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Superman Returns [Blu-ray] by Bryan Singer
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DVD Cover InformationActor: Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey Director: Bryan Singer Brand: Warner Brothers Blu-ray: Region Code 0 Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language); Spanish (Original Language) Picture Format: 2.35:1 Running Time: 154 minutes Blu-ray Release Date: 2006-11-28 Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of Superman Returns [Blu-ray]Movie Review: The Only Way It Could Have Been Done... A Fantastic Sequel! Summary: 5 Stars
I can not describe in words how much I love this movie. It was the perfect sequel to Superman and Superman II, starring Christopher Reeve, and I grew up watching those movies. It had to be just right, done perfectly, or I would have despised it.
Brandon Routh played Superman the way Christopher Reeve did, and did so well that at times it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, because he portrayed the character to such a tee. With Christopher Reeve unfortunately out of the running to play the role, *I think Routh was the only one who could fill his shoes. He paid tribute to Reeve very well.
Lex Luthor's character was a little edgier and angrier than in the original movies, but that is doubtless explained by 5 years' imprisonment, and he wasn't so over the top that it completely distorted the original character. Lois Lane's character was well-portrayed by Kate Bosworth. Although she seemed a little malnourished, she had spunk and I actually liked her in the role better than Margot Kidder.
As a film-score fan, and one who grew up humming John Williams' original Superman theme, the score also had to be perfect, and John Ottman not only retained the theme, but also worked himself to death to ensure that the entire film, from beginning to end, had an A1 score. I hope that John Williams was proud of Ottman's work, because he should have been.
Word has it that the Superman franchise is on indefinite hold because of legal battles over rights and royalties. It is also rumored that WB was so unpleased with the film's nearly $400 million gross (?!) that they might take the franchise in an edgier direction in the future. That would be a horrible mistake... Superman is not, and never has been, dark or frightening. It is not Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, or anything even remotely like it, and it never should be. This film was the only way it could have been done, and kudos to Brian Singer for reviving a legend.
Summary of Superman Returns [Blu-ray]Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 11/28/2006 Run time: 100 minutes Rating: R If Richard Donner's 1978 feature film Superman: The Movie made us believe a man could fly, Bryan Singer's 2006 follow-up, Superman Returns, lets us remember that a superhero movie can make our spirits soar. Superman (played by newcomer Brandon Routh) comes back to Earth after a futile five-year search for his destroyed home planet of Krypton. As alter ego Clark Kent, he's eager to return to his job at the Daily Planet and to see Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth). Lois, however, has moved on: she now has a fiancé (James Marsden), a son (Tristan Leabu), and a Pulitzer Prize for her article entitled "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman." On top of this emotional curveball, his old archrival Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) is plotting the biggest land grab in history. Singer, who made a strong impression among comic-book fans for his work on the X-Men franchise and directed Spacey in The Usual Suspects, brings both a fresh eye and a sense of respect to the world's oldest superhero. He borrows John Williams's great theme music and Marlon Brando's voice as Jor-El, and the story (penned by Singer's X-Men collaborators Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris) is a sort-of-sequel to the first two films in the franchise (choosing to ignore that the third and fourth movies ever happened). The humorous and romantic elements give the movie a heart, Singer's art-deco Metropolis is often breathtaking, and the special effects are elegant and spectacular, particularly an early airplane-disaster set-piece. Of the cast, Routh is excellent as the dual Superman/Clark, Spacey is both droll and vicious as Luthor, and Parker Posey gets the best lines as Luthor's moll Kitty. But at 23, Bosworth seems too young for the five-years-past-grizzled Lois. It's nice to see Noel Neill, Jack Larson (both from the classic Adventures of Superman TV series), and Eva Marie-Saint on the screen as well. Superman Returns is one of those projects that was in development for seemingly forever, but it was worth the wait -- it's the most enjoyable superhero movie since Spider-Man 2 and The Incredibles. --David Horiuchi More Superman  Watch our exclusive interviews with the cast of Superman Returns |  Other feature films |  Superman in high definition |  Smallville |  Adventures of Superman |  See all Superman DVDs |
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