Before I begin, let me just indulge a little in this....

Brandon Routh is cuuuuute!!!! I mean, those eyes! Those kissable lips! That boyish charm!! Oooo... so what if he isn't Christopher Reeve?? He's hot hot HOT!



But is Brandon Routh any good as the latest Superman? I would say he's not bad at all. In fact, he bears an eerie resemblance to the late Christopher Reeve, only more boyish-looking. Will talk more about that in a while.

My thoughts

Before watching the movie, my friend had told me that he had slept throughout the film, saying that it was just too boring with too much concentrated on the love story than anything else. Well, I beg to differ. Sure, I almost fell asleep during the commercials (that was cos I was too tired running around the whole day), but I was pretty much on the edge of my seat throughout. The opening credits, in particular, got me excited hearing the classic Superman soundtrack blasting into my ears coupled with modern CGI effects that got my adrenaline pumping. The action sequences were awesome and well-crafted, while the dramatic scenes were handled with the same care that went into the making of X-Men.

It has been a long long time since I watched the original movies so I can't remember how they were like, but the thing I like about this new movie is the deep exploration into the characters and a more real-life, gritty feel to the entire setting, just like what Christopher Nolan did for Batman Begins. In summary, Superman is not only faster than a speeding bullet and a man of steel, he is also a lonely individual, the last of his kind, and perhaps tired as well because he constantly hears cries for help from people around the world, like he says, "I hear everything". The advancement of modern technology has also enhanced the credibility of this superhero - we have a more realistic view of rays of heat shooting from his eyes, of his extinguishing a huge fire with his breath, checking for internal injuries with his X-Ray vision, possessing superhuman strength, stopping a flying bullet with his eye, and literally flying with the speed of a bullet. It's just all very exciting to see how Superman has evolved since the 1970s.

But the intertesting thing is, unlike other Superheroes who hide their identity with costumes and shy away from public scrutiny, Superman seems very much in love with all the publicity he has, like waving at a cheering crowd after saving a plane from certain doom, then going back into the plane to dispense facts on flight safety to the alarmed passengers. That certainly made the idea of Superman as a superhero a little hard to swallow.

But other than that, you knew that Superman was a kind fellow deep inside. In fact, I liked the way Bryan Singaer crafted the character as a public figure who never lost his grace but maintained a nobel heart when it came to saving the world. Even Kent Clark, the bumbling, dorky reporter, was lovable and believable. My favourite part was actually a scene after Superman had taken Lois Lane on a 'flight' from the top of the Daily Planet building. After Superman had left, Lois Lane returned to the office, looking distressed and disheaveled, only to find that the office people were all settling down for supper. Then Kent Clark popped into the camera, chewing messily on his tortila (with a piece of lettuce still sticking out of his lips) and looking innocently at Lois.

No matter what the critics say, I think I like this Superman. Of course the original Superman movies will always be classics, but this, I believe, is a nice revisit to the classics.

I suppose Superman embodies all the powers that we as mere mortals often dream of having - the ability to fly, X-Ray vision, impenatrable body... Which Superhero is all of that? This is probably the reason after so many years, Superman will continue to fasinate many around the world.

However, the same can't be said for Lex Luther. Lex Luther seems to lack a commercial sense. I mean, he tried to create an entire continent that would eventually to cover the planet because, according to his logic, eventually people will have to buy land from him and he can make loads of money. But the thing is, if he's gonna kill 'billions' because of this (as he said in the movie), where is his clientele gonna come from? And the land that he has created is so harsh and barren that who in the world would want to live on it? Warped thinking, if you ask me. But the again, he is mad.

The acting

Performance-wise, Brandon Routh brought a never-before boyish feel to the character, which I'm not sure is a good or bad thing. But he was good for the role, and though he will never be able to fill the shoes of Christopher Reeve (the guys a legend), I can see Routh oozing with potential to do big things on the silver screen.

You may have noticed that I did not talk much about the character of Lois Lane. As I was writing this review, I realized that I really didn't have much to say about her. To me, she's the typical strong-willed woman caught between her feelings for Superman and her committment to her own husband - nothing too special about that. Kate Bosworth makes a good Lois Lane, but there's something about her hair that makes her look a little odd. And can you believe that she's only 23???

Kevin Spacey is one of my favourite actors, but unfortunately, this won't be one of my favourite performances of his. If I guessed correctly, Spacey probably ad-libbed most of the lines because I felt that they were so typical of a Spacey character, which came across a little tired at times. And it certainly doesn't help that Lex Luther is not too intelligent either. But Spacey did create a Lex Luther that newcomers to the Superman and Spacey experience would appreciate more. In fact, on the whole, Spacey has clearly put on his usual best for this role.

And my, his wigs are creepy.

Few reviewers seemed to have talked about this character but he did stand out for me in the movie - James Marsden as Richard White was the only actor to have starred in all the X-Men movies (before and after Singer left) and to star in Superman Returns at the same time. He's a good actor, but problem is, he seems to be always getting the good guy role who sacrifices his own happiness for the happiness of the one he loves ie. though a good guy, he never gets the girl in the end. Pretty depressing... But he has done well as husband whose emotional resilience has become as strong as his wife's.

Interesting observation

Here's what my friend complained - "What kind of values are we teaching our children nowadays? I mean, Superman has a child with Lois Lane, then he suddenly disappears without saying anything for 5 years. Then he comes back and professes his continued love for Lois despite knowing that she is married with a son, taking her on 'flights' and saying sweet-nothings to her!"

Yah, I guess this was something I would have easily missed out. So Superman, when stripped off all his super-powers, is simply a modern bastard.

Favourite quote

Editor Jason White, Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane are in White's office crowding round a photo that Olsen had taken. He claimed that it was a picture of Superman in the air, but White and Lane were squinting their eyes to take a closer look at the blurred and distanced picture. Finally, after examining the picture...

Jason: It's a bird!
Lois: It's a plane!
Jimmy (points exasperatedly on the picture): No! it's Sup...

(Clark Kent barges in innocently at this moment and interrupts)

Kent: You wanted to see me?

Some interesting trivia (taken from IMDB)

Bryan Singer was picked to direct after the studio was impressed with Christopher Nolan's naturalized version of Batman in Batman Begins (2005) and thought that Singer could bring the same gritty real world feel to Superman.

It took ten years and three vastly different directors to finally get the project off the ground.

Tim Burton's "Superman Lives" was far enough into pre-production at the time it was canceled that the studio had already designed a teaser poster to be displayed in theatres. It consisted of a stylized silver "S" shield set against a black background, with the phrase "Coming 1998" displayed across the bottom third of the poster. Finalized copies of the poster were printed up, but it's unclear how many were made before the movie was called off.

Marlon Brando reprises his role as Jor el with some help from VFX. Rhythm & Hues took footage from the old Superman movie and hand-modeled and -animated a CG-replica of his face upon the footage. It was then textured and new mouth shapes was then animated onto the model.

More interesting trivia

I just read from FIRST magazine that there is actually a thing known as "curse of the cape" which has afflicted previous actors who have played the part. Here's what they have listed:

- George Reeves who did TV's Adventures of Superman (1952-1957), committed suicide in 1959

- Christopher Reeve was paralysed in a fall from a horse and died in 2004

- Dean Cain, from Lois and Clark, has had a fading acting career since

- Tom Welling, the star of Smallville, has not progressed much since also