We took the afternoon off yesterday from the heat and humidity and escaped to the cold quietness of the Uptown, where we saw Superman Returns, the latest movie in the Man of Steel’s franchise.
By and large I agreed with the critics who, in the reviews I’ve seen, have described the movie as “sweet.” Superman has been gone for six years and the world has moved on. Lex Luthor is out of prison but has been keeping a low profile. Lois Lane has moved on with her life and has a long-time fiancé, a son, and a Pulitzer for her editorial, “Why the World Doesn’t Need Superman.”
But when Superman flies back into all their lives, there still seems to be a need for his services. And Lois will be forced to come to terms with whether it was the world who could do without him or whether she was trying to convince herself.
The actors did an terrific job. Brendon Rauch made a worthy successor to Christopher Reeve (although I found myself oddly distracted by his eyebrows). Kevin Spacey was convincingly creepy. Kate Bosworth was excellent in a movie where Lois was really Superman’s equal in many regards. And the supporting cast did a great job of portraying their characters.
I liked the movie. But I was surprised by the strong Christian element it drew upon. If ever a director thought to himself, I’d like to make a superhero movie that centers around John 3:16 without it actually starring Jesus flying around in a cape (which sounds rather like fodder for a South Park story arc), this is the movie. Combining the father’s benevolent voiceover talking about how he was sending his only son down to save earth by serving as a role model for humankind and the talk about how Superman recharges by using the light of the Sun with the climax of the movie, it’s hard not to see some parallels. (I’m not saying it’s out of place. The whole Superman creation is based on a sort of Jesus mythos, in which of course we substitute “the American way” for God’s will. And it’s been successful for three-quarters of a century. I was just surprised the its overt overtone in this undertaking.)
I would definitely say the movie is worth the cost of admission and it definitely has the potential to wind up on my top 10 list at the end of the year.