It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's.......... | Tragic Comedy

Scott Horowitz | July 3, 2006
So, I saw Superman Returns over the weekend. I liked it, but it wasn't the typical action packed comic book movie. Singer wanted to humanize Superman and I think he did it. The plot was over the top and stupid, but overall, I enjoyed the movie. Anyone else have opinions?

Kris Weberg | July 3, 2006
I thought it was...okay.

It plays far too much like the 1978 version, right down to deliberately lifting some of the dialogue and basic plot structure from it. But it has a weightiness that makes up for the lighthearted camp, and a Superman who has problems his (thankfully more comic-like than omnipotent-Donner-movie-like) physical powers cannot and will not solve for him, which adds a degree of conflict.

On the other hand, there are plot holes you can drive a Mack truck through -- Why, for instance, doesn't anyone investigate the events that a particular character mentions, and why have that character mention them if no one is going to bother investigating them? -- and a certain clash of tones between the more humorous and darker moments of the film.

What's good in it is very good; what's bad in it is glaring but not ruinous. I'd cautiously recommend it.