Superman Returns

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)

So I watched it till the end, and I suffered. For me, this is a film that is dead both on the top and on the bottom - it refers to something, but it is not clear what. The film quite selectively chooses what it needs for melancholic sniffing and winking. Brandon Routh has the charisma of a folded clothes hanger, and in his role he appears very gay and youthful, which hurts especially when he parrots the one-liners of Christopher Reeve, whose charisma he wasn’t even close to. Lex Luthor, whom Spacey plays in a psychotic spirit, but with occasional bursts of comedic overacting a la Gene Hackman, is also appalling. The film deserves more pity than respect. The storytelling is drawn out, the attractions unattractive, the plot oiled with the fat of love, and the fatherhood is clumsy. Wooden, dull and bowing so deftly that it gives the original statue an awkward five-head. (24/01/2008)

At the moment when the accident of the trains took place on the screen, I definitively forgave Singer for the great heartache in the form of escaping from my beloved party of mutants. In front of me, an authentic comic drama with elaborate psychology began to unfold slowly but surely, also seamlessly intertwined with two classic first parts. I would really like to have a continuation in this spirit because Routh is a true hero as Kal-El and Kevin Spacey is a perfect bald menace. Moreover, the whole spirit of the film is characterized by the fact that Superman returns only as a prologue to potential sequels. However, as much as Singer played this part brilliantly, the audience does not hear it, and therefore neither do the producers. And that's why this nostalgic (although quite selfish towards new viewers) way of continuing the legend remained just a blind but subjectively perfect alleyway. (05/08/2006)

A Blockbuster with a soul. It captivates in several action moments (even a train accident on the big screen can be a blast), and the intimate scenes are very pleasant, mainly thanks to the main cast and the chemistry between them, which works flawlessly. Brandon Routh was born for the role of Superman and Kate Bosworth, who is not a bland Jessica Alba-type Barbie doll, exudes soulful beauty and fragile femininity. I don't accept the criticism that Singer is too reverential towards the source material and doesn't try to make it realistic and humanized. It’s Superman! A legendary comic book icon whose existence doesn't need to be subject to fashion trends and it simply doesn’t matter how he can hide his cape under his shirt or what kind of miraculous hairspray he uses. I just hope that some of the themes (fatherhood) will be developed in the sequel. With a margin of about 50% for cinema operators, it is now clear that Singer's film will not pay for itself due to the absurdly high budget (which is not visible in the result) and it would be a great pity to postpone further filming. It’s one of the best comic book adaptations in recent years and it does deserve a sequel. PS: You have to watch it in a cinema with perfect sound! (20/07/2006)

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)