Superman Returns. And does he ever

Richard White: "Were you in love with him?"
Lois Lane: "He was Superman. Everyone was in love with him."

This is a big, gorgeous, intense movie.

Singer deliberately pays homage to the first two Christopher Reeve movies, right from the opening credits to actually repeating crucial bits of dialogue. This is the Superman III that should have been. And Brandon Routh (rhymes with 'south') just knocked my socks off.

Dan and I spent most of the ride home from the theater talking about what was "off" about Superman Returns (maybe "different" is a better word than "off") and we figured it out. Superman and Superman II had a certain lightness, a touch of camp that allowed us to enjoy it and get into it, but not take it all too seriously. Superman Returns also had some funny scenes, but for the most part, it's dead serious. Even the big blue suit is darker.

In Superman and Superman II, my connection with the wonderful Christopher Reeve was more to his performance as Clark Kent. There was some distance to his performance as Superman, partially due to the state of special effects at the time; he was more like a human being who just happened to fly and do amazing things.

But Brandon Routh spends most of the movie as Superman, not Clark Kent, and I was aware at nearly every moment that he was an alien. Routh's Superman is isolated, alone, different, and oddly vulnerable. The Jesus imagery, the feeling of sacrifice, is everywhere. When Superman does those amazing things (the effects in this movie are out of this world), we're right there with him, up close and personal, and constantly getting the feeling that he could get hurt. Which he does.

Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor is excellent, with some of the flavor of Gene Hackman's portrayal, but with a major difference. My god, he's dark. Very dark, totally evil, and actually pretty scary. There's no Otis or Miss Tessmacher to lighten him up. Parker Posey, as his girlfriend Kitty, reacts to the terrible things that Lex does as we would. In a sense, she's us -- the audience.

Kate Bosworth's Lois Lane is angry about Superman's five year absence, and prettier, less quirky and fragile than Margot Kidder's Lois. When I first heard that Lois Lane was a mother, I thought, oh, no, please, not a cute kid. I hate cute kids. But the little boy who played her son Jason is very good, and the character works. (And yes, we do learn who Jason's father is. And no, I'm not going to spoil you.)

There were a couple of things I wanted that I didn't get. Especially, a conversation that needed to happen between Lois and Superman, and it didn't, what with saving the world and all. Guess I'll have to wait for the sequel.

Bits and pieces:

• Routh looks, acts, and sounds like Superman. His blue, blue eyes are simply amazing. Odd, because Routh's eyes are really brown.
  
  
• Krypton itself is a character in this movie, and Lex becomes obsessed with recreating it on Earth. It is dark, cold, dead, and unwelcoming, not as immediate as, say, a missile headed for Hackensack, New Jersey.
  
  
• As mentioned earlier, the Jesus imagery is fairly obvious. But there are also references to Atlas, and Prometheus. In one stunning scene, Superman is carrying the Daily Planet globe on his back.
  
  
• They used John Williams' original music, and it was perfect. The way they recreated the original credits actually gave me chills.
  
  
• James Marsden (Cyclops from X-Men) plays Lois' long-time boyfriend, Richard White. Would you want to play the guy who has to get between Lois Lane and Superman? But he was just fine; I liked him.
  
  
• Bits of Marlon Brando as Jor-El were used, and it works. Eva Marie Saint, who coincidentally started her movie career with Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront, plays Martha Kent. And there is a photo of Glenn Ford as Jonathan Kent on the mantle at the Kent farm. Lovely. (Pointless digression. On the Waterfront is one of my absolute favorite old movies. Brando's best, as far as I'm concerned.)
  
  
• Jimmy Olson is actually the best Jimmy Olson I've yet seen. Excellent casting.
  
  
• Peta Wilson (La Femme Nikita) has a nice supporting role as the host of a press junket for the launch of the new space shuttle.
  
  
• This film was dedicated to Christopher and Dana Reeve.

The audience in the theater applauded at the end of the movie, and I did, too. I loved it.

As good as it is, I'm not sure I'm ready to give it four stars. (I think I need to see it again to be sure.) But I'm definitely giving Brandon Routh four stars for his performance as Superman. And I really, really, really want a sequel.