DOES THE WORLD NEED "SUPERMAN RETURNS"?

    The Man of Steel is back in Bryan Singer's "Superman Returns".  After almost 20 years of false starts, misguided scripts (one draft depicted Superman getting his power from a "super-suit"), and a rotating host of would-be directors, the iconic boy in blue once again flies across cinema screens around the globe.  This time around, Brandon Routh fills Christopher Reeve's very big red boots.  He's joined by newcomer Kate Bosworth as "Lois Lane" and veteran actor Kevin Spacey as the villainous "Lex Luthor".

    The minute the opening credit sequence began I was hooked.  I leaned over to my friend and said, "I already love this movie."  If you grew up with fond memories of Richard Donner's 1978 version of "Superman," then you'll probably have similar feelings.  I was instantly transported to a long-ago time when wearing a towel around my neck made me invincible.  I set aside most of my adult disbelief and put the towel on once again.

    Picking up sometime after the events of "Superman II," the movie begins with our hero returning to Earth after a 5 year absence.  Many things have changed, and I felt like an active participant in re-evaluating the worth of a superman in today's society.  The question is answered via an amazing rescue sequence involving an airliner filled with reporters.  In the original marketing for the 1978 version, the tagline read "you'll believe a man can fly."  Now Singer presents us with a jaw-dropping, edge-of-your-seat, awe-inspiring flying man that's amazingly believable.  To say they nailed the special effects on this film would be an understatement.

    That said, no action sequence works without backing it up emotionally.  On this level Routh delivers in spades.  Where Reeve played the role with a smile, Routh brings a heavy heart.  He portrays the title character as an outsider, which is exactly what Superman is.  Through all this Routh stays faithful to what Reeve's accomplished, adding a few more layers of complexity to the mix.  Contributing to our hero's strained isolation, Lois moves on with her life, starting a family and raising a son in the process.  Similarly, Bosworth is able to capture what Margot Kidder brought to the original Superman movies and still make it her own.  Kevin Spacey plays Lex Luthor in a much darker tone then his predecessor Gene Hackman, and owns almost every scene he's in.

    Despite my enthusiasm, this isn't a perfect movie.  I compare it to Singer's first "X-Men" film.  It sets the characters up very well, but doesn't really dig as deep as it could have.  "Superman Returns," while nodding heavily to Donner's version, lacks originality.  The movie also offers some rather giant twists that break down the "boy-scout" image Superman was built on.  Just as "X-Men 2" was superior, I'll be excited to see what Singer's team does with the next chapter in the franchise.

    So does the world need "Superman Returns?"  Is the new film A-List worthy?  You'll need to answer those questions for yourself.  If you like action-adventure films, and happen to think truth, justice, and the American way can still be a good thing, then go see this movie.  You won't be disappointed.