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EUR FILM REVIEW: Superman Returns
Possible Paternity Overshadows Superman’s Earth-Saving Heroics
Thus, in recent days, we’ve witnessed a Spiderman depressed enough to consider hanging up his mask and jumpsuit, learned that Batman was emotionally traumatized by the murder of his parents, we’ve heard Fantastic Four’s Thing moan about how hard it is being a rock, and we’ve seen just about each of the X-Men wrestle with some sort of neurosis.
So, it comes as no surprise that the first extension of the Superman franchise in almost 20 years might suddenly feature The Man of Steel as a somewhat flawed individual. What is remarkable, however, is that the subplot adopted here suggests that his nerdy, unassuming alter ego, Clark Kent (Brandon Routh), might have knocked-up none other than Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth), his comely colleague who, herself, had previously been presented as a virginal paragon of virtue.
Unfortunately, the possibility that the pair enjoyed a liaison leading to a love child is such an intriguing and distracting development that it easily overshadows the film’s familiar front story which involves Superman taking a stand for “truth and justice” in protecting the planet from the latest diabolical plot hatched by his perennial arch enemy, Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey). Notice that “the American way” has been dropped from Superman’s trademark slogan, ostensibly to placate theater audiences overseas where the U.S. image is at an all-time low, at least according to public opinion polls.
Anyhow, at the point of departure, we find Superman rocketing back to Earth after an unexplained absence of five years. He crash-lands on the farm of his adoptive mom, Martha (Eva Marie Saint) who welcomes with open arms before informing him that Pa Kent has passed on. But this news is not nearly as shocking as what awaits him when he arrives at the offices of the Daily Planet in downtown Metropolis, whose skyline looks an awful lot like Sydney, Australia.
For not only does Lois have a son, Jason (Tristan Leabu) who’s almost five, but a doting life-partner in Richard (James “Cyclops” Marsden), nephew of the newspaper’s irascible editor, Perry White (Frank Langella). Richard is eager to make her an honest woman, but Lois has some secret reason for her stubborn refusal to tie the knot. Could it possibly have anything to do with Clark? A very big clue comes later when young Jason picks up a piano to crush a creep about to harm his mommy.
Given this apparent cross-fertilization of human and alien species, it’s terribly disappointing that director Bryan Singer (X-Men 1 & 2) opted to devote so much time to setting up the Lex Luthor-Superman showdown, especially when that interminable, apocalyptic scenario comes at the expense of exploring pressing questions raised by the birth of an historic genetic mutation.
In fact, after dropping the obvious hint via the killing by keyboard, the movie subsequently ignores the paternity theme entirely till the very end of the picture. This approach might have worked, had the action sequences been at all visually-engaging. But jostling the lens appears to be Singer’s favorite cinematic special effect, as every fight scene suffers from a bad case of shaken camera syndrome. Memo to the easily nauseated: Pack a tablet of Dramamine to ward off motion sickness.
Clocking in at a tedious two and one-half hours, Superman Returns is likely to be too long for the tykes, too predictable for the ‘tweeners, and simply too frustrating for any adult. The Man of Steel as a morally-compromised and ethically-challenged figure has the potential to be quite compelling, but if and only if he is portrayed as confronting his demons in a meaningful way, not as an irresponsible “baby-daddy” who has no excuse for being absent during his son’s formative years.
Fair (1 star)
Rated PG-13 for profanity and intense action violence.
Running time: 154 minutes
Studi Warner Brothers
