Review of "Superman"

[All-American]

The movie was a lot of fun. Opening night is always a great experience when a movie appeals to a broad fan base, as Superman does. Costumes, hoots and hollers, cheers and jeers, and the collective excitement was worth the price of admission on its own.

The movie wasn't perfect by any means. The plot was merely sufficient, and there were some great opportunities for character development that were either missed, overlooked, or simply turned down. Two important themes, the lack of a sense of belonging (as demonstrated in X-Men, for example) and the sacrifice of a way of life in order to serve the public (admirably displayed by Spider-man, which had a great trailer before the opening) were merely hinted at. The most important character theme in the movie is of a perfect being whose compassion for the people lead him to become the world's savior-- but after letting this one out to breathe, it is put back in the bag just as quickly, as though Brian Singer was worried about offending somebody with the very clearly Christian theme. Kevin Spacey is very good as Lex Luthor, and could have stolen the show, given half a chance. The movie could have gotten much higher marks in these aspects.

The heart and soul of the movie, however, was nostalgia, and for this, "Superman Returns" gets full credit. Yeah, we all knew it was only a matter of time before the big guy was going to enter stage right and save the world-- but after all, that's what we were there to see, and he didn't disappoint. Superman was back on the big screen, just like we remembered him, complete with the curled lock of hair on his forehead. John Williams's theme, which is as much a part of Superman's identity as the shield, was featured from start to finish-- even the love theme could be heard in selected scenes. (And, by the way, Kate Boswell... I heartily approve.) For a generation that was raised on Superman and had gone so long without seeing arguably America's most beloved hero in anything but a telivision mini-series, the nostalgic throwback was a thrill.

The movie will be best enjoyed if you can make it to a showing during the opening week, with an enthusiastic crowd. Be willing to overlook a few flaws, but overall, a very fun experience.