Superman Returns to the Big Screen with the Help of Brandon Routh, Kevin Spacey, Parker Posey

I have to admit that I was none too pleased when I heard that they were doing a new Superman movie. The first preview I saw of it was nearly half a year before it was supposed to be released. From what I gathered from the brief trailer was that they were starting all over with the Superman movies.

I was appalled that somebody thought they had the right to replace Christopher Reeves as Superman. Even when Christopher Reeves had his accident, and he was in that wheelchair, I still saw him as Superman. My reaction to this news was similar to my reaction to the announcement of a new Willy Wonka movie, since as far as I'm concerned, nobody is Willy Wonka except for Gene Wilder. But I digress, that's a whole different topic.

Let us return now to the aforementioned Superman Returns movie. As time when by, I learned that they weren't starting the movie series over, but were picking up where they left off. While this was somewhat of a relief, I still approached my viewing of this movie with some skepticism. As the lights dimmed in the theater, my senses became focused on the screen, as I was ready to find any flaw that I could use as ammunition in my plot to discredit the film.

The first thing that caught my attention about the movie was the fact that they used the same music, and nearly the same visual effects on the credits that they had used for the Christopher Reeves Superman movies. For some strange reason, it made me nostalgic for the older movies, and at the same time sent chills down my spine, making the hair on my arms stand up.

My pulse began to race, and I began to sit up and closer to the edge of my seat as if I had been pushed from behind by some unseen force. Then I heard him, I heard the voice of Jorel, as it had been originally done by Marlon Brando. I was mesmerized, and tears started to well up in my eyes. What were these people doing to me? Were they trying to take my emotions on a roller-coaster ride?

Fast forward a bit and you see a wealthy old woman on her death bed, signing over her fortune to Lex Luthor. He walks out of her room, tosses his wig at a child and tells the family that everything is now his. It was in that brief scene that Kevin Spacey became Lex Luthor for me. If there was ever anybody who could follow behind Gene Hackman, it would have to be him.

I have seen Kevin Spacey play so many different roles and make you truly believe in the specific identity of that character. Kevin Spacey made Lex Luthor come alive in all of his many shades of gray. The pivotal moment was when he informed Kitty, who was played so well by Parker Posey, that "gods were selfish beings who fly around in little red capes and don't share their power with mankind." It was, in that moment, that I truly realized why Lex Luthor hated Superman so much.

Enter Brandon Routh, stage left? Maybe it's stage outerspace? At any rate, he makes a crashing entrance into the movie as Superman once again arrives on earth via an asteroid on the Kent farm. What's this? No red cape? No blue tights? Just some dark gray suit with an embossed Superman symbol on it? I object your honor! At any rate, good old Clark Kent takes a trot down memory lane, while Ma Kent tries to make him feel better about his sudden departure. Shortly thereafter, we see Kent make his way back to his old job at the Daily Planet.

I must say that it was during this part of the movie that Brandon started to win me over. He had the facial expressions and the physical gestures down pat. It was almost like seeing Christopher Reeves all over again, although Brandon isn't quite as large as Reeves was. It was almost a bit creepy how those physical gestures and facial expressions were so nearly identical to how Reeves did them. Well lo and behold, Lois is a mommy, and she's in yet another situation that you just KNOW Superman is going to have to get her out of.

Am I good or what? Sure enough, ten minutes later, all heck is breaking loose and Lois and about thirty other passengers on an airplane are about to be either fried to a crisp or take a serious nose dive towards the Earth. Here comes Superman! YAY!!! In true Superman fashion, the disaster is averted just in the nick of time. What truly won me over wasn't how well Brandon played Clark Kent, or how nice he looked in the tights.

Rather, it was his ability to show us a harder side of Superman. Back in the days of Christopher Reeves, despite his excellent acting, you were still left with a somewhat cheesy character. What Brandon brought to the table was Superman's fears, desires, anger, and regrets. Despite the fact that Superman is the Man of Steel, he's got emotions that are as real as any other earth human.

I really hope that Bryan Singer has a few more Superman films on the drawing board. A new Superman has emerged, and I'm dying to see what happens, now that Superman knows he is a father. It's evident, based on the scene where he's in his son's room while he's sleeping, and repeats the words his father said to him, that Calel is going to take the role of father quite seriously. Overall, this movie ranks higher on my scale than I thought it would have. Here's hoping that we'll get to see more of this new Superman in the coming years.