Superman Returns (2006) Review

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

It was a tragedy for the Superman franchise to derail so bad in the 80s, which made it a big surprise upgrades started occurring in the 21st century.


PLOT


2006’s Superman Returns is a legacy sequel ignoring the events of the third and fourth film, canon only to the first two. Kal El/Clark Kent has been absent from earth for the last five years due to traveling towards a location astronomers believed to be the remains of his home-world Krypton. Just when he decides to return due to not finding any one else of his kind, his rival Lex Luthor has regained fortune from an old widow he married and has found the Fortress of Solitude. He got out of a life sentence due to Superman never attending court as a witness. At the Fortress, he obtains silver kryptonian crystals he tends to experiment on. Around the time Clark resumes working as a reporter on the Daily Planet, Lex does start experimenting by exposing the crystals to water. Not only do they expand in size, but also cause a power outage in the city. This leads to Kal making a comeback as the titular superhero, saving his ex girlfriend Lois Lane from airline crash; She was at the airplane covering a story where the plane was piggy back mounting a space shuttle launching into space. Superman is able to send the shuttle into space and safely land the plane on a baseball field. Shortly after the world rejoices the man of steel's return, Clark does find out Lois moved on, having a child and engaged with Richard White, nephew to Daily Planet editor Perry (Frank Langella) who wants a new interview from Lois with Superman. She also seems to have gotten over him by writing a Pulitzer winning article, ‘Why the World Doesn’t Need Superman’. He still resumes his duty as a hero when halting a burglary and saving Kitty Kowalski from crashing her out of control vehicle. Little did he know she is a diversion for Luthor to steal Kryptonite from the National History Museum. Although Clark is tasked to cover the blackout story, Lois investigates the new mansion Luthor is staying, but doesn't realize he is there until exploring his yacht. He holds her and her son Jason (Tristan Lake Leabu) captive, giving him the chance to explain he intends to use the crystals that he's mixed with Kryptonite to create a new landmass in the Atlantic Ocean, which'll supplant the US and kill billions of people, for the sake of profiting off of new land. Lois does try to fax for help, only to be caught by the henchman Brutus (David Fabrizio). He almost kills her until Jason uses unknown inner strength to throw a piano and save his mom; This confirms that Kal El is his biological father and not Richard. Since he hasn't been able to manifest his powers at will, he and Lois remain trapped in the yacht. Luthor isolates them in a kitchen room and leaves them both just as he gets his landmass growing. Superman does his best to minimize the destruction before heading to the source. Richard does find Lois & Jason when flying around the ocean in a sea plane, but Superman ends up saving all three of them get trapped in the yacht. Upon confronting Luthor does he end up becoming weakened by the landmass that surrounds him. This leads to him being ultimately beaten down by the other henchmen, Grant, Riley & Stanford (Vincent Stone, Ian Roberts & Kal Penn), before Luthor stabs him with kryptonite. Lois spots him falling into the ocean and she pulls him out of the water. Despite injured, he uses all his strength to push the landmass out of the planet before crash-landing back on Earth. Not wanting to let so many lives die, Kitty gets rid of the other crystals before Lex runs out of fuel for their helicopter, resulting in them to be stranded on a deserted island; The remaining henchmen get crushed by a collapsing crystal pillar. With average surgical tools unable to penetrate his body, Superman remains in a coma until Lois visits him, whispers a confession that Jason is his son and wasn't sure when to tell him. Shortly after this does Kal awaken and leave the hospital. The film them ends with him visiting Jason & Lois, now writing ‘Why the World Needs Superman’ at night, reassuring he’s back to stay.


THOUGHTS


I will forever recall the 2000s as an experimental era for the superhero genre because while multiple studios were toying with various Marvel properties, Warner Bros. was trying to recapture the magic they started in the previous century. They definitely got there when Christopher Nolan helmed the Dark Knight trilogy, but it was at the time a mixed bag when Bryan Singer got to helm his own Superman movie. I was only 8 years old when this came out and I didn't exactly create any expectations at the time because I wanted to feel some kind of joy & excitement; In a way, I had a spark that was the right amount to remind me of the past in a good way because this was my first discovery of nostalgia since despite taking place in modern times, it still had an 80s vibe with the production design. The visual effects deliver big time since while it's already cool to see Superman catch a plane or remove an island out of an island, simple moments like him being un-phased after being shot in the eye are impressive to behold. In a way, I think this one still delivers in teaching us the importance of rekindling faith in yourself otherwise happiness/content is gonna be harder to achieve/maintain. Brandon Routh is far from becoming Superman the way Christopher Reeve did four straight times, but he felt like the character to me when in costume which is all that mattered to me. In this case, Routh does a good job in capturing his nobility in doing good protecting others. It's hard to blame him for leaving really because being the last of his kind makes him feel alone. Coming back to Earth helped him realize he never was because there were still others that cared about him besides his adoptive mom Martha (Eve Marie Saint). It was hard for him to tell Lois goodbye because he was sure she'd be heartbroken either way rather than take chance what could've came from tying up his only loose end. Kate Bosworth is also well played as Lois because she nails it maintaining her ambition. Since she still doesn't know Clark's secret in this case, she pushes him away while also letting him in on what was bothering her deep down. She believes she could've accepted his absence better had he told her goodbye, but having to raise their kid really rocked her world. I don't doubt she loves Richard since James Marsden makes him so nonchalant in living life one day at a time, yet still willing to go out of his way for his family, similar to how Superman would go. The fact Clark doesn't hate Lois for moving on is very mature of him because he knows it wouldn't be fair of him expecting her to wait so long. The gentleness Routh puts into the role is so effective that it becomes pleasing to see him return as the man of steel in CW's DC crossover, Crisis on Infinite Earths, where he was also playing Ray Palmer/The Atom. With Jason's powers still dormant though, it's only gonna be harder for the boy to manage life with his secret. With Kal back for good, I wouldn't doubt him being a much needed mentor as he gets older. And with that in mind, I hope this gives him time to properly rekindle what he left behind with his only love. When it came to reconnecting with the past, that also meant confronting enemies one last time. Say what you want with Kevin Spacey as a human being, but he was still a fantastic actor back then and getting to play Lex Luthor was a prime example. What I liked about this version of Lex is how he's done hiding the sociopathic level of greed that he'd annihilate the USA for fortune, starting with Superman. At the time, I gasped seeing him stab the protagonist with the kryptonite because it wasn't exactly something I've seen before in this character lore, proving exactly how far the villain is gonna go in efforts to eliminate obstacles. Because of him taking things too far, it makes sense it'll cause him to push people away. Parker Posey portrays Kitty as the modern answer to Eve Tessmacher because she had limits to her greed, as she was enamored with the idea of power Lex was all about but wouldn't to the same lengths of him. The first example went to how she wasn't told by him the brakes were gonna be cut for real when the car lost control. She was even uncomfortable in seeing Superman be overpowered in unfair fashion, hence undoing everything he had in mind when disposing of the crystals. The two will likely die on that island alone, which proves how bold she was in her way, but it is better than letting anyone else destroy the world the way it could've been. This movie is indeed not the worst thing ever, but there are multiple things that could’ve made it way better. For instance, it can be one thing to miss baby Clark crash landing in Smallville, but Superman crash landing in his childhood home decades later is not a coincidence and some astronomer should’ve picked up on it. It even feels like a continuity error for a power outage to occur on the plane, but not on the microphone for the hostess. You can complain that no one in the Daily Planet notices Clark was gone as long as Superman, but Lois of all people should’ve noticed. I don’t care that she’s a workaholic, she had his baby and should’ve noticed for sure. And if we’re gonna get into insane miracles, I’d give it to how no one was struck on accident by Kitty. Also, ain’t it weird the elevator’s roof was already open for Clark to fly away? That shouldn’t ever be a thing unless it was busy being fixed which it wasn’t. It’s even strange Superman doesn’t even know he’s being weakened by the island until Lex hits him. He shouldn’t be unfamiliar with Kryptonite at this point. Ignore this, then you’ll still enjoy the rest of what this is going for. In short, Superman Returns is a much needed case of improvement that should’ve been much more appreciated at the time it came out. If you love the first two, I promise you’ll have a soft spot for this as well.