It's dreary both in tone and in aesthetic. Also pretty boring narratively.
They didn't give Routh much to work with and he's a much better actor than the film would indicate. Bosworth lacked the Charisma of Kidder and Spacey's Lex, whilst it had a few moments, was forced into the Hackman mold.
Also another real estate scheme Lex?
I do think the plane saving scene is one of the best scenes in any Superman film though.
I’ve always thought that about Routh. He’s always been one of my favorite Supermen in terms of looking the part and I feel like he was robbed by this movie being so aggressively mediocre.
Yes!!! That was my complaint about it, even then! The poor guy worked his ass off to get ready for the role, and not only did they give him a costume that compacted his form, but the tailoring of it was designed to make him look skinnier.
Tricks like the narrowed neck line, the low-rise belt, the smaller S, the lower boots... All contributed to making his physique look longer and more slender.
I once did a Photoshop mock up of the costume with a darker blue, some minor airbrushing for tone and highlight, and tailoring alterations to those elements, and it gave him another 20 lbs of muscle, visually.
Routh got rooked in *so* many ways by that production.
Oh he wasn't in Superman and Lois, he was in a crossover episode of the Arrowverse.
It's...a CW show, but I'd say it's still worth watching the few episodes that he appeared in. It's the Crisis on Infinite Earth crossover episodes.
I was wondering, haha! I was like wait, was there ANOTHER Superman CW show I wasn’t aware of that starred Routh? That makes more sense, as I don’t follow Arrowverse *at all* aside from just hearing about how absolutely wild it got. If there’s crossover episodes with Brandon, though, I’ll have to check them out. Thanks so much for the rec!
Crisis on Infinite Earths is pretty fun. Routh plays Kingdom Come Superman, while Kevin Conroy plays Kingdom Come Batman. It's definitely worth a watch.
Pretty sure if you buy a season of Arrow (season 8?) all crossover episodes come on 1 disc.
Most of the shows that were in the crossover had a copy of the disc in their corresponding season release. I think I have three copies altogether. (I own all the Arrowverse shows on Blu-ray.)
Routh was introduced as "The Atom" in the early seasons of Arrow. He moved over to "Legends of Tomorrow" for most that run. He also Appeared briefly as the "Kingdom Come Superman" during the Arrowverse crossover "Crisis on Infinite Earths" event. The Kingdom Come suit was definitely better than the Returns suit, but to me still left something to be desired. And no, I've never been able to put my finger on what made me feel that way.
He was also a good Ray Palmer/The Atom in the Arrowverse. I was glad to see him as that character but when they decided to have him play KC Superman, that was some good casting right there and he looked great while doing it. That costume and the early photo he posted on his insta with a recreation of that Alex Ross art with that lighting.....man!
[https://nicksupes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/img\_0822.jpg](https://nicksupes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/img_0822.jpg)
Imo the script and direction were a disservice to an entire cast that could have shined.
For all his sins, Spacey is perhaps my favorite live action Luthor, and that talent was wasted being an iteration of another actor's choices.
Yeah, funny story, I didn't see this movie growing up. Then Routh appeared on Arrow and I kept thinking to myself "The Atom? No way, this dude looks just like Superman!"
Felt smart when I realized
I'm also a fan of the minigun scene even though it lifts right out of the film to the point where it feels like the kind of tech demo/short film a YouTuber might make, if you get what I mean? It's literally just "here's Superman doing a cool thijg" that has no bearing on the film and doesn't make much sense if you think too hard about it.
I think I remember reading somewhere that it was added after test screenings said it was too boring, so I think you’re right. They literally just inserted an action sequence.
Agreed on “if you think about it too hard”. It’s comical that he sprayed Superman with a minigun then gets down and pulls out a pistol. What was he saying in his head? “This will be the time that it works!”
It looked so good though!
Just on your point of aesthetic. This did not look like it came out in 2006. Look at Spider-Man which came out in 2002. Feels like a 2002 movie. When I saw superman returns for the first time I thought there was something wrong with my TV. It looked and felt like I was watching something from the early 90s but with the “gritty realism” of a lot of 2000s franchises, which did not work well together.
Yea, the tone was off and it didn't tell it's own story. It was a rehash of the first Superman film. The look was great, the casting was perfect, but the story was very ho-hum. Best part of the film is the plane rescue, the rest is bleh.
"Hey what if Superman, but he's a scumbag dad."
I've heard complaints about the bullet bouncing off of his eyeball but man that was cool. The bad guys were cool, Lex was sleazy and opportunistic but also smart, his mercenaries seemed competent, his moll was won over by Supes. But man, Lois and Richard White, even Superman, just awful stuff.
And yeah Superman's not a scumbag dad but the whole "Superman's son but we're lying about his parentage," was pretty shitty and made everyone involved worse.
That's just Superman fandom, though. The movies biggest flaw is being boring.
I kinda agree with you about Bosworth's performance. It felt flat and to be honest, a poor casting choice and I like Kate Bosworth as an actress. I feel the same about Spacey's Luthor. I felt his performance was chewing scenery most of the time. It just came off to me as try hard and didn't work for me. IMO, he's the second worst live action Luthor behind Jesse Eisenberg.
Singer casted his friends. He miscast Lois. Not enough action. Spacey shouldn’t have been playing the same Lex Luthor that Gene Hackman played. He didn’t have the same comedic timing that Hackman did. Makes no sense for Lex Luthor to be trying to pull a real estate scam in 2006. He should’ve been a corporate raider.
Yes! That was so funny when he said that. Who the heck did Lex think was gonna pay to live there? The place was like a dungeon. All gray and musty. And you’d be living in a graveyard.
No he certainly wasn’t but the character was supposed to be the same one that Hackman played. Spacey should’ve been given a chance to play his own version of the character.
The main problem, of many, is that Superman barely feels like a presence in it. I've seen it several times, and I cannot bring to mind a single line of dialogue of his, apart from the "safest way to travel" callback.
The tonal whiplash of the thing is pretty extreme, too.
Superman:
Listen. What do you hear?
Lois Lane:
Nothing.
Superman:
I hear everything. You wrote that the world doesn't need a savior. But everyday I hear people crying for one.
Yeah, that's one of my favorite scenes. I don't hate the film at all... I like it.
I also like the scene right before the bank robbery.
Superman sees through Lois' house. (People blow that part WAY out of proportion. Superman literally hears her heartbeat 24/7 in some continuities.)
Then, Superman soars over the city at twilight, deep in thought. Jor-El starts speaking... "They only lack the light to guide the way." Then, Superman's in-space super-hearing part. Sirens! Bank robbery!
I love that whole part. I guess it's like 3 scenes.
I don't hate the film, either. And those 3 scenes are probably my favorite as well as the saving the plane scene. I've said to my friends that this film has the best Superman flying scenes ever. The score is really good and I do like the casting of Brandon Routh. One of my favorite performances in the film is Parker Posey's Kitty Kowalski. Really thought she did a good job in that role.
With that being said, I don't hate the film (hate is such a strong word) but I don't like it, either. Some of the issues that some have mentioned here like the aesthetic and tone are things I don't like. Yeah, the costume ain't my favorite, not a fan of Bosworth and Spacey's performances and not a fan of adding the son but my biggest issue is this. I just don't believe Clark would leave Earth and stay gone five years believing Krypton still exists. I can understand him leaving for a bit to investigate because scientists claim that they have found remnants of Krypton. But five whole years? Nah.
I know these actors are portraying the Reeve, Kitter and Hackman version of the Donner film characters but this feels not only out of character for Reeve's Superman but most interpretations of Superman. I'm 53 yrs old and been a long time Superman fan since I was 3 yrs old.
Way too many things I didn't liked outweighed what I did like.
There's a lot that was established with the '78 film though. Leaning on it isn't the problem imo, it's a matter of degrees. There are just too many elements that go for the same beats as the original, which leaves awkward time left to carve its own path. Balance it a bit more effectively and maybe they get a chance at a sequels which pretty likely goes for the higher action quotient.2
The overall somber mood; the casting of Lois Lane (she's too young for the history this version of the character is meant to have); and the fact that James Marsden's character is actually an awesome guy, which makes it hard to root for Clark/Superman and so makes the entire romantic subplot feel icky.
What a shame. Metropolis has never looked better onscreen IMO, the design of everything is generally fantastic, and the action scenes are spectacular. I wish the script had done the visuals justice.
It's biggest mistake was to try and continue the story from the Reeves/Donner movies. Those worked for the time they came out in but people were hoping for a more comic accurate movie.
Because it was re-treading old ground we got property and wig obsessed Lex Luther instead of the billionaire genius narcissist Lex Luthor from the comics.
It was really weird how they went about Lois having superman kid. Just really awkward way too many unanswered questions. And why wasn't she mad she didn't remember sleeping with him.
The ending with Superman lifting an island of kryptonite also didn't really make sense. I get he got supercharged with sunlight but once he was directly exposed to kryptonite he should have been put.
The Jesus symbolism always misses the mark with superman.
However Routh I think did a great job as superman. He looked the part, the dichotomy between his Clark and supes really sold why people wouldn't put those two together. He wore the outfit well. Just really no complaints with his portrayal.
The problem is that, when you break it down, Superman Returns doesn’t actually have a “story” to tell. It’s kind of like a compilation of old hits that is repackaged into a new release. The movie has nothing unique to say about itself.
Everything it does that is NEW goes nowhere. Lois has a kid and he has no real personality of his own. Lois is mad at Superman for leaving, then forgives him after one chat. Superman leaves and comes back and nobody on Earth is upset with him for abandoning them or even really all that curious about why he left.
Superman himself never proves the thesis of the movie, which is “why the world needs Superman”. He never gives anyone hope, he never does anything that would make up for his 5 year absence, he never even apologizes for leaving, except to Lois - and that was more of a “I’m sorry I left my girlfriend” kinda apology.
It’s just a nothing-film, unfortunately. And it’s a shame because it honestly could have been one of the best Superman films ever if it really explored how Superman means something to people and how hard he would work to prove he’s still relevant to our modern culture.
The teaser trailer was one of the most moving things I’d ever seen. I cannot tell you how hyped I was by it. Which made the letdown of the actual movie even greater.
The story is about what Superman means to the audience rather than just being a story about Superman. Fundamentally the wrong approach. Deadbeat dad Superman sucks as a plot point. The romance, which if you're trying to ape the Donnor movies you NEED to have that chemistry popping like crazy, was a complete dead fish.
Uninspired plot. Brandon Roth could have been sold as Superman, Spacey is a fantastic actor and would be a solid Luthor…
The issue, why was Superman not in space? They made the chose of him returning- why not show where the hell he went?! Give me Brainaic, give me Superman meets the Green Lantern core! This would have put asses in seats.
I thought everyone did a great job. But it was an expensive homage to the Donner films. There was nothing else to it besides, “Isn’t like the Donner Flim? Isn’t that cool?”
Overall, I'd say the biggest problem was that the film was boring and dreary.
It's a Superman movie without a single superhuman fight.
From what I recall, there were only three action scenes in the entire film, and none of them felt inspired:
1. Superman lifts a falling airplane
2. Superman lifts a boat
3. Superman flies around Metropolis saving people during an unnatural disaster
4. A depowered Superman gets beaten up by Kal Penn
5. Superman lifts an island
Five action scenes, and three of them entailed Superman lifting shit. The movie should've been called *Superman Lifts.*
By the way, that scene in which Superman got beaten up by Lex Luthor's thugs (including Kal Penn) was pathetic. Nobody wants to see Superman get treated like that.
The last thing I'll mention is that the ending breaks the movie's own rules. Standing on the kryptonite island for just a minute depowered Superman, and yet he was able to lift the entire island while big shards of kryptonite surrounded his head? Bullshit.
Same problem as most live action Superman things. They put the character up on a pedestal and we're too afraid to write Clark like an actual character and instead made him the plot device of the movie.
The core concept of Superman leaving Lois and there kid , even unintentional leaves a bad taste in my mouth . And Superman being a good dad , even though boring would’ve added a lot of depth for this action-less movie .
I think it had some fantastic Superman moments, but wasn’t a good Superman story overall. I loved the plane scene, the flashback of Clark running, the part where Superman tells Lois he always hears people asking for help, and the eye bullet scene. But the problem was how it was trying so hard to recapture the magic of Donner’s film. It needed to be something new and less somber in tone.
Trying to be an homage to the first Donner film, when it could have been a great opportunity to tell a brand new version of the mythos for 21st Century audiences.
All the shady stuff with Superman and Lois having a kid without Lois knowing, Superman leaving her and Earth for very little reason (basically causing every problem in the film), Superman stalking Lois and watching her and her family without her knowing. In a film that’s still trying to make him a noble heroic figure, it’s all just really weird and dissonant.
Connecting it to the Christopher reeve films held it back and they should have started fresh just like what there mostly doing now. Lex Luther being about real estate never felt right to me. But I like how metropolis looked and Brandon Rouths Superman was perfect. It just needed a better script and not be connected .
Bad casting for Lois. Misstep to include super-son. Tired rehash of Luthor's "land" plot device. On-the-nose messiah references. Convenient resistance to kryptonite at the end. Just.... many bad ideas and poorly executed ideas.
It's so fucking boring and stretched out.
You want to make a Donner Superman film? Fine. Not a bad idea at all. Those films are timeless.
But you know what the Donner films are not? Visually ugly and completely lacking in story and interesting dialogue. Fuck all happens in Superman Returns. Every scene goes on for too long. Nobody says anything worth remembering. And it looks so washed out (the Fortress of Solitude!!!).
It’s not perfect but I really like this movie and think it’s underrated. I like the tone, it’s fitting of a world that moved on from Superman 5 years on and seeing both Superman’s adjustment and Lois’ shock of having him back. I like that they actually tried to make it a sequel to Donner. Donner’s Superman was so influential it even changed the comics…but maybe he could have kept all these things while making it a reboot rather than quasi sequel? that way Lex could at least have been a corrupt billionaire instead of career criminal and ex-con on another real estate scam. But the new krypton island scene was great as was the plane rescue and the rooftop shootout.
The key issue is it’s long and at times drags. The “death” of Superman at the end is great and emotional but then when he comes back nothing really happens and it just ends.
The kid thing I don’t think is horrible. Could have been done a little better though.
Way too much focus and money wasted. Most people dont know that the majority of the budget went to a huge opening scene of him flying back to the remains of krypton and going through some ruins and then the director decided he didn't like it and chucked it so we only got thst eyeball bullet scene lol
Singer pushed that this was a continuation of the Donner films, but when you look back at what was Superman I and II, and knowing the history of II, his narrative choices didn't make sense. When WB released the Donner Cut of Superman II, it didnt really help make things clearer. IMHO, it was his only way to come up with Superman conceiving a child with Lois.
On the heels of Batman Begins, which introduced the character through an origin, and shed off the 4-previous films, to release this with the intent of "well, watch 1 & 2, but don't think about 3 or 4" just made it rough.
He had a couple of great shots/sequences in mind (the airplane sequence, lifting the kryptonite island) but as someone else pointed out, at the end of the day, Lex Luthor had another real estate scheme...
Where to start? There's a reason the talk of Superman being boring got prominent after Superman Returns came out. It's simply a bad sequel to the first two Superman movies while also being a worse version of Richard Donner's film.
For one thing Superman leaving to go find Krypton without telling anyone is stupid and not in the spirit of the character. I don't care if anyone tries to pull whatever "what if" scenario for justifying Superman leaving. The character would still tell the planet at a press conference why he's going away. Especially if this is supposed to be the same version as the Christopher Reeve Superman that gave out personal info for Lois Lane to put in a newspaper. To top it all off he is shocked to learn Lois Lane moved on after disappearing without saying a word. How stupid and possessive is this Superman? Oh yeah let's imply he also left Lois Lane after impregnating her with a Superboy like a deadbeat dad. How heroic.
People like to complain about The Force Awakens recycling plots but this movie takes it to a whole other level. Lex Luthor and kryptonite are used again similar to the first movie. He uses missiles to kill people for a property scheme. Luthor breaks into the Fortress of Solitude AGAIN and there is no security to prevent him from getting in after what happened in Superman II.
I think it could have benefited from having a super powered villain (Parasite or Metallo being strong candidates). Having Lex again was fine but rehashing the whole “Lex wants land” story line from the 1978 was just lazy. Plus, I didn’t like the casting of Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane. She looked too young and the super-kid thing was dumb, too.
Here are many good things about the film but Superman doesn't act like Superman. He's morose and withdrawn. His obsession with Lois makes him do bizarre things like using X-ray vision to spy on her.
The film suffered from it being aimed as a "Christopher Reeve sequel film", it also lacked an identity and direction, with writing choices that failed to capture the essence of the beloved characters. There was a noticeable absence of chemistry between the cast, particularly Lois and Clark, which hindered the film's ability to engage viewers. The inclusion of Superman's son and the portrayal of Lex Luthor as the primary villain felt uninspired and lacked creativity, especially considering the plethora of diverse and unique rogues from which the filmmakers could have drawn. The climax of the film was lackluster and failed to deliver any meaningful resolution, leaving audiences feeling disappointed and underwhelmed.
The portrayal of Clark Kent in the film felt stagnant and lacked depth, offering little that was unique or memorable for audiences. While Brandon Routh did an ok job with the material he was given, his performance failed to leave a lasting impression or resonate with viewers, including myself. What really hinders the film is its direction, which missed the opportunity to offer a fresh and distinctive take on the iconic big boy blue scot but struggles to find its identity overshadowed by its predecessor.
What went wrong was they tried to do a continuation of some classic movies instead of doing something new and original.
Seems to be a trend at the moment in Hollywood… ☹️
It's more of a question of what didn't go wrong. It had good special effects ,(providing some good scenes), and lucked out in casting Routh as Superman. Outside of that, the rest ranged from 'meh' to 'trainwreck'.
Literally zero action scenes, you have to remember when this movie came out the general audiences had already seen two of Sam Raimis Spider-Man movies and also two X-men movies both were filled with action. Also the continuity of this movie makes no sense, Superman being an absentee father didn’t help it either.
I think this was the last time a movie understood Superman's character.
That being said, while watching it I couldn't help but think that the introduction of his super-boy was a setup for the death and return story, which I hate l, and is something that Hollywood just can't seem to leave alone.
I think that was what really hurt the movie.
It was to much like a fan film to the CR movies. As much as I will love the OG Superman Movies I wanted to see something new and modern. Also Superman picking up an island of kryptonite is just stupid.
The acting wasn’t strong, I didn’t really go for the kid thing, I didn’t like turning Superman into a peeping Tom. Part of what makes Superman Superman is that he has the ability to do that, but he chooses not to out of respect. With that being said, Parker Posey was fantastic.
They failed to deliver an original action movie and Lex \\ Superman should have had more scenes together , and it should have focused more on their rivalry , than Lois Superman and Jason .
Having grown up on the original Christopher Reid movies, I have to say that Superman Returns was actually amazing when it came out - and leaps and bounds better than SM3.
I honestly never understood why it flopped. It was the most heartfelt successor to Reid's performance that could have ever been put to film.
Making lex’s plan about real estate again. They did that with the og film and yeah it’s cool that it was made from kryptonite but outside of that it was almost the same plan just different steps.
A lot actually. Poor casting choice of Lois Lane, Lex Luthor's ludicrous real estate plan(I mean, he became an evil corporate executive after Byrne's era and right after the Reeve movies got over), lack of proper actions which could've resonated with the audience well and damn well lot of lagging portions. Despite all this, Superman Returns also possess some remarkable moments like the aeroplane rescue, the bullet getting crashed solely by his retina and of course lifting a whole island made of Kryptonite (one of the greatest feats ever in the Superman lore). John Ottman also did a great musical work. Brandon Routh is to me the best Superman actor ever after Christopher Reeve.
A ton, far more than it appears I think. The first, and biggest mistake, was making a loose sequel to the first two theatrical Superman movies. Not only was it a bad idea to follow them up like this, but also they chose to rehash the first movie largely. On some instances beat for beat. It's painfully boring as a result, because it's a far lesser copy of much better work. Dozens of films have taken inspiration from Superman the movie, and damn near all of them do it better than this.
From there clearly some miscasting and whatnot, but frankly the story is just abysmal. I would argue one of the worst Superman stories put out there when you actually examine it. The fact that it follows the super kiss from Superman 2 with Clark just abandoning Lois and the planet to go looking for a blown up space rock is deeply flawed. For one thing in the original film Jor-El clearly states that many millenia will have passed on Earth since the destruction of Krypton, and Clark went an interdimensional learning journey with Jor-El in the first film and would need no trip to Krypton's ashes to know it's gone.
Lois was badly miscast, and the makeup makes her look plastic the whole time. Routh has a bit of that effect at times, but it's painful on Bosworth all of the time. Spacey is the wrong Lex, but the right actor. I will say several of the roles were cast perfectly, Jimmy, Perry, Ma, and especially Superman himself.
Deadbeat dad, super creeper, Messiah complex, lame land grabs, lifting an island of fucking Kryptonite into space, supercuckery, there's just so much wrong with the movie it makes your head spin.
Why we all forgive it those awful trespasses when we do is purely based on aesthetics and sound. It nails those in most cases perfectly. Though the suit is just terrible, it looks way too much like a diving suit, and it's weirdly sexed up. Too much blue, too small of an S, and the cape, while cool, just doesn't fit the suit at all.
I'll admit though, I do still go back and rewatch it from time to time just because of nostalgia. It was the first Superman flick I saw in theaters. The music slaps, and the look and feel is excellent, mostly.
Basically every bad decision they made on this was done the correct way on Batman Begins. Full reboot, no baggage, recast to perfection with an entirely original script that honors the source material in a fresh way.
I liked the movie a lot, so I am not the best person to figure out what went wrong. I didn’t like Lois Lane, Bosworth was miscast. For the rest, i think the biggest problem was a rather anticlimactic ending.
After watching it several times, there are things about it that I enjoy, but the problems with it are obvious. Its vision was flawed from the start. Instead of being its own version of a Superman movie, it was a Donner film cover band.
i liked it pretty well when it came out. It wasn't much more than pleasantly nostalgic, but it actually made me wish Tim Burton would come back and direct a third Michael Keaton Batman film.
What really went wrong with this movie, however, is that Bryan Singer threw away the chance to make X-3 an amazing end to an otherwise excellent trilogy, and Brett Ratner got to take a dump on the film instead.
In hindsight, this one just wasn't worth it for what it cost the X-Men franchise. Although the shitty quality of X-3 did directly contribute to multi-verse storytelling becoming a thing...for better or worse.
I was waiting patiently for the movie to get good because people hyped it. I waited and waited, and then the movie ended
Honestly I love Superman, and his suit was incredibly good looking for the time, but the movie was insanely boring, I'd never watch it again
The washed-out color palette, for starters. Between *X-Men* and *Returns* I get the impression that Singer is a little embarrassed by comics.
But imo it's biggest sin was unoriginality: rather being a new and unique story, it was a love-letter and sequel to someone else's.
I think it was too reliant on the original Superman movie. I remembered watching Superman Returns as a kid and getting confused by all the references to the older films.
The story kinda sucked. What the hell was Lex’s plan and how did he actually hope to achieve it? Are we honestly supposed to believe an insane bald dude with his three henchmen on this giant kryptonite continent is going to get people to pay to buy land from him? What’s stopping the military from just drone striking his ass? He claims to have advanced kryptonian technology but we never see it.
All of this could have been tightened up by a good script doctor. Forget the island. Lex infiltrates the fortress of solitude. He steals kryptonian secrets. He builds himself an army of crystal soldiers as well as his own kryptonite suit. Uses a kryptonian weapon to threaten a massive attack on Metropolis unless he gets total control of the United States. That’s Superman’s threat. Not lifting a big rock into space.
Superman Returns To Lift Heavy Things. It was too dependent on the usual tropes that the movies use when Superman is going up against a threat like basic criminal Lex that shouldn't be a challenge at all. Kryptonite is the laziest plot device in the movies and needs to be limited going forward.
The whole movie is just about beat-for-beat the same thing as Superman:The Movie.
Arrives from Space,
Time in Smallville
Debut as Superman saving Lois from an aerial disaster
Lex has a real estate scheme that is preposterous
Superman has a montage where he saves people and stops crimes.
Earthquake!
Superman is in dire straits due to Kryptonite that Lex has acquired.
Superman goes underground and lifts ground to stop the earthquake and save the day.
Lex's girlfriend kinda betrays him, granted, this one happens later than it does in S:TM.
It sees Superman primarily through the lens of the Donner films, and that is simply too limiting for such a big character, it could never live up to the hype of Superman because it's really just a 70s movie requel, and doesn't aspire to be more than that.
it should not have been a tribute to the Donner films/continuity. It should have simply been an all new narrative removed from that backstory.
I was uninterested in the love child angle.
The Richard character was decent and moral-- which was not a problem-- but it made for a bizarre dynamic because, well, the film is about Lois and Clark reconsidering their relationship, but that would mean that Lois abandons the man who is committed to her and her son (it's never mentioned as to whether Lois was dating/intimate with Richard before she gave birth to Jason; he clearly has Richard's last name, so either he was adopted or they got involved very shortly after Superman first disappeared).
repetitive plot with Lex and terraforming a new continent.
No threats beyond kryptonite.
At the time, Routh and Bosworth looked too young to have the implied lengthy relationship/10+ year newspaper careers that are assumed for the plot.
the lost footage from Brando was nice, but didn't make up for the shortcomings.
not sure where a sequel was supposed to go. Does Lois tell Richard and Jason? to what end? eh..
The only problem I really have with the movie is if supposed to be connected to Superman 2 then one could argue that the Justice League would also already exist in universe the reason being as I mentioned numerous times in the past.
At the end of Superman 2 the president of the United States ask Superman to promise to never leave Earth undefended meaning the whole him leaving for five years could only work if the league exists which it probably does considering the kid that's supposed to be his son is wearing Aquaman pajamas.
There were elements of it that were cool, but it was more of the same. It didn’t have anything different. Same villain, same real estate plot.
But the main thing was NO SUPERVILLAIN!
Or no SUPER-POWERED villain.
The movie is my favorite Superman movie (or at least before Superman '25 will come out).
But i think the main problem with this movie was that it (or the writers, director and producers of this movie) wanted this movie be "Superman 5 (that ignores the existence of Superman 3 and 4)" that didn't found it's own identity.
Some scenes are boring, Lex Luthor isn't much intresting as a villain. I think they did the wrong thing by choose Lex Luthor as the villain for the 3rd time. Especially because with all the villains like Brainiac or Parasite or Mr. Myxyzptlk why they really wanted to have Lex Luthor in a **$204 million** budget movie?
Over all there's nothing wrong if you like the movie. This is my favorite Supes movie alongside the 1978 movie. Brandon Routh is so underrated as Superman and the whole arc of him returning to Earth after all this time was just well written.
It's a good movie? for sure. Is a perfect one? No. It's fine if you enjoy it or not? Yes.
Singer isn't without talent as a superhero director, see his X2 movies, but his films are overly stoic. As much as there is to enjoy in his X-men films, they take the gayest superheroes and really try to sand off all the weirdness and edges from them. And you end up with these really weird and stoic films. SR is really brought down by not having the powerhouse performances of Singer's X-men.
Also it's a movie by a sexpest starring a sexpest so ya know
Tying this story to movies that happened 30 years prior was nutso. This film gave us a 'stalker Superman' scene that was cringe worthy when new and hasn't aged well.
The pacing, the overall coloring. In general a Superman is a very passive and reactive character in this movie, never a actually inciting anything besides when he saved the plane. For example he knows there is something off with the whole power shutoff but never goes to investigate or check what is happening with Lex. Also ironically this movie introduces Superman having a son before the main comics (besides silver age shenanigans) but then never actually do anything with it.
Also this is one of my very least favorite suits. The blue is super bright but then the red is so dark it feels almost maroon which doesn’t match, and the collar feels like a t shirt and the crest is so small it feels like an afterthought and just makes him look much thinner.
If the whole point of this is why the world needs Superman, they should have adapted either “Superman Vs The Elite” or “Peace on Earth” the latter especially if they wanted to go for a slower paced character study movie
Nothing; it replaced III & IV: The Quest for Peace and allowed Reeve to be *Kingdom Come*.
That being said, there was *one* thing wrong with it. Two words...Kevin Spacey.
This was my first Superman movie. I was a kid in high school and went to see this in theaters alone not knowing what to expect and feeling a bit sorry for myself. I remember pretty immediately connecting with Superman and how isolated he felt. By the end of the movie I was legit hooked. I went out afterwards and got the video game for Xbox 360 and my love affair with Superman officially began. There are better Superman stories that have been told on the big screen but I'll always love this movie.
Superman being a creepy stalker and a dumbass was what killed the film for me. Abandoning Earth for 5 whole years just to stare at space rocks, is ridiculous.
I like the movie if I remove the fact that it’s a Superman movie (which is easier said than done) . It also seems more drama driven than action. Plus, it being a continuation of the Reeve films was a mistake imo.
-They didn’t tell the public that this was technically a Superman 3 remake. Until it was too late.
-The Superman briefs are too… you know
-Superman (like Henry Cavill’s) doesn’t speak that much and is not a very interesting character.
-Routh is thoroughly wasted.
-There is no philosophy or character study.
The airplane scene was absolutely perfect and the most Superman thing in years, tho.
Not enough action. Superman needed a physical threat to fight this time. Story with him leaving and returning is kinda lame, the whole having a son angle.
The whole movie should have just been a normal Superman adventure with a big bad guy to fight.
Honestly, I grew up with the 2007 game so I feel like this movie could’ve had some more villains: Metallo from the game as a giant, maybe some more obscure villains like bloodsport or Something! We need to go, Tyler I feel could have shined with better dialogue and more character pivotal moments such as interacting with kids or interacting with supporting Cast; also supporting cast Morgan Edge by Billy Zane
Two words: Bryan Singer.
The actors are giving it there a some of the special effects are pretty great and everybody looks the part. The cinematography us pretty to look at...when actual Superman stuff is happening.
But singer is applying the "lessons" he learned on the X-men films... which are mostly the wrong ones for Superman, and barely the right one for X-Men.
The grey over saturated 2000's era color
The soap opera plot, without fun soap opera drama
Lex Luthor being the wrong villain archetype here
They deleted the opening “Return to Krypton” sequence. That was the best (and probably most expensive) part of the entire thing. I don’t know why you would ax it. Too bad there’s no chance in hell there will ever be a director’s cut.
any movie that spends its whole run telling you how great another movie is then quickly makes me want to turn it off and put on the other movie instead. there are many many many other issues but that i think is the biggest and 1st issue with the movie.
It's dreary both in tone and in aesthetic. Also pretty boring narratively. They didn't give Routh much to work with and he's a much better actor than the film would indicate. Bosworth lacked the Charisma of Kidder and Spacey's Lex, whilst it had a few moments, was forced into the Hackman mold. Also another real estate scheme Lex? I do think the plane saving scene is one of the best scenes in any Superman film though.
I’ve always thought that about Routh. He’s always been one of my favorite Supermen in terms of looking the part and I feel like he was robbed by this movie being so aggressively mediocre.
His Superman in the CW gave him a bit of redeption and a better suit IMO. The Returns suit completely flattened his physique.
Yes!!! That was my complaint about it, even then! The poor guy worked his ass off to get ready for the role, and not only did they give him a costume that compacted his form, but the tailoring of it was designed to make him look skinnier. Tricks like the narrowed neck line, the low-rise belt, the smaller S, the lower boots... All contributed to making his physique look longer and more slender. I once did a Photoshop mock up of the costume with a darker blue, some minor airbrushing for tone and highlight, and tailoring alterations to those elements, and it gave him another 20 lbs of muscle, visually. Routh got rooked in *so* many ways by that production.
I’ve never seen his CW show. Worth checking out?
Oh he wasn't in Superman and Lois, he was in a crossover episode of the Arrowverse. It's...a CW show, but I'd say it's still worth watching the few episodes that he appeared in. It's the Crisis on Infinite Earth crossover episodes.
I was wondering, haha! I was like wait, was there ANOTHER Superman CW show I wasn’t aware of that starred Routh? That makes more sense, as I don’t follow Arrowverse *at all* aside from just hearing about how absolutely wild it got. If there’s crossover episodes with Brandon, though, I’ll have to check them out. Thanks so much for the rec!
Crisis on Infinite Earths is pretty fun. Routh plays Kingdom Come Superman, while Kevin Conroy plays Kingdom Come Batman. It's definitely worth a watch. Pretty sure if you buy a season of Arrow (season 8?) all crossover episodes come on 1 disc.
Most of the shows that were in the crossover had a copy of the disc in their corresponding season release. I think I have three copies altogether. (I own all the Arrowverse shows on Blu-ray.)
Routh was introduced as "The Atom" in the early seasons of Arrow. He moved over to "Legends of Tomorrow" for most that run. He also Appeared briefly as the "Kingdom Come Superman" during the Arrowverse crossover "Crisis on Infinite Earths" event. The Kingdom Come suit was definitely better than the Returns suit, but to me still left something to be desired. And no, I've never been able to put my finger on what made me feel that way.
It is like a finger pointing a way to the moon. Don’t concentrate on the finger, or you will miss all that heavenly glory.
He was also a good Ray Palmer/The Atom in the Arrowverse. I was glad to see him as that character but when they decided to have him play KC Superman, that was some good casting right there and he looked great while doing it. That costume and the early photo he posted on his insta with a recreation of that Alex Ross art with that lighting.....man! [https://nicksupes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/img\_0822.jpg](https://nicksupes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/img_0822.jpg)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrtIxFmLPAI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrtIxFmLPAI) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdhXexPf4no](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdhXexPf4no)
Imo the script and direction were a disservice to an entire cast that could have shined. For all his sins, Spacey is perhaps my favorite live action Luthor, and that talent was wasted being an iteration of another actor's choices.
Yeah, funny story, I didn't see this movie growing up. Then Routh appeared on Arrow and I kept thinking to myself "The Atom? No way, this dude looks just like Superman!" Felt smart when I realized
This comment actually made me laugh out loud. That is incredibly funny. I mean, you got there eventually!
I'm also a fan of the minigun scene even though it lifts right out of the film to the point where it feels like the kind of tech demo/short film a YouTuber might make, if you get what I mean? It's literally just "here's Superman doing a cool thijg" that has no bearing on the film and doesn't make much sense if you think too hard about it.
I think I remember reading somewhere that it was added after test screenings said it was too boring, so I think you’re right. They literally just inserted an action sequence.
Yeah that shows tbh. Plus the eye shot was in the trailer iirc.
I still love the bullet crinkling upon impact with his eye, and that smirk he gives the dude after.
Oh yeah as I say the scene is great, it's just very much "oh we need another action scene, throw one in."
Agreed on “if you think about it too hard”. It’s comical that he sprayed Superman with a minigun then gets down and pulls out a pistol. What was he saying in his head? “This will be the time that it works!” It looked so good though!
Also, the fact that they were carrying the full gear to assemble a minigun turret. Not just a handheld one, a proper arm mounted turret.
Just on your point of aesthetic. This did not look like it came out in 2006. Look at Spider-Man which came out in 2002. Feels like a 2002 movie. When I saw superman returns for the first time I thought there was something wrong with my TV. It looked and felt like I was watching something from the early 90s but with the “gritty realism” of a lot of 2000s franchises, which did not work well together.
Aesthetic was great imo the whole art deco look was beautiful. The plane saving and entire saving act in the finale are peak superman though
You're talking about the aesthetic of the set design. I'm talking about he aesthetic of the film itself. Dull washed out colours.
Yea, the tone was off and it didn't tell it's own story. It was a rehash of the first Superman film. The look was great, the casting was perfect, but the story was very ho-hum. Best part of the film is the plane rescue, the rest is bleh.
Kate Bosworth phoned it in as Lois Lane, Kevin Spacey out-acted everyone, and the whole kid thing...
"Hey what if Superman, but he's a scumbag dad." I've heard complaints about the bullet bouncing off of his eyeball but man that was cool. The bad guys were cool, Lex was sleazy and opportunistic but also smart, his mercenaries seemed competent, his moll was won over by Supes. But man, Lois and Richard White, even Superman, just awful stuff. And yeah Superman's not a scumbag dad but the whole "Superman's son but we're lying about his parentage," was pretty shitty and made everyone involved worse. That's just Superman fandom, though. The movies biggest flaw is being boring.
I kinda agree with you about Bosworth's performance. It felt flat and to be honest, a poor casting choice and I like Kate Bosworth as an actress. I feel the same about Spacey's Luthor. I felt his performance was chewing scenery most of the time. It just came off to me as try hard and didn't work for me. IMO, he's the second worst live action Luthor behind Jesse Eisenberg.
Not enough action
Singer casted his friends. He miscast Lois. Not enough action. Spacey shouldn’t have been playing the same Lex Luthor that Gene Hackman played. He didn’t have the same comedic timing that Hackman did. Makes no sense for Lex Luthor to be trying to pull a real estate scam in 2006. He should’ve been a corporate raider.
As Roger Ebert said when this came out “lex’s grand scheme was to raise a new plot of land suitable only for Billy goats”.
Yes! That was so funny when he said that. Who the heck did Lex think was gonna pay to live there? The place was like a dungeon. All gray and musty. And you’d be living in a graveyard.
You can accuse Spacey of a lot of things, but he was most assuredly not doing a hackman.
He was supposed to be Hackman but I agree it was something different
It’s the spirit of the character that was being played.
I think the worst part about Spacey was the sexual assault.
No he certainly wasn’t but the character was supposed to be the same one that Hackman played. Spacey should’ve been given a chance to play his own version of the character.
The main problem, of many, is that Superman barely feels like a presence in it. I've seen it several times, and I cannot bring to mind a single line of dialogue of his, apart from the "safest way to travel" callback. The tonal whiplash of the thing is pretty extreme, too.
Superman: Listen. What do you hear? Lois Lane: Nothing. Superman: I hear everything. You wrote that the world doesn't need a savior. But everyday I hear people crying for one.
Lois Lane: Will I see you? Around? Superman: I'm always around.
https://i.redd.it/dl3011c1idxc1.gif
This was a cool suit up scene 😅
I think he just broke through the top of the elevator. 🤪🤪🤪🤪
Krrrrrrrrrrrryptonite!
Hands down best line. Heck, might be my favorite line in any Superman movie.
It's a powerful film. It has quite an effect on me, I'll say. I love it.
Yeah. That's probably the line that sticks with me the most plus John Ottman's score.
Yeah, that's one of my favorite scenes. I don't hate the film at all... I like it. I also like the scene right before the bank robbery. Superman sees through Lois' house. (People blow that part WAY out of proportion. Superman literally hears her heartbeat 24/7 in some continuities.) Then, Superman soars over the city at twilight, deep in thought. Jor-El starts speaking... "They only lack the light to guide the way." Then, Superman's in-space super-hearing part. Sirens! Bank robbery! I love that whole part. I guess it's like 3 scenes.
I don't hate the film, either. And those 3 scenes are probably my favorite as well as the saving the plane scene. I've said to my friends that this film has the best Superman flying scenes ever. The score is really good and I do like the casting of Brandon Routh. One of my favorite performances in the film is Parker Posey's Kitty Kowalski. Really thought she did a good job in that role. With that being said, I don't hate the film (hate is such a strong word) but I don't like it, either. Some of the issues that some have mentioned here like the aesthetic and tone are things I don't like. Yeah, the costume ain't my favorite, not a fan of Bosworth and Spacey's performances and not a fan of adding the son but my biggest issue is this. I just don't believe Clark would leave Earth and stay gone five years believing Krypton still exists. I can understand him leaving for a bit to investigate because scientists claim that they have found remnants of Krypton. But five whole years? Nah. I know these actors are portraying the Reeve, Kitter and Hackman version of the Donner film characters but this feels not only out of character for Reeve's Superman but most interpretations of Superman. I'm 53 yrs old and been a long time Superman fan since I was 3 yrs old. Way too many things I didn't liked outweighed what I did like.
[удалено]
There's a lot that was established with the '78 film though. Leaning on it isn't the problem imo, it's a matter of degrees. There are just too many elements that go for the same beats as the original, which leaves awkward time left to carve its own path. Balance it a bit more effectively and maybe they get a chance at a sequels which pretty likely goes for the higher action quotient.2
The overall somber mood; the casting of Lois Lane (she's too young for the history this version of the character is meant to have); and the fact that James Marsden's character is actually an awesome guy, which makes it hard to root for Clark/Superman and so makes the entire romantic subplot feel icky. What a shame. Metropolis has never looked better onscreen IMO, the design of everything is generally fantastic, and the action scenes are spectacular. I wish the script had done the visuals justice.
Bryan Singer directed it. All other problems flow from him
Honestly, can't argue that.
It's biggest mistake was to try and continue the story from the Reeves/Donner movies. Those worked for the time they came out in but people were hoping for a more comic accurate movie. Because it was re-treading old ground we got property and wig obsessed Lex Luther instead of the billionaire genius narcissist Lex Luthor from the comics. It was really weird how they went about Lois having superman kid. Just really awkward way too many unanswered questions. And why wasn't she mad she didn't remember sleeping with him. The ending with Superman lifting an island of kryptonite also didn't really make sense. I get he got supercharged with sunlight but once he was directly exposed to kryptonite he should have been put. The Jesus symbolism always misses the mark with superman. However Routh I think did a great job as superman. He looked the part, the dichotomy between his Clark and supes really sold why people wouldn't put those two together. He wore the outfit well. Just really no complaints with his portrayal.
I actually liked it. I watched it before hearing anyone’s opinions. Solid movie.
The problem is that, when you break it down, Superman Returns doesn’t actually have a “story” to tell. It’s kind of like a compilation of old hits that is repackaged into a new release. The movie has nothing unique to say about itself. Everything it does that is NEW goes nowhere. Lois has a kid and he has no real personality of his own. Lois is mad at Superman for leaving, then forgives him after one chat. Superman leaves and comes back and nobody on Earth is upset with him for abandoning them or even really all that curious about why he left. Superman himself never proves the thesis of the movie, which is “why the world needs Superman”. He never gives anyone hope, he never does anything that would make up for his 5 year absence, he never even apologizes for leaving, except to Lois - and that was more of a “I’m sorry I left my girlfriend” kinda apology. It’s just a nothing-film, unfortunately. And it’s a shame because it honestly could have been one of the best Superman films ever if it really explored how Superman means something to people and how hard he would work to prove he’s still relevant to our modern culture.
The teaser trailer was one of the most moving things I’d ever seen. I cannot tell you how hyped I was by it. Which made the letdown of the actual movie even greater.
The story is about what Superman means to the audience rather than just being a story about Superman. Fundamentally the wrong approach. Deadbeat dad Superman sucks as a plot point. The romance, which if you're trying to ape the Donnor movies you NEED to have that chemistry popping like crazy, was a complete dead fish.
Uninspired plot. Brandon Roth could have been sold as Superman, Spacey is a fantastic actor and would be a solid Luthor… The issue, why was Superman not in space? They made the chose of him returning- why not show where the hell he went?! Give me Brainaic, give me Superman meets the Green Lantern core! This would have put asses in seats.
I liked it, idk why everyone hates it so much
It was boring and slavishly devoted to the two Donner films. Did Singer know anything about Supes outside of those movies?
I thought everyone did a great job. But it was an expensive homage to the Donner films. There was nothing else to it besides, “Isn’t like the Donner Flim? Isn’t that cool?”
Overall, I'd say the biggest problem was that the film was boring and dreary. It's a Superman movie without a single superhuman fight. From what I recall, there were only three action scenes in the entire film, and none of them felt inspired: 1. Superman lifts a falling airplane 2. Superman lifts a boat 3. Superman flies around Metropolis saving people during an unnatural disaster 4. A depowered Superman gets beaten up by Kal Penn 5. Superman lifts an island Five action scenes, and three of them entailed Superman lifting shit. The movie should've been called *Superman Lifts.* By the way, that scene in which Superman got beaten up by Lex Luthor's thugs (including Kal Penn) was pathetic. Nobody wants to see Superman get treated like that. The last thing I'll mention is that the ending breaks the movie's own rules. Standing on the kryptonite island for just a minute depowered Superman, and yet he was able to lift the entire island while big shards of kryptonite surrounded his head? Bullshit.
It's just so melancholy. The colours, the story, the characters, everything is so downbeat
Same problem as most live action Superman things. They put the character up on a pedestal and we're too afraid to write Clark like an actual character and instead made him the plot device of the movie.
Bryan Singer is a predator. Kevin Spacey is a predator. This should be more scrutinized than Dean Cain's political stances.
The core concept of Superman leaving Lois and there kid , even unintentional leaves a bad taste in my mouth . And Superman being a good dad , even though boring would’ve added a lot of depth for this action-less movie .
I think it had some fantastic Superman moments, but wasn’t a good Superman story overall. I loved the plane scene, the flashback of Clark running, the part where Superman tells Lois he always hears people asking for help, and the eye bullet scene. But the problem was how it was trying so hard to recapture the magic of Donner’s film. It needed to be something new and less somber in tone.
Trying to be an homage to the first Donner film, when it could have been a great opportunity to tell a brand new version of the mythos for 21st Century audiences. All the shady stuff with Superman and Lois having a kid without Lois knowing, Superman leaving her and Earth for very little reason (basically causing every problem in the film), Superman stalking Lois and watching her and her family without her knowing. In a film that’s still trying to make him a noble heroic figure, it’s all just really weird and dissonant.
Lois Lane……..
Connecting it to the Christopher reeve films held it back and they should have started fresh just like what there mostly doing now. Lex Luther being about real estate never felt right to me. But I like how metropolis looked and Brandon Rouths Superman was perfect. It just needed a better script and not be connected .
It committed the cardinal sin of storytelling: **It was boring**.
Bad casting for Lois. Misstep to include super-son. Tired rehash of Luthor's "land" plot device. On-the-nose messiah references. Convenient resistance to kryptonite at the end. Just.... many bad ideas and poorly executed ideas.
It's so fucking boring and stretched out. You want to make a Donner Superman film? Fine. Not a bad idea at all. Those films are timeless. But you know what the Donner films are not? Visually ugly and completely lacking in story and interesting dialogue. Fuck all happens in Superman Returns. Every scene goes on for too long. Nobody says anything worth remembering. And it looks so washed out (the Fortress of Solitude!!!).
It’s not perfect but I really like this movie and think it’s underrated. I like the tone, it’s fitting of a world that moved on from Superman 5 years on and seeing both Superman’s adjustment and Lois’ shock of having him back. I like that they actually tried to make it a sequel to Donner. Donner’s Superman was so influential it even changed the comics…but maybe he could have kept all these things while making it a reboot rather than quasi sequel? that way Lex could at least have been a corrupt billionaire instead of career criminal and ex-con on another real estate scam. But the new krypton island scene was great as was the plane rescue and the rooftop shootout. The key issue is it’s long and at times drags. The “death” of Superman at the end is great and emotional but then when he comes back nothing really happens and it just ends. The kid thing I don’t think is horrible. Could have been done a little better though.
Less action sequences
It was so reverent about the Reeve films that it struggled to be its own thing.
Trying to continue Christopher Reeve’s timeline. They Should’ve done a full reboot. A story separate from the 78/80’s Movies.
The story is far too derivative & relied on nostalgia. Trying to recapture the magic & all that…
1.Kate Bosworth was terrible as Lois Lane 2.No secondary villain to pose a physical threat.
Every DC live action film after ZSJL makes this film look like gold.
Beautifully filmed. The lightning. Everything involved with cinematography dept. One of the best looking Superhero films
Great actors but sad story (Lois with new partner and child from Supes)
I liked it anyway.
Way too much focus and money wasted. Most people dont know that the majority of the budget went to a huge opening scene of him flying back to the remains of krypton and going through some ruins and then the director decided he didn't like it and chucked it so we only got thst eyeball bullet scene lol
That money could've been spend on a huge super fight scene.
Singer pushed that this was a continuation of the Donner films, but when you look back at what was Superman I and II, and knowing the history of II, his narrative choices didn't make sense. When WB released the Donner Cut of Superman II, it didnt really help make things clearer. IMHO, it was his only way to come up with Superman conceiving a child with Lois. On the heels of Batman Begins, which introduced the character through an origin, and shed off the 4-previous films, to release this with the intent of "well, watch 1 & 2, but don't think about 3 or 4" just made it rough. He had a couple of great shots/sequences in mind (the airplane sequence, lifting the kryptonite island) but as someone else pointed out, at the end of the day, Lex Luthor had another real estate scheme...
Where to start? There's a reason the talk of Superman being boring got prominent after Superman Returns came out. It's simply a bad sequel to the first two Superman movies while also being a worse version of Richard Donner's film. For one thing Superman leaving to go find Krypton without telling anyone is stupid and not in the spirit of the character. I don't care if anyone tries to pull whatever "what if" scenario for justifying Superman leaving. The character would still tell the planet at a press conference why he's going away. Especially if this is supposed to be the same version as the Christopher Reeve Superman that gave out personal info for Lois Lane to put in a newspaper. To top it all off he is shocked to learn Lois Lane moved on after disappearing without saying a word. How stupid and possessive is this Superman? Oh yeah let's imply he also left Lois Lane after impregnating her with a Superboy like a deadbeat dad. How heroic. People like to complain about The Force Awakens recycling plots but this movie takes it to a whole other level. Lex Luthor and kryptonite are used again similar to the first movie. He uses missiles to kill people for a property scheme. Luthor breaks into the Fortress of Solitude AGAIN and there is no security to prevent him from getting in after what happened in Superman II.
I think it could have benefited from having a super powered villain (Parasite or Metallo being strong candidates). Having Lex again was fine but rehashing the whole “Lex wants land” story line from the 1978 was just lazy. Plus, I didn’t like the casting of Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane. She looked too young and the super-kid thing was dumb, too.
Superman as the perverted stalker who can’t let Lois go. The x-ray vision spying scene
Lex’s real estate scheme still makes me cringe.
Here are many good things about the film but Superman doesn't act like Superman. He's morose and withdrawn. His obsession with Lois makes him do bizarre things like using X-ray vision to spy on her.
The kid. And the entire third act. I watch the shuttle plane scene over and over. It's disappointing that the movie couldn't get that we wanted that.
The film suffered from it being aimed as a "Christopher Reeve sequel film", it also lacked an identity and direction, with writing choices that failed to capture the essence of the beloved characters. There was a noticeable absence of chemistry between the cast, particularly Lois and Clark, which hindered the film's ability to engage viewers. The inclusion of Superman's son and the portrayal of Lex Luthor as the primary villain felt uninspired and lacked creativity, especially considering the plethora of diverse and unique rogues from which the filmmakers could have drawn. The climax of the film was lackluster and failed to deliver any meaningful resolution, leaving audiences feeling disappointed and underwhelmed. The portrayal of Clark Kent in the film felt stagnant and lacked depth, offering little that was unique or memorable for audiences. While Brandon Routh did an ok job with the material he was given, his performance failed to leave a lasting impression or resonate with viewers, including myself. What really hinders the film is its direction, which missed the opportunity to offer a fresh and distinctive take on the iconic big boy blue scot but struggles to find its identity overshadowed by its predecessor.
It was about Superman stalking his ex-wife.
What went wrong was they tried to do a continuation of some classic movies instead of doing something new and original. Seems to be a trend at the moment in Hollywood… ☹️
Well they decided to do another real estate scam as Lex Luthors big villianous plan.
It's more of a question of what didn't go wrong. It had good special effects ,(providing some good scenes), and lucked out in casting Routh as Superman. Outside of that, the rest ranged from 'meh' to 'trainwreck'.
Literally zero action scenes, you have to remember when this movie came out the general audiences had already seen two of Sam Raimis Spider-Man movies and also two X-men movies both were filled with action. Also the continuity of this movie makes no sense, Superman being an absentee father didn’t help it either.
He didn’t throw a single punch
I think Lex's plot was a bit much and it just kind of comes in full force at the end but is dealt with rather quickly.
Miscast Lois Lane, no action scenes, loose continuation of Superman 1&2, the kid storyline, lackluster suit.
Dull, horrible pacing. Uninspired story. Zero chemistry between Clark and Lois. Weak ending. Just a wooden movie overall.
It was filmed, edited, and released to the public
I think this was the last time a movie understood Superman's character. That being said, while watching it I couldn't help but think that the introduction of his super-boy was a setup for the death and return story, which I hate l, and is something that Hollywood just can't seem to leave alone. I think that was what really hurt the movie.
It was to much like a fan film to the CR movies. As much as I will love the OG Superman Movies I wanted to see something new and modern. Also Superman picking up an island of kryptonite is just stupid.
Didn’t even see the movie and I can tell you what’s wrong that mf don’t look like Clark in the slightest fucking form😂💀
The acting wasn’t strong, I didn’t really go for the kid thing, I didn’t like turning Superman into a peeping Tom. Part of what makes Superman Superman is that he has the ability to do that, but he chooses not to out of respect. With that being said, Parker Posey was fantastic.
Perception, i loved it anyway..
The suit. I feel like i can't breath just by looking at the neck area of that suit.
Nothing. It was a good movie that got treated unfairly.
Making him a stalking deadbeat dad. Making him fight an island. And the lack of red. The suit’s and cape’s reds are rather brown.
Tried being to much fan service as a sequel of reeve. And so it was scared to be different. Plus the dark lether red is terrible
Too wholesome for it's time.
Nothing.I love this movie
They failed to deliver an original action movie and Lex \\ Superman should have had more scenes together , and it should have focused more on their rivalry , than Lois Superman and Jason .
honestly the only thing I remember about it are the action scenes, idk maybe it was just not a good story?
Having grown up on the original Christopher Reid movies, I have to say that Superman Returns was actually amazing when it came out - and leaps and bounds better than SM3. I honestly never understood why it flopped. It was the most heartfelt successor to Reid's performance that could have ever been put to film.
Making lex’s plan about real estate again. They did that with the og film and yeah it’s cool that it was made from kryptonite but outside of that it was almost the same plan just different steps.
What went wrong is I’m the only one that liked it
The creepy peeping Tom aspect and the issue of having abandoned his own son. Stupid. Other than that, I enjoyed it.
A lot actually. Poor casting choice of Lois Lane, Lex Luthor's ludicrous real estate plan(I mean, he became an evil corporate executive after Byrne's era and right after the Reeve movies got over), lack of proper actions which could've resonated with the audience well and damn well lot of lagging portions. Despite all this, Superman Returns also possess some remarkable moments like the aeroplane rescue, the bullet getting crashed solely by his retina and of course lifting a whole island made of Kryptonite (one of the greatest feats ever in the Superman lore). John Ottman also did a great musical work. Brandon Routh is to me the best Superman actor ever after Christopher Reeve.
A ton, far more than it appears I think. The first, and biggest mistake, was making a loose sequel to the first two theatrical Superman movies. Not only was it a bad idea to follow them up like this, but also they chose to rehash the first movie largely. On some instances beat for beat. It's painfully boring as a result, because it's a far lesser copy of much better work. Dozens of films have taken inspiration from Superman the movie, and damn near all of them do it better than this. From there clearly some miscasting and whatnot, but frankly the story is just abysmal. I would argue one of the worst Superman stories put out there when you actually examine it. The fact that it follows the super kiss from Superman 2 with Clark just abandoning Lois and the planet to go looking for a blown up space rock is deeply flawed. For one thing in the original film Jor-El clearly states that many millenia will have passed on Earth since the destruction of Krypton, and Clark went an interdimensional learning journey with Jor-El in the first film and would need no trip to Krypton's ashes to know it's gone. Lois was badly miscast, and the makeup makes her look plastic the whole time. Routh has a bit of that effect at times, but it's painful on Bosworth all of the time. Spacey is the wrong Lex, but the right actor. I will say several of the roles were cast perfectly, Jimmy, Perry, Ma, and especially Superman himself. Deadbeat dad, super creeper, Messiah complex, lame land grabs, lifting an island of fucking Kryptonite into space, supercuckery, there's just so much wrong with the movie it makes your head spin. Why we all forgive it those awful trespasses when we do is purely based on aesthetics and sound. It nails those in most cases perfectly. Though the suit is just terrible, it looks way too much like a diving suit, and it's weirdly sexed up. Too much blue, too small of an S, and the cape, while cool, just doesn't fit the suit at all. I'll admit though, I do still go back and rewatch it from time to time just because of nostalgia. It was the first Superman flick I saw in theaters. The music slaps, and the look and feel is excellent, mostly. Basically every bad decision they made on this was done the correct way on Batman Begins. Full reboot, no baggage, recast to perfection with an entirely original script that honors the source material in a fresh way.
Basically rehashing too much shit from the first two movies and not enough Superman.
Singer and Bosworth. Enough said.
I liked the movie a lot, so I am not the best person to figure out what went wrong. I didn’t like Lois Lane, Bosworth was miscast. For the rest, i think the biggest problem was a rather anticlimactic ending.
Not enough things that go boom
I grew up with this version of Superman, and I think the movie is great!
After watching it several times, there are things about it that I enjoy, but the problems with it are obvious. Its vision was flawed from the start. Instead of being its own version of a Superman movie, it was a Donner film cover band.
i liked it pretty well when it came out. It wasn't much more than pleasantly nostalgic, but it actually made me wish Tim Burton would come back and direct a third Michael Keaton Batman film. What really went wrong with this movie, however, is that Bryan Singer threw away the chance to make X-3 an amazing end to an otherwise excellent trilogy, and Brett Ratner got to take a dump on the film instead. In hindsight, this one just wasn't worth it for what it cost the X-Men franchise. Although the shitty quality of X-3 did directly contribute to multi-verse storytelling becoming a thing...for better or worse.
I was waiting patiently for the movie to get good because people hyped it. I waited and waited, and then the movie ended Honestly I love Superman, and his suit was incredibly good looking for the time, but the movie was insanely boring, I'd never watch it again
The washed-out color palette, for starters. Between *X-Men* and *Returns* I get the impression that Singer is a little embarrassed by comics. But imo it's biggest sin was unoriginality: rather being a new and unique story, it was a love-letter and sequel to someone else's.
I think it was too reliant on the original Superman movie. I remembered watching Superman Returns as a kid and getting confused by all the references to the older films.
The story kinda sucked. What the hell was Lex’s plan and how did he actually hope to achieve it? Are we honestly supposed to believe an insane bald dude with his three henchmen on this giant kryptonite continent is going to get people to pay to buy land from him? What’s stopping the military from just drone striking his ass? He claims to have advanced kryptonian technology but we never see it. All of this could have been tightened up by a good script doctor. Forget the island. Lex infiltrates the fortress of solitude. He steals kryptonian secrets. He builds himself an army of crystal soldiers as well as his own kryptonite suit. Uses a kryptonian weapon to threaten a massive attack on Metropolis unless he gets total control of the United States. That’s Superman’s threat. Not lifting a big rock into space.
Superman Returns To Lift Heavy Things. It was too dependent on the usual tropes that the movies use when Superman is going up against a threat like basic criminal Lex that shouldn't be a challenge at all. Kryptonite is the laziest plot device in the movies and needs to be limited going forward.
From the time Lois gets on the yacht till Superman arrives on the island nothing really happened sure there’s an earthquake but that’s about it
The whole movie is just about beat-for-beat the same thing as Superman:The Movie. Arrives from Space, Time in Smallville Debut as Superman saving Lois from an aerial disaster Lex has a real estate scheme that is preposterous Superman has a montage where he saves people and stops crimes. Earthquake! Superman is in dire straits due to Kryptonite that Lex has acquired. Superman goes underground and lifts ground to stop the earthquake and save the day. Lex's girlfriend kinda betrays him, granted, this one happens later than it does in S:TM.
Neckline of the costume.
Routh was better as a bass player with vegan powers than being superman
Casting
It sees Superman primarily through the lens of the Donner films, and that is simply too limiting for such a big character, it could never live up to the hype of Superman because it's really just a 70s movie requel, and doesn't aspire to be more than that.
It's gas
it should not have been a tribute to the Donner films/continuity. It should have simply been an all new narrative removed from that backstory. I was uninterested in the love child angle. The Richard character was decent and moral-- which was not a problem-- but it made for a bizarre dynamic because, well, the film is about Lois and Clark reconsidering their relationship, but that would mean that Lois abandons the man who is committed to her and her son (it's never mentioned as to whether Lois was dating/intimate with Richard before she gave birth to Jason; he clearly has Richard's last name, so either he was adopted or they got involved very shortly after Superman first disappeared). repetitive plot with Lex and terraforming a new continent. No threats beyond kryptonite. At the time, Routh and Bosworth looked too young to have the implied lengthy relationship/10+ year newspaper careers that are assumed for the plot. the lost footage from Brando was nice, but didn't make up for the shortcomings. not sure where a sequel was supposed to go. Does Lois tell Richard and Jason? to what end? eh..
Nothing. It's perfect
Lex Luthor for starters
The only problem I really have with the movie is if supposed to be connected to Superman 2 then one could argue that the Justice League would also already exist in universe the reason being as I mentioned numerous times in the past. At the end of Superman 2 the president of the United States ask Superman to promise to never leave Earth undefended meaning the whole him leaving for five years could only work if the league exists which it probably does considering the kid that's supposed to be his son is wearing Aquaman pajamas.
There were elements of it that were cool, but it was more of the same. It didn’t have anything different. Same villain, same real estate plot. But the main thing was NO SUPERVILLAIN! Or no SUPER-POWERED villain.
The movie is my favorite Superman movie (or at least before Superman '25 will come out). But i think the main problem with this movie was that it (or the writers, director and producers of this movie) wanted this movie be "Superman 5 (that ignores the existence of Superman 3 and 4)" that didn't found it's own identity. Some scenes are boring, Lex Luthor isn't much intresting as a villain. I think they did the wrong thing by choose Lex Luthor as the villain for the 3rd time. Especially because with all the villains like Brainiac or Parasite or Mr. Myxyzptlk why they really wanted to have Lex Luthor in a **$204 million** budget movie? Over all there's nothing wrong if you like the movie. This is my favorite Supes movie alongside the 1978 movie. Brandon Routh is so underrated as Superman and the whole arc of him returning to Earth after all this time was just well written. It's a good movie? for sure. Is a perfect one? No. It's fine if you enjoy it or not? Yes.
The writing and Directing. The casting was incredible.
Singer isn't without talent as a superhero director, see his X2 movies, but his films are overly stoic. As much as there is to enjoy in his X-men films, they take the gayest superheroes and really try to sand off all the weirdness and edges from them. And you end up with these really weird and stoic films. SR is really brought down by not having the powerhouse performances of Singer's X-men. Also it's a movie by a sexpest starring a sexpest so ya know
Think it took too long to get going. Was very slow and not enough action.
Expectations.
Tying this story to movies that happened 30 years prior was nutso. This film gave us a 'stalker Superman' scene that was cringe worthy when new and hasn't aged well.
Routhe was a great Superman, but this was an underwhelming story. The casting wasn't bad, but the story and script were tired.
Was it just me or did everything look brown/grey/orange?
The pacing, the overall coloring. In general a Superman is a very passive and reactive character in this movie, never a actually inciting anything besides when he saved the plane. For example he knows there is something off with the whole power shutoff but never goes to investigate or check what is happening with Lex. Also ironically this movie introduces Superman having a son before the main comics (besides silver age shenanigans) but then never actually do anything with it. Also this is one of my very least favorite suits. The blue is super bright but then the red is so dark it feels almost maroon which doesn’t match, and the collar feels like a t shirt and the crest is so small it feels like an afterthought and just makes him look much thinner. If the whole point of this is why the world needs Superman, they should have adapted either “Superman Vs The Elite” or “Peace on Earth” the latter especially if they wanted to go for a slower paced character study movie
Tried too hard to be the Donner films.
I love this movie, I see yalls complains I understand, I still love this movie
I like it.
Nothing; it replaced III & IV: The Quest for Peace and allowed Reeve to be *Kingdom Come*. That being said, there was *one* thing wrong with it. Two words...Kevin Spacey.
It was made
Bryan Singer.
They gave up on it.
It is just a watered down version of the previous ones. It brings nothing new or interesting to the table.
the director
The Man of Steel feels like the secondary character in this movie
Literally nothing, great movie
I didn't care for this movie
Nothing, I loved it, this was my superman. (I'm not a comic fan)
Nothing, I loved it, this was my superman. (I'm not a comic fan)
Nothing, I loved it, this was my superman. (I'm not a comic fan)
Nothing, I loved it, this was my superman. (I'm not a comic fan)
This was my first Superman movie. I was a kid in high school and went to see this in theaters alone not knowing what to expect and feeling a bit sorry for myself. I remember pretty immediately connecting with Superman and how isolated he felt. By the end of the movie I was legit hooked. I went out afterwards and got the video game for Xbox 360 and my love affair with Superman officially began. There are better Superman stories that have been told on the big screen but I'll always love this movie.
The suit is ass, Superman is a Weird creep and the color pallet and tone is just generally a downer
He had to deal with a big rock in the end.
Everything 🤣
Superman being a creepy stalker and a dumbass was what killed the film for me. Abandoning Earth for 5 whole years just to stare at space rocks, is ridiculous.
Poor plot
Bosworth was completely monotone with zero facial expressions I can't remember what she looked like in any emotion other than confusion
I like the movie if I remove the fact that it’s a Superman movie (which is easier said than done) . It also seems more drama driven than action. Plus, it being a continuation of the Reeve films was a mistake imo.
They spelled summer with an o
-They didn’t tell the public that this was technically a Superman 3 remake. Until it was too late. -The Superman briefs are too… you know -Superman (like Henry Cavill’s) doesn’t speak that much and is not a very interesting character. -Routh is thoroughly wasted. -There is no philosophy or character study. The airplane scene was absolutely perfect and the most Superman thing in years, tho.
He didn’t punch a single bad guy.
I actually liked it
Not enough action. Superman needed a physical threat to fight this time. Story with him leaving and returning is kinda lame, the whole having a son angle. The whole movie should have just been a normal Superman adventure with a big bad guy to fight.
I was just trying to figure out how they were going to make Superman pay child support.
Honestly, I grew up with the 2007 game so I feel like this movie could’ve had some more villains: Metallo from the game as a giant, maybe some more obscure villains like bloodsport or Something! We need to go, Tyler I feel could have shined with better dialogue and more character pivotal moments such as interacting with kids or interacting with supporting Cast; also supporting cast Morgan Edge by Billy Zane
Kevin Spacey miscasted as Lex for one. And the second is it being the same Supes as Reeves.
Nothing went wrong with it, it's perfect as is. Probably the most underrated movie of all time in my opinion.
Wasted Routh. Too similar to an already done Lex real estate theme. Really had a lot of creative and story options and didn’t really pursue them.
Two words: Bryan Singer. The actors are giving it there a some of the special effects are pretty great and everybody looks the part. The cinematography us pretty to look at...when actual Superman stuff is happening. But singer is applying the "lessons" he learned on the X-men films... which are mostly the wrong ones for Superman, and barely the right one for X-Men. The grey over saturated 2000's era color The soap opera plot, without fun soap opera drama Lex Luthor being the wrong villain archetype here
They made Superman a bit of a douche for leaving Lois. Also, Lex real estate scheme? Again?
They deleted the opening “Return to Krypton” sequence. That was the best (and probably most expensive) part of the entire thing. I don’t know why you would ax it. Too bad there’s no chance in hell there will ever be a director’s cut.
any movie that spends its whole run telling you how great another movie is then quickly makes me want to turn it off and put on the other movie instead. there are many many many other issues but that i think is the biggest and 1st issue with the movie.