Superman Returns

Tonight on my fathers recommendation I decided to re-watch the movie Superman Returns. This was a big mistake.

When I originally saw this movie I remember the excitement that coursed through the very fiber of my being. Because I had not seen the movie yet I did not know all the plot holes and horrible writing that awaited me. At that point all I had seen was the amazing trailer and the production stills which both showcased the only good part of the movie, the unbelievable visual sense that Bryan Singer uses.

* seriously, how fucking beautiful is this?

Unfortunately the visual aspects are where the good stuff ends and the horrible begin. Re-watching this movie is an exercise in frustration for me because all I can think about is how awesome this series could have been.

For those of you who do not know, Superman Returns chronological place is after Superman 1 and 2 and before Superman 3 and 4. Certainly I can't blame Bryan Singer for his attempts to scrub 3 and 4 from history. 3 was essentially Richard Pryor's opus on how to kill a superhero franchise while 4 is best remembered as the movie where Superman is pressured by a 12 year old to throw all nuclear weapons into the sun. The problems with these movies are many and too extensive to get into here, this is just about the latest installment.

The problems with Superman Returns, interestingly enough, arise primarily from Bryan Singer's deep rooted respect for the Superman franchise. Singer has such a hard on for Richard Donner's movies that he refuses to deviate from their themes, even in places where the themes are horrible. The best example of this is that the whole plot of the movie revolves around Lex Luthor's crazy real estate ploy, just like in the first two movies. Another big problem with the movie is the screen play. There are so many holes in logic and overly simplistic lines that come up in this movie I am embarrassed to call myself a comic book fan. I won't do justice to exactly how bad they are by writing it here so I won't even try.

In short, this movie had so much potential it makes me cry to see it so wasted. If Bryan Singer had given Superman the style of reboot that we saw with Batman Begins I would guess we would be on our second Superman movie if not third. Now I fear the franchise will be dead forever.