-Men stints as Cyclops.
Of course no superhero adventure would work without a great villain, and they don’t get much better than Lex Luthor. Playing the maniacal nemesis, Keving Spacey may give the best performance in the film, turning in the greatest version of this legendary Superman foe ever put on screen. Not quite as jokey as Gene Hackman’s take on the role, Spacey is able to illicit an imposing menace while putting his dry wit to full use. By making him a perfect blend of modern and classical interpretations of this heavy, Spacey has made Luthor a timeless character, which no one has been able to do on the big screen before.
Director Singer also knows that a Superman audience is going to want eye popping visuals, which he delivers in spades. From the incredible opening sequence that mirrors the credits of the original Superman, to the plane rescue, to the film’s uplifting climax, Superman Returns is a visual masterpiece as well as a crowning achievement emotionally. The plane sequence alone is carried off near perfectly, blending action and sensation, and coming to a perfect conclusion with Rout’s Superman reading the classic lines from the original film about the virtues of flying. By the time the people of Metropolis are cheering the return of their hero, we’re cheering right along with them.
Even more resonant is the film’s message of hope. As Superman surveys the tragedies that have occurred since his departure for Krypton, we see the world around us, not just one found up on screen. Later we’re shown a world that could be if Superman were in it, doing his duty over and over in a marvelous montage sequence where he saves people in several cities, including Gotham. His “I’m always around” statement near the film’s conclusion gives us assurance that he will protect us from danger and be there for us when others won’t.
Superman Returns is that rare example of popular entertainment that is able to transcend its genre trappings to become something more. With a heart as big as the continent that Luthor intends to rule, Returns is a satisfying feast where other blockbusters are just fattening hors d’oeuvres. The film is a proud addition to the richest of Superhero legacies, as Superman Returns pays tribute to all that have come before it, while boldly looking to the future of the franchise. At the end of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Christopher Reeve smiled into the camera, promising Superman’s return in the same fashion that he had in the three previous films. Almost twenty years later, that promise has finally been fulfilled, bringing a message of hope along with it and a promise of more adventures.
The Video
Wow is a good place to start. The movie looks absolutely gorgeous as colors pop and the film’s brilliant cinematography is crystallized on a gorgeous print. The film is presented in Anamorphic Widescreen with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1
The Audio
The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is even better, with John Ottman’s incredible score coming through with flying colors. From the loudest crashes to Perry’s “great Caesa’s ghost” line, everything comes in perfectly clear and balanced.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Deleted Scenes, Featurettes, Documentary, Trailers, Easter Egg
Requiem for Krypton: Making Superman Returns – The first thing I’d like to say is that I’m pretty disappointed that Bryan Singer doesn’t do a commentary track on this DVD, but then again, this three hour documentary pretty much makes up for it. Covering virtually the entire production of this film from beginning to end, Requiem for Krypton finally gives you some idea as to just how mammoth a task it was to make this film. Probably able to compete with a Peter Jackson production, Superman Returns contained a mind boggling amount of detail as a huge crew worked tirelessly to bring this hero back to the screen for the first time in nearly twenty years.
The first section of the doc is entitled Secret Origins and First Issues: Crystallizing Superman which begins with footage shot before Singer and his writers were even hired for the project. This is an exhaustive look at the first portion of pre-production, as we get to see everything from Brandon Rout’s screen tests and different script ideas for the film to Singer scouting locations for the film’s Australian shoots. Much of this looks at Brandon’s journey from hopeful to Superman and just how down to Earth the guy is, which is absolutely perfect for this role.
Next up is The Crystal Method: Designing Superman which covers the different design concepts for the film including costumes, sets and even hair styles. The biggest portion of this chapter looks at the painstaking work of bringing Brandon’s costume together, which had to look as if were the classic costume, but still updated to today’s standards. We also get to see how Brandon painstakingly trained for the role, beefing up to be able to meet everyone’s expectations of Superman.
The next chapter, An Affinity for Beachfront Property: Shooting Superman is in three separate parts and covers the different locations the film was shot in. Superman on the Farm shows how the production went to ridiculous lengths to create Kansas in the middle of Australia. Brandon Routh remarks at one point how much it helped his acting to basically BE at the Kent farm and not just at a set. This also covers the production of the flashback scene with Stephan Bender as young Clark Kent discovering his ability to fly for the first time.
Superman in the City covers the Metropolis shoot and looks at the long production to bring the Daily Planet to life. Looking at the structure itself, the set is a marvel of modern film making. Apparently so many lights were used on the set that a special air conditioner system had to be installed in order for the cast and crew to be comfortable and for the set itself not to melt to the ground.
The last part of An Affinity for Beachfront Property, entitled Superman in Peril covers mostly the aquatic action sequences toward the end of the film. James Mardsen seems especially to be having fun as he and his other co-stars must deal with the huge pool of water that is used during these underwater scenes when Superman must save Lois and her family within Lutho’s ship. Another amazing sequence shows Superman catching the globe of the Daily planet, which is actually CGI. There’s neat shot where Supes is dropping the globe, only there’s no globe there, and yet the cars that the globe is supposed to land on are crushed for real anyway!
The best chapter of the documentary looks at the movie’s heavy in The Joy of Lex: Menacing Superman. Apparently on the set, Kevin Spacey even rigged a golf cart with anti-Superman paraphernalia and drove around with a megaphone yelling things like “Superman must die” and the like. This is a really fun look at the character and a great tribute to Spacey’s work. We also get to look at the awesome New Krypton set, which is an incredible structure in and of itself, even without CGI.
The documentary ends with He’s Always Around: Wrapping Superman which covers Rout’s last days of shooting, which is the sequence in which Superman stops the bank robbers. The scene is fun to watch coming together and the documentary ends with a great gag reel, which even includes really funny Marlon Brando footage.
Deleted Scenes – There’s about 15 minutes of deleted scenes on the disc, my favorite of which has Lex trying on a goofy wig and yelling at Kitty (Parker Posey) about the state of his martini. He calls himself “The greatest criminal mind of our time” in the scene, which is a great throwback to Gene Hackman’s Luthor. There’s also some nice footage of Ben Hubbard (James Karen) who was completely cut from the movie.
Resurrecting Jor-El – This is a Featurette on how the Visual effects team on the movie resurrected Marlon Brando footage to be used in the film and still look completely natural.
Easter egg : “Wrong!” – This is an awesome gag reel looking at Spacey’s many attempts to get the right “”Wrong!” in the movie.
Trailers – A good group of trailers, including the Teaser and Theatrical Trailers for this film as well looks at The Christopher Reeve Superman Collection and Superman II – The Richard Donner Cut as well as different DC video game offerings.
The Inside Pulse
For me anyway, Superman Returns was a dream come true. After a decade of struggling to get a Superman movie into theaters, we finally got this amazingly epic movie. The disc is also very nice, though you can look for a future version of the movie to be released with a look at the film’s post-production as well as the 15 minute “Return to Krypton” deleted scene that no one has been able to see yet. This one is a great place hold until that disc arrives, unless you’re getting the Superman Ultimate Collector’s Edition box set which includes identical discs to this release.
