Rebirth of a franchise

Much like the Batman franchise, Superman was in desperate need of an overhaul after being taken out of the hands of director Richard Donner long ago. Where "Batman Begins" is a masterpiece, "Superman Returns" is very much a work in progress after being tossed around Hollywood for over a decade without hope. It only took director Bryan Singer leaving behind his own comic book franchise of the X-Men films to accomplish it. \n"Superman Returns" takes place after a five--year absence of the Man of Steel. He returned to the last remains of Krypton only to find a wasteland, all the while Earth suffered during his unannounced departure. Superman (played by newcomer Brandon Routh) returns to our world to make things right, while his arch-nemesis Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) is plotting to destroy it. \nWithout the right casting, "Superman Returns" could've easily fallen apart. While the legacy left by Christopher Reeve is almost impossible to live up to, choosing Routh allows an entirely new face to take on the role, as opposed to names such as Nicolas Cage and Jude Law who were once attached in previous attempts to get the project moving. Routh's Clark Kent is earnest in his awkwardness of trying to hide the fact he is Superman; Routh's Superman is an attempt to regain his heroic status in a world which some felt he had forsaken. \nKate Bosworth as Lois Lane is where the film tries too hard. She just comes off a bit annoying and underwhelming in her performance; one has to wonder how Superman could even be attracted to her. But when it boils down to the best performance, all signs point to Kevin Spacey as he chews the scenery in typical Spacey form. His Lex Luthor is arrogant and calculating to the core.\nWhile some of the action pieces are exciting as can be, such as Superman saving a falling jet or deflecting bullets from a gatling gun, "Superman Returns" does plod along at times. As a friend put it, "James Marsden's seaplane adventure" is unnecessary. Cyclops flying around in a seaplane is boringly frustrating, not to mention much of the Christ-like imagery surrounding the last son of Krypton. Like I said, this film is a work in progress at rebuilding a franchise long lost. If it possessed the same fiery courage of "Batman Begins," then maybe the film would be more solid. \nComing in two editions, fans of the movie should be fine with the featureless single-disc. For the die-hards, a two-disc edition is available with almost three hours of supplements including a lengthy making-of and "Designing Superman" which covers costumes, artwork and the gorgeous sets. The best of the supplements are a behind-the-scenes segment with Kevin Spacey on one of his most devious roles yet and a look at how Singer and crew resurrected Marlon Brando for his scenes as Jor-El. \nWith a Superman sequel already in the works, hopefully Singer will work out some of the kinks, although I hope after this he will take another stab at films outside the comic book world. The man did make "The Usual Suspects" after all, and I'd love to see what else he's capable of.