Superman Returns

***1/2
Director: Bryan Singer
Written by Michael Dougherty & Dan Harris
With: Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, James Marsden, Parker Posey, Frank Langella, Eva Marie Saint, Tristan Lake Leabu, Jack Larson, Noel Neill

"You wrote that the world doesn't need a savior, but every day I hear people crying for one"

There was a moment just as the film opened when the opportunity was there for them to screw it up beyond belief. They could have gone all sorts of ways, most of which would have proven to be sad mistakes.
But, when I heard the first strains of the original music only with a slightly different styling I was sure they understood just what this film meant to people.
With that in mind, I was almost shocked at how fast I got into the movie itself. Not once during the nearly two and a half hours did I check the time.
The film started with some negative strikes against it right from the start. Superman was being played by someone other then Christopher Reeve or Tom Welling. Well, that is enough to stop some fans right there. But trust me, wherever Reeve's is, he is happy with the way Routh portrayed the character.
And Welling just didn't want to do it. As it is, Routh takes the job of playing Clark with a very humanizing way that makes him come across less as a buffoon and more like just a shy, bumbling country boy in the big city.
Now, a lot of people have questioned if this is nothing more then a remake of the first Superman film. No sireebob, it ain't. This is a first class original film that simply continues the ideas of what Superman 1 and 2 gave us, with Superman returning from an extended space flight to a remote part of space where astronomers have discovered parts of Krypton, his home planet. He goes off to 'find himself' and to search for any other survivors only to discover a dead world, a graveyard.
On his return home, Ma Kent tries to console him with the "Space is big" speech. A quaint nod of the head here to a possible Supergirl film also, if I may add.
After five years, he returns home to find many changes not the least of which is Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) who has moved on a lot. She is engaged to the nephew of Perry White and has a son. She has also won a Pulitzer for an editorial entitled "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman".
Lex Luthor has gotten out of prison, and is well on his way to ruling the world by the use of crystals when Superman returns. Kevin Spacey does a magnificent job as Luthor, bringing a different level of ego and arrogance to the villain. He is Lex Luthor.

Parker Posey has entered the picture as Kitty Kowalski who replaces Miss. Tishmunger from the first two films. She is attractive and has enough timing to be a silly but smart moll.
The first two films are referenced throughout the film and are not cheesy or done in a disrespectful manner. And I have to say the special effects of the film were first class. You will believe a man can fly, again. The images of Superman hanging above the world just listening are beautiful.
Also, a tip of the hat is given to another DC character, when a comment is made about Superman showing up in Gotham City.
There is so much more I could say about this movie but to do so would probably spoil it for some of you. And some of you might not like that.
I will say this, one of the most amazing scenes deals with Superman, a villain with a pistol and a cocked eyebrow and pitying smirk.
Over the years as I reviewed films I have heard applause at the end of a movie only a few times. The Rings Trilogy, Harry Potter, Batman Begins, Narnia and now Superman Returns. The difference was, with all the others people clapped then just left.
At the end of Superman Returns, people were clapping; some were yelling and some even had tears in their eyes. The fans have waited over two and a half decades for this movie; we watched it go from different producers, directors and stars. We lived in fear of the 'gay Jimmy Olsen' or the black Lois Lane and even the glittery spandex costume some nut wanted to put Superman in.
It was worth the wait.
Would I pay to see it again? I'm actually planning on seeing it at the IMAX Theater in Dublin and I'm sure I'll enjoy it again.