Superman Returns

Well, do you get your money's worth? Hell yeah! I think the film starts out a little shakey, a little awkward, almost looking like a newborn horse finding its legs before it learns how to walk and then run, but then about 15 minutes into the film, it settles into a nice groove through most of the 2nd and 3rd act (the film's got about 4 main sections to it), and I'm sucked into this world that has a Superman and all the associated baggage that goes along with it.

Loved the special effects, the inertial ramifications of the use of Superman's power are tended to, though there some some shots that require you to believe in Superman's tactile telekinesis to handle the balancing of massive objects when applying the strength at a certain spot (covered in the comics about 20 years when John Byrne was tapped to re-launch the Superman titles). Some of the shots are just breathtakingly beautiful and haunting. The flying sequence are pretty fluid, but there's a few that rely a little too much on CGI at times, but I wasn't distracted by it.

Brandon Routh's performance is pretty good, nothing too glaring to undercut the job he did in his first big-time film, he's likable as Clark, and exudes a much more confident persona as Superman. Kate Bosworth wasn't as bad as I had feared, but not as solid as I had hoped, but it's sort of ironic she has better onscreen chemistry with Kevin Spacey than Routh (but understandable due to their participation in the film "Beyond the Sea"). Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor has turned a bit thuggish, but then again, 5 years in prison will do that to a man, and Lex was no exception. I can forgive such "thuggishness" since there is some reason behind it. The rest of the cast is pretty grounded, which is good for a film with such fantastical elements in a "real" world setting.

Enjoyed the score, been listening to it in the car lately as well. Now that I've seen the film, just hearing some of the score just sends me right back to that segment of the film.

I'm not sure what I'd cut out of the film script-wise because I could probably soak up another hour if it were shown to us. I spotted the screenwriters in the museum scene.

Bryan Singer's direction is solid more than competent, he has a knack for never losing the audience in the action sequences, and isn't afraid to slow down the pace and pay attention to the human relationships at play. The ending coda just made me want to cry, given the beats explored in those short scenes that move me in terms of sacrifice, and never giving up despite the obstacles and the personal costs, and looking towards the future that comes full circle.

It's true that the film uses Donner's earlier films as its foundation, but I think the writing is going to take on a whole different level with the sequels given how things played out. I didn't have a problem with giving a lot of nods to original Donner films because I thought it wasn't just a rehash, but building towards a new mythology.

I give it 3.75 stars or a grade of A- for now.

I'm checking out the IMAX version on Wednesday night, mainly to see how well the 3D holds up in the 20 minutes of 3D'd footage.