"Superman Returns" = Yawn

Watched “Superman Returns” last night and thought it was pretty dull. I like Bryan Singer a lot, but this one he doesn’t get. Superman has an illegitimate child? What? Superman is basically a sunny optimistic myth. He’s the opposite of Batman – he gets his powers from the sun. Singer tries to do something new by having this whole set up that Superman has disappeared for five years looking for the remains of Krypton. He adds in archival footage of Marlon Brandon, brings out Eva Marie Saint for a few scenes, and she’s gorgeous. But the story isn’t that interesting, Lex Luthor has never been as colorful a villain as say the Joker, Kevin Spacey is OK, and Parker Posey couldn’t be more annoying if she tried. Honestly. She makes me long for Valerie Perrine.

Brandon Routh is beautiful and kind of dull. Plus – if he and Lois had sex before – why don’t they do it again? Once that barrier has been broken, why aren’t they just shagging all the time? Or does he only need sex once every five years? Superman as camel. I found myself wishing they had placed it in the thirties, the time of the Depression and the first appearance of the character. That would have been fun and interesting. The whole visual look of the film is generic and vague. Placing him the world of computers and cell phones seems to work against the innocent, fun, otherworldly feel of the comics.