Superman Returns

After finishing the original Superman series, I’m moving straight on to what is apparently a sequel – Superman Returns. I saw this when it came out, but had never seen the original movies and had no idea that it was technically a sequel, regardless of the name.

Now, watching this movie after that first mess of a series, I give it a lot more credit. Not because it is great, but because it is so much better than the material it drew from. To be clear, the premise is still lame, but that is the problem with movies drawn from DC comics, particularly Superman. He’s the most boring protagonist in the world, because he can do absolutely anything, unless the writers decide it furthers the story for him to be unable to do something in that moment. I’ll discuss more of that in the spoilers section. Pair that with Lex Luthor, who is a lame villain – not because he doesn’t have powers, but because he is just pure evil. It’s never as interesting to watch a guy walk around and talk about killing billions as it is to watch a fleshed out human being of a character.

But! With an exclamation and not a comma, the characters and acting in this movie are SO MUCH BETTER than the previous films. Perry White, Jimmy, Lois Lane and Luthor’s female henchman went from being awful in the first series to interesting, fun to watch characters this time around. Also, Kevin Spacey (as much of a creep as he may be) is just phenomenal in this. He’s a brilliant actor, and he makes a boring villain the most entertaining part of the entire film.

All in all, it’s worth watching for the excellent acting alone. I’m calling this a good movie and giving it a 7, in part because I know what awful looks like. Feel free to skip through action sequences and plot if you want to save yourself some wasted time.