Top Weekend Movies
June 30-July 2, 2006

Superman’s weakness might be kryptonite, but Superman Returns star Kate Bosworth’s dreaded enemy appears to be calories.

Lois Lean appears to have dropped from 130 pounds all the way down to 97.

Superman Returns is a clean, fun, and entertaining film for fans of all ages.  The film is long, nearly three hours, but action packed from the start.

Brandon Routh does a fantastic job playing the title role of Superman and Clark Kent. He reminds you of Christopher Reeve, but still leaves his own mark on the film.  For a newcomer, his performance was outstanding.

Kate Bosworth stars as Lois Lane. I am not a huge fan of Kate’s. She did a decent job and towards the end she seemed to warm up. I think a better casting could have been made.

Kevin Spacey is one of the most talented actors of our generation. Spacey plays the role of Lex Luthor.  He could have done a lot more with the role.  At times he is very believable and at other times you feel like you could thump him and knock him over.   He could have been more menacing and often reminded me of Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers movies.

Again the movie is full of action, Superman’s powers, and the quest for love.  The film at times will remind you of Titanic, Lost, E.R., Rookie of the Year, and Austin Powers. I am not sure if that was intentional or if director Bryan Singer just copied bit parts from all of those pieces of work.

I didn’t buy the idea of Superman returning to earth and learning that he has a five year-old love child with Lois Lane, who is currently engaged to the editor-in-chief’s nephew.  To me it was a little too Jerry Springerish.

Superman’s child is boring and seems possessed at times. I thought he could have had more of a personality. I guess when you put together a foxy reporter and the ‘Man of Steel’ you are bound to end up with dull offspring.

Superman Returns is a fun film to watch that lives up to most expectations and stadards we have set for Mr. Blue Tights. The visual images are splendid. Everyone should try to catch this film in the theater, especially if they have children. 

Forget the question of Superman’s sexuality. The better question is where has his patriotism gone? 

“Truth, Justice, and the American Way!” is no longer Superman’s calling card…at least not in the new Summer blockbuster Superman Returns.

But in the latest film incarnation, scribes Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris sought to downplay Superman’s long-standing patriot act. With one brief line uttered by actor Frank Langella, the caped superhero’s mission transformed from “truth, justice and the American way” to “truth, justice and all that stuff.”

“The world has changed. The world is a different place,” Pennsylvania native Harris says. “The truth is he’s an alien. He was sent from another planet. He has landed on the planet Earth, and he is here for everybody. He’s an international superhero.”

“We were always hesitant to include the term ‘American way’ because the meaning of that today is somewhat uncertain,” Ohio native Dougherty explains. “The ideal hasn’t changed. I think when people say ‘American way,’ they’re actually talking about what the ‘American way’ meant back in the ’40s and ’50s, which was something more noble and idealistic.”

This is a over-the-top politically correct. Tradition should trump politics especially with comic book characters. So I will continue to say “Truth, Justice and the American Way.”

Superman Returns opened yesterday. It stars Brandon Routh, Kevin Spacey and Kate Bosworth as Louis Lane.  It will blow away every other movie at the box office this weekend. Here is a review of the film I came across by Scott Weinberg that is a bit mixed. Almost every other review has been very positive.  If you have seen the film then please comment on it below.

Here are some exerpts from Weinberg’s review:

I honestly can’t remember the last movie that tore me right down the middle like Superman Returns does. On one hand there are wonderful special effects, a few truly juicy performances, and an infusion of sincere emotion that manages to elevate the film beyond simple escapism. On the other hand we have a bunch of distressingly convoluted plot holes, several cute-yet-pointless in-jokes, and long stretches of indulgent yip-yap that’ll have you reaching for your watch. The “good stuff” (and I don’t just mean the action bits) is really good, but the “in-between stuff” is pretty damn dire.

The problem stems from too much reverence and not enough ingenuity. Singer and company are clearly smitten with the Superman: The Movie (1978) and Superman 2 (1980), which means that every other scene is stuffed with sights and sounds “borrowed” from the earlier films. (John Williams’ original Superscore is used to flawless effect early on, and then recycled ad nauseum.) Unfortunately, it seems that Singer has taken his inspirations and turned them into crutches. By leaning too heavily on the first two films, Superman Returns leaves itself open to a lot of second-guessing. If, for example, Clark, Lois, and Jimmy Olsen simply do not age, regardless of how many years go by, then fine. They’re iconic comic characters and they’re supposed to stay the same age, OK. How, then, does one address the addition of Lois’ 5-year-old boy? The kid’s certainly not going to stay 5 forever, right? And how is it that all the main characters now look … younger? (I know it all sounds like geeky nitpickery, but you lay down your rules and you stick to them. Singer should certainly know this by now.)

Superman Returns is by no means a bad movie, but when you stop to consider how many years its taken to get this flick to the screen, it’s pretty alarming to realize that this is the absolute best they could deliver. Gorgeous to look at, appreciably warm and sincere, and boasting at least two really dazzling set-pieces, Superman Returns wants to be a throwback AND a modernization at the same time — and while it does succeed at being both things, one suspects it could have been a brilliant film if Singer had just stuck with one or the other.

Is the new Superman gay?  That word continues to be thrown around in circles of those who have previewed the film.

“Singer has come out so vehemently against this being a gay Superman — while he himself has been out [of the closet] I think since forever — that he must know a gay Superman won’t be marketable,” said William Luhr, a professor of English and film at Saint Peter’s College in New Jersey.