[martok2112]

FILM: SUPERMAN RETURNS
DISTRIBUTOR: WARNER BROS.
DIRECTOR: BRYAN SINGER
PRINCIPAL CAST: BRANDON ROUTH, KEVIN SPACEY, FRANK LANGELLA, KATE BOSWORTH, JAMES MARSDEN
MPAA RATING: PG-13 for Some Intense Action Violence
RUNTIME: 2 hours, 34 minutes.

Story: 5/5
Acting: 5/5
Sound: 5/5
Visuals: 5/5
Endorphin Factor: 4/5
Big Screen Experience: 5/5
Scoring system:
Average: 4.8/5

MOVIES IT COULD BE COMPARED TO: SUPERMAN, SUPERMAN II, BATMAN BEGINS

DETAILS: I was fortunate enough to catch a late night showing of this film at the local theatre....and my two and a half hours were as well spent as my money.

Bryan Singer is on his way to becoming a legend. There is no doubt about it. This film is superb. There is Superman, then there is Superman II, and then there is Superman Returns. That is the way it should be. Superman III, and Superman IV can pretty much be regarded as horrific memories, best left out of the canon.

As soon as I heard John Williams' theme heralding the movie, I got a lump in my throat. In fact, I got a lump in my throat every time I heard his themes used throughout the movie. And John Ottman's original score compliments Williams' work exquisitely.

When I saw the opening credits, they were done in the same style as the original Superman movie credits....blue letters with the blaze effect behind them. But they also made the opening sequence very visually appealing.

The story was very well written. Very emotional. And with some nice nods back to Superman the Movie. The writers of this film really did their work well. And there are a couple of nice surprises in this film that may just leave your jaw on the floor.

Visual effects. SPLENDID! This is the first big screen film I have been impressed by in a long time. A few things made me raise a brow. Sadly, I wasn't blown away...but I did get my money's worth.

This IS a big screen film....and I can only imagine that if Singer works up a sequel, it is gonna be a motherfracker, because this film was BIG!

Kevin Spacey and Brandon Routh do great homage to the actors who previously played the roles of Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman), and Superman (Christopher Reeve), while giving the roles a bit of their own flavor. All the actors in this film played their roles beautifully however.
And Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) looked damn good.

When the film ended, I only heard a few people (including myself) actually applaud, but there were a LOT of people who stuck around through the end credits. Sadly, there was no real reason to stick around for them, save to hear John Ottman's wonderful redux of John Williams' original themes, and his own original closing score.

BOTTOM LINE: Folks...GO! See this film on the big screen where it belongs. If you are a fan of Superman and Superman II, this is THE sequel you've waited 20 years for. It's worth it, even as an evening show.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: If Bryan Singer and Tom DeSanto can get their ducks in a row...and get the VFX team that Singer had for this film, then a Battlestar Galactica film would be HUGE!!!