‘Superman Returns’ to familiar ground

Published 9:00 pm Monday, June 26, 2006

Apparently Bryan Singer, the man who directed “The Usual Suspects” and the first two “X-Men” movies, is a fan of the 1978 film “Superman.” Big, big fan.

I didn’t read this anywhere; it’s in every frame of his new summer blockbuster, “Superman Returns.” This film is officially a sequel to the Christopher Reeve “Superman” movies, but in every important way, it feels like a remake of that 1978 original.

In “Superman Returns” the Man of Steel (played by Brandon Routh) has been away from Metropolis for five years, having checked out to visit the remains of home planet Krypton. He resumes his geeky persona of Clark Kent, bespectacled reporter for the Daily Planet. Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) has moved on, marrying the nephew (James Marsden) of Planet editor Perry White (Frank Langella) and raising a son.

But some things never change. Supe is still in love with Lois, and arch-nemesis and enemy of mankind Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey, shaved bald) is still planning to rule the world. (In a very funny opening sequence, we see Lex seducing an old lady out of her vast fortune – she’s played by Noel Neill, the Lois Lane from the 1950s “Superman” TV show.)

So in a rough way, the plot of this movie could fit in somewhere after “Superman II,” released in 1981. But its attitude, its rhythm, its structure and the style of the opening credits are the same as Richard Donner’s 1978 film.

They even use John Williams’ famous theme music, plus the digitized presence of an actor from that movie.

The original was such a marvelous blend of the sincere and the smart-alecky, it’s no wonder Bryan Singer wanted to copy it. But “Superman” had the enormously likable (and new) figure of Christopher Reeve at its center.

Brandon Routh is also new, and he tries hard to re-create the magic, but by comparison he seems like a decent young man caught in an oversized cape.

Kate Bosworth is a washout at Lois, so there’s a flatness at the center of the movie.

However, Singer has done some exciting things beyond Superman and Lois. There are a couple of absolutely sensational action sequences, especially a crazy bit where Superman averts a disaster involving the space shuttle piggy-backed onto a jetliner. (The action scenes were filmed in 3D, which is how they will be presented in the film’s IMAX screenings.)

Spacey has some amusing line readings, although there’s not much more anybody can do with the figure of a campy arch-villain. Parker Posey is promising as his moll, but she never quite pays off the way you think she might.

The film’s 154 minutes pass by without flagging, and the physical production is impressive (it was shot in Australia). All of which makes me think that “Superman Returns” should connect with a young audience that might not know or care about the Christopher Reeve movies.

And comic book fanboys will probably be happy the film honors its traditions so well. For anybody else, the prevailing sense will be one of deja vu.

Brandon Routh stars in “Superman Returns.”

The “Superman Returns” good guys include Jimmy Olsen (Sam Huntington), Perry White (Frank Langella) and Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth).

The bad guys include Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey, center) and his partners in crime, (left to right) Kitty Kowalski (Parker Posey), Grant (VIincent Stone), Riley (Ian Roberts), Stanford (Kal Penn) and Brutus (David Fabrizio).