Dir. Bryan Singer
Writ. Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris
Act. Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey

I don't know, I just don't know. There is nothing wrong with this movie, yet I can't get excited about it until I hear John Williams music. Then the hair on the back of my neck stands up and I begin to get mesmerized by what I am seeing. The acting is fine with two exceptions, one good and one bad, and the special effects are great. But the story is very average and that is what keeps me from falling in love with the movie, but I have seen it twice, so it's not bad.

When scientists discover the remains of Krypton, Superman a.k.a. Clark Kent, played by Brandon Routh (Karla,) flies into space and investigate the sighting. After five years he returns to a different world that he left. Lois Lane, played by Kate Bosworth (Bee Season,) has a fiancé, a five year old son, and won a Pulitzer Prize for an article about how the world doesn't need Superman. Meanwhile, because Superman missed his court date, Lex Luthor, played by Kevin Spacey (American Beauty,) is released from jail and acquires a fortune with the ultimate prize of killing Superman and ruling the world.

Let's talk about the best thing in this movie, Kevin Spacey. He brought a wonderfully wicked interpretation of Luthor to this movie. He was evil, funny, and most importantly, human. I loved the scene where he walks out of the bathroom of his boat staring at Lois Lane and son with his toothbrush in his mouth, toothpaste dribbling down his mouth with a dumbfounded look on his face. I laughed hard after that scene. I was also saddened and angry when Lex Luthor beats the hell out of Superman and stabs the sh*t out of him. Spacey did a great job of re-inventing a great bad guy.

The music was also wonderful. The producers did a smart thing and bought the rights to the original Superman music by John Williams and just had another man do the music in the movie. If John Williams isn't the greatest American composer of all time, I want to know the man, woman, or child who is better than him. The music is exciting and helps out the movie tremendously.

Brandon Routh did a fine job of not screwing up the Clark Kent/Superman character. Unlike Spacey, Routh did not make any noticeable changes from what Christopher Reeves did to the Superman character. Routh did seem to make him more vengeful than Reeves, but the story required the attitude. I will give Routh a hall pass on this performance. I will say that Kate Bosworth was also fine as Lois, unspectacular, but fine.

I do want to comment on the one character who has the worst luck in the world, Richard White, Lois's fiancé, played by James Marsden (X-Men movies.) This character is a good guy, and no matter what he does for the rest of his life, cure cancer, AIDS, solve the Mid-East Crisis, make George Bush a popular President, he will always be second best because his babe loves Superman. To make matters worse, what is going to become of the guy when he discovers that Superman is the father of Lois's child? How can he ever get it up for her again knowing that Superman banged her hard and produced a child? The guy will be drinking awfully early in the morning and have an ulcer in six months. I feel for the guy when I watch the movie.

One character I did not like and thought was completely annoying was Kitty Kowalski, Lex's babe, played by Parker Posey (A Mighty Wind.) Her character was the stereotype ditzy woman and Posey was at her annoying best. Whenever she was on screen I was counting the seconds until she was off.

The problem I had with the story is that it was just too unbelievable, even for a comic book movie. I can ignore the fact that Lois Lane is apparently tougher then the man of steel because she gets the sh*t knocked out of her a couple of times and doesn't get a scratch, but there are too many story incongruities for my liking. In act three, Superman flies on to the new land mass that Luthor creates and because it was made with Kryptonite, it makes Superman human and a p*ss. However, in the climatic scene, after he regains his strength, he goes to the core of the planet and lifts the land mass. Now, I can buy that he can actually pick up the mass, but wouldn't he be weak again because it's still made partially of Kryptonite? If I ignore that, he manages to get the mass into space and becomes so weak from the kryptonite that he passes out and falls back to Earth. Well, wouldn't he be ok once the land mass was far enough away from him, and the power of the earth healing him at the same time? Instead he falls to Earth and nearly dies. That is one example of a few loop holes in the story that bothered me.

Overall, this movie is worth watching. The special effects are good and the acting is anywhere from good to great. The story is its weakest link, but since it is a comic book movie, that fact can be ignored and a good time can be had by one and all.

Brian - the Naked Gun