Superman Returns: And what a return.

In this day and age of constant Hollywood adaptations of classic comic book heroes a relaunching of one of the most popular, Superman, seemed like a sure fire box office smash. But when this film was released, it was met with mixed emotions from fanboys and critics alike. But unlike most superhero films, Superman Returns shines.

After a five year search for his home planet, Superman returns to earth. However he finds a great number of things have changed. There are some people that think the world does not even need him around anymore. But when his arch enemy Lex Luthor hatches an evil plan to destroy billions of lives, Superman will once again take up the mantle as protector of the planet.

In re – launching the Superman franchise, director Bryan Singer made a wise decision to not simply retell his origin and rehash what was covered in the first Superman film. Instead, Singer and the film’s screenwriters used the story of his return to ponder, in a broader sense, if the world truly needs superheroes at all. He then set about filling the screen with impressive action, treating the audience to the whole menagerie of Superman’s powers and resplendently composed shots which could take their collective breaths away. Some true action fans might have been disappointed that there was not more fighting and henchman butt – kicking in the film but what separated this film from other recent comic book to film adaptations (and made the first two X-Men films which Singer directed so good) were the directors’ ability to make those quiet moments in the movie so human and sincere. Yes the audience got to see Superman fly around, save lives and other spectacular feats, but that also got to see him interact with Lois Lane as they tried to hash out their personal relationship and grapple with the inner turmoil of trying to be the earth’s savior again. It was those quiet moments which made the return of Superman a film to remember. The lack of enough action could have also been due to the main villain of the movie. Kevin Spacey effectively tore up the screen as Lex Luthor, giving him the kind of snobby flair the character demanded, but his evil plan to destroy the world felt feeble and made Luthor look like nothing more than an evil land developer and not a proper nemesis for The Man of Steel.

Grade: B