[Peter Apruzzese]

Really, really wanted to love this movie. It's essentially a remake of the 1978 film, following almost the exact same structure and with the same problems of that film.

But it's absurdly overlong and devoid of humor. It takes itself way too seriously (Superman is the "savior", c'mon now) and has no real climax. The movie has a sadistic streak that doesn't fit.

The cast - Routh is fine as Superman, but isn't given enough screen time as Clark Kent, Kate Bosworth is unmemorable as Lois, Spacey is a good Luthor until one "comic" moment near the end.

The special effects are excellent, the adapted and new music is suitable, the references to the original film are nice, but why is almost every new movie so devoid of color?

2 stars out of 4

[Darrel McBane]

It was perfect!

[BarryS]

I saw Superman Returns today and loved it. It's not perfect, no but everything I wanted in a Superman movie was present (except for General Zod, that is). It's a very worthy follow-up to the classics Superman I and II. I'm probably in the minority, but I liked Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor even better than Gene Hackman's. He was smart, devious and evil as Luthor should be. I was glad that there was no Otis in the movie too. Parker Posey's Kitty was much better. Brandon Routh is excellent as the Man of Steel. No complains there. Kate Bosworth is just too young to be a Pulitzer-Prize winning reporter, but she does a great job with the role. Bryan Singer brings a real sense of visual splendor to the film and it really looks amazing.

Overall, despite a weak story, Superman Returns is a triumphant return for the Man of Steel. The movie doesn't try to reinvent Superman, it doesn't try to do too many new things, it just gives us another awesome Superman movie. And being 25 years since Superman II, it's about damn time!

[Sam Favate]

I finally saw it last night and I think it is outstanding.

Visually, it is the best Superman has ever looked, and I think Routh and Bosworth were both very good in their roles. Spacey too; he gave Luthor a more menacing tone.

I really liked that they set up the story as a tradegy: Superman leaves for 5 years in search of home, returns without finding it, only to find that his absence has caused a series of events to unfold that result in him having to expel the influence of his homeworld from the earth.

I also liked that Marsden's character wasn't a jerk, that, in fact, he was a great guy. That avoided an easy cliche and made the story more compelling. Loved the scene when he and Lois rescued Superman. Also loved the scene in the ballpark. When the crowd was cheering for Superman's return, I wanted to jump out of my seat and cheer along with them!

Superman: The Movie is one of the greatest films of all time, IMO. But Superman Returns is, finally (after nearly 30 years), a worthy successor. Finally, a movie worthy of the legend.

Can't wait to see it again.

[Phil Florian]

I am not sure what movie the complainers saw, but the one I saw this afternoon with a nearly full house was a fantastic show, opening credits to the very end. I was grinning like an idiot through much of the movie from line references to the original film, visual references to what Perry White calls "iconic" moments (you know them when you see them) to the genuine Superman moments. I agree that Lois was the weakest link in this movie but all the other parts were great. I like Lex as a bad guy, not comic relief so his less jovial tone from the Hackman performance (which I loved, don't get me wrong) was a welcome site. He has to be bad enough and dangerous enough to threaten a guy that can fly, is for all purposes invincible and can see and hear through walls. Frank Langella was great, if underused (kind of like J. Jonah in the first Spidey...gotta love fun newspaper editors!).

The role that I was not thinking about going into it was the one that impressed me to the end and that was James Marsten's "Richard." They thankfully didn't write him as writers often do to the "other man" in a love triangle. Usually they are selfish, oafish, nasty, or in some other way tragically flawed so that we can say, "See, Lois needs to get away from him." Instead he is smart, good with kids, loves Lois and enjoys her "mystery," and is an action hero in his own right. In fact, he was everything Cyclops hasn't been in the X-Men movies, oddly enough.

The smaller roles were also fun. It was great to see Eva Marie Saint in another movie with Marlon Brando! Sort of...anyway, she was great if a bit underused. I would have loved a bit more Smallville but then it would have added a bit to the long running time. I didn't feel it was padded at all. Just as I was itching for a bit more Supes, bam...new need for Supes on screen.

Contrary to some on here, I like the slightly more loney and angst-ridden Superman. His ability to hear EVERYTHING that is going on, especially the bad stuff, is great. It reminds me of Kurt Busiek's "Astro City," where he tells the tale of a Superman-esque character who, like Supes, takes the world under his wing. That character was sad and lonely because he can't stop saving people...the moment he rests for a second he realizes that someone died that he could have saved. Why not play that a bit? I like it.

The action scenes were fantastic to the second. Great use of all of Supe's major powers, great visuals and wonderful hairy moments. He is invincible but the world around him isn't and in the great scenes where he was trying to juggle multiple crisis situations was great.

I highly recommend this visual treat. It is a great nod to the highlight of comic book films while starting the series anew. I can't wait to see where they go with these films.

[Bob Graz]

I saw Superman Returns last night and I was dissappointed. The movie never grabbed me. It was long and drawn out. It was shot overly dark therefore was missing the punch that it should have had with brightness and color. The computer graphics were overdone. I found myself wanting it to end and was relieved when it was over. I give it ** out of **** or a "C".

[Sebastien S]

I'm 32 and have been a HUGE Superman fan ever since I first saw "Christopher Reeve" when I was 6. To me "Reeve" will always be Superman, he was born to play the part!

Brandon Routh as Clark/Superman did a good job... Better than most BIG name actors could have done. No, he's no "Christopher Reeve" but like I said above, no one will ever replace him so it's not fair to compare the two. Bottom line: I believed Brandon as both Superman and Clark. Good choice!

Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane... I guess I'm in the minority here but I liked her. I have never been a fan of the "character" of Lois Lane but I think she nailed the part! Better than any other rendition of Lois I have seen to date on TV or Movie screens!

Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor... This was the one I expected to like the most! When I heard he had been cast as "Lex", I thought it was a great choice. However, now having seen the movie, his performance left me somewhat... Underwhealmed and dissapointed. There are two ways to play "Lex", over the top like Gene Hackman did or as a cold cruel ruthless emotionless arrogant buisness tycoon genius like the comics. His performance seems to be somewhere in between both. He did not give a bad performance by any means but there was just something missing... In the end, I believe he was misscast.

The part of "Kitty" was total garbage for me! Neither the actrice nor the character inspired me. I believe they could have left her out of the movie completely and it wouldn't have changed anything.

The movie started off kind of slow and kind of dragged a bit for the first 20 min or so until Superman makes his first appearance in an action scene, then the movie takes off.

Seeing Superman fly is truly amazing! This is the way it was meant to be and the way it should have been in the first two movies had they had the technology available to them at that time.

Though I don't approve of the changes done to the costume... Once the movie started, it really didn't bother me that much.

The one major issue I have with this movie is:

SPOILER!
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Spoiler:

The fact that they made this kid not only Lois' son but Superman's son as well is to me a really bad idea!!! First off, it should't even be possible for them to have an offspring (Genetics). Their simply not compatible, no more than a cat and a rabbit or a man and an ape!

Second. This child's DNA is 50% deluted by human DNA which means at best, he will only be half as powerfull as his father and his children (assuming he mates with a human female as well) will barely be stronger than your average human.

Third. Like someone said, now that they have introduced "Superman's son", we are going to have to deal with him (and related issues) in all of the future sequels.

Personally, I just don't want to see Superman as a father. Not yet anyway.

Overall this is a good movie that isn't without it's flaws (but then again, so were the first two movies) but is a worthy sequel, especially given the fact that it was done over 20 years after the first two!

I give "Superman Returns" an 8.5/10

[Dalton]

Sorry some of you were dissapointed. I am a big Superman fan and while the film has it's flaws i really liked it overall. I stayed away from spoilers and am glad i did. No more spoilers for me! I thought the film was pretty darn good (just short of great for me). I give it **** out of *****.

[Robert Crawford]

I watched this on an IMAX screen and I must say that I enjoyed it more than any of the Reeve films. As an older person than many of you, George Reeves will always be Superman to me, but Routh did a very fine job with the role and I thought this film with advance technological advances in filmmaking really captured the power that Superman possessed. The darkness of the film really appealed to me without the holding back of the violence that the Reeve films suffered from.





Crawdaddy

[Thi Them]

I thought it was great. Is it better than the original Superman? It could be. I wasn't that impressed with Bryan Singer's job with the X-Men movies, but he really does a fine job here. It manages to capture the feel of the original while updating the action/flying scenes with today's special effects, yet they are done in a manner where you do appreciate and feel the weight of what's happening. I was a little worried about some of the casting and from seeing photos of them, but I thought the actors did a fine job with their characters. It's how I would've envisioned another Superman movie.

~T

[Chris Atkins]

9/10

Tough review to write. Tough film to make (the pre-production hell is indication of that). In the en