Superman Returns (2006)

Director: Bryan Singer
Starring: Brandon Routh, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth

Synopsis:
Five years after leaving Earth to find Krypton, Superman makes his return, only to find Lois has moved on and Lex Luthor is plotting revenge.

Impressions:
By the judgment of the harshest of critiques, the end result of Bryan Singer's decision to direct this film was a disappointing X-Men movie and a disappointing Superman movie. While I won't deny this film underperformed at the box office, I personally don't find it all that bad. In fact, I prefer it quite a bit to Man of Steel. I like that they tried to set this up as a continuation of the series after Superman II and elements of it are much in the spirit of the earlier films. Brandon Routh is pretty good as Superman, more in the classic Boy Scout mold. Kevin Spacey is amazing as Lex Luthor and his revenge plot is a rather good one. I also liked the character of Richard, portrayed by James Marsden. The way a lot of fiction portrays the next man/woman has a lot of petty vindictiveness to play up the protagonist, usually culminating in an ignominious end. Not at all the case here. It's a refreshing change of pace. I won't say it's an amazing movie, but it's worth seeing. Give it a watch.

Rating:
Watch It