Superman Returns

Superman is back at last... But Singer didn’t manage to take his dream project up to the very peak. You can see how meticulous he is throughout the movie, lots of things and shots are references to Donner’s movie, which is really nice to see, but still falls a little short of perfection. God knows what it is, but somehow it spoils the overall watching experience. Maybe my standards are a little too high after seeing Spider-Man and X-Men , but Superman simply isn’t such an interesting character and part of his fame is based on nostalgia (at the beginning I had difficulty holding back my tears when I heard Williams’ “Superman Theme" thundering away ;) But in any case, Superman Returns is a great movie, with superb special effects and excellent acting performances (Brandon Routh is a flawless Superman and an even better Clark Kent, Kate Bosworth as Lois wasn’t nearly as disruptive as I had expected and Kevin Spacey makes an even better Luthor than Hackman), but it just isn’t as good as it could have been. (28/07/2006)

Surprisingly moderate and quite monotonous for Bryan Singer’s standards, without any significant deviations in both style and plot. However, one cannot deny its clearly visible openness and honesty, which impresses the viewer from the very first minute. The action sequences are almost perfectly filmed – the scene with the airplane is thrilling – but the colossal budget is difficult to understand. Perhaps the missing element of realism is bothersome, it is not present even in terms of the protagonist’s characteristics, but it also applies to the setting where he appears. The airplane they call a Boeing 777 is actually not that, a 4G speed would tear it apart immediately, whereas here it comfortably continues to fly. This is just a fraction of the gigantic nonsense this film has. But if you are willing to accept that and the shots of the embracing couple against the backdrop of the night city do not cause any problems (rather the opposite), you will thoroughly enjoy this movie. (19/07/2006)

Brandon Routh is not Christopher Reeve, but no one is. As Clark Kent and as Superman, he is tolerable, the problem rather arises with Lois Lane. For me, Margot Kidder will probably always be the best Lois Lane we could see on the screens. In the case of the movie "Superman Returns," the creators tried to give her some emotional depth, make Lois and Clark's relationship a bit more complicated, but all of this only contributes to the fact that this film feels incredibly small, intimate, and at times also boring. Yes, it is an attempt to make a comic book different, less colorful, exaggerated, and cluttered, but it's been somewhat forgotten that this was not supposed to be showcasing a relic, but it was supposed to be something that would excite, impress, captivate, and above all, entertain the audience. "Superman Returns" does not entertain nor impress, it just takes nearly two and a half hours of your time. More: http://www.comics-blog.cz/2013/08/242-superman-se-vraci-2006-50.html (21/08/2013)

A comic-book romance at a cost of 260 million dollars? In relation to today’s Spider-Man and X-Men movies, shifting focus from dynamics and action to a love motif is a very bold move in a 150-minute film. Superman Returns doesn’t conceal the fact that it’s a different kind of comic-book movie, but viewers longing for an exciting adventure won’t care about that. Brandon Routh is cool, but the cloying Kevin Spacey comes across as a caricature in his fascist jackboots and thus doesn’t inspire respect. I wasn’t bored by this film, but I would have liked more excitement. (17/09/2006)

Bryan Singer, like Christopher Nolan, has done honorably at breathing new life into his comic book hero, but his Superman Returns is a long way from Nolan's Batman Begins or The Dark Knight. It's hard to say whether it's the fault of the director (which I doubt) or the studio that despite such an ungodly fat budget, the result is basically a slightly above average flick. I wasn't disappointed, but my expectations were not exceeded (as they were with the Batman films). Still, I remain optimistic and look forward to The Man of Steel. Something tells me that this time Singer will step it up and film it to perfection, we'll see. For "Superman’s return" it's rather an incomplete 4 stars. (09/05/2009)