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I’ll admit it… before this flick, I had never seen another movie in the Superman franchise. I was, however, pretty excited about it. I’d known Bryan Singer to do amazing things with comic adaptations (see X-Men and its sequel), and I knew he would do far more justice to the Man of Steel than some other directors would have done (*cough* Tim Burton *cough*). Additionally, I was pleased to learn that Singer’s involvement with the flick would mean that all previous versions of the script for this movie would find their way to the trash (which was bittersweet… for as happy as I was that the version of Superman which found Lex Luthor turning into a Kryptonian would be forever destroyed, being a longtime Kevin Smith fan I was slightly upset that his Superman Lives script would never see the light of day).

Also… I was going to see this movie, a multi-million dollar summer blockbuster, in IMAX 3D. How could I not be stoked?

Direction & Story
Although I’d never seen any of the other Superman films before, it was blatantly obvious that this entire film paid hommage to those that came before it (well, the first two, anyway) while advancing the storyline of the character. Although the plot may have been a bit simplistic, I thought it was fun to be taken back to an era where movie characters didn’t have to be in a state of constant conspiracy against one another… and stories were simplistic. The plot for this movie may well have been an old-fashioned comic book plot, which is perfect for The Man of Tomorrow. Stylistically, this film looked like an old-fashioned movie with a more modern day backdrop… which, personally, I loved.

Acting
I don’t think this movie could have been cast more perfectly. Brandon Routh looks and acts like Christopher Reeve, which is very cool and very creepy at the same time. I’ll admit it, I was insanely jealous of the man whilst watching this film. I want to open a superhero franchise picture (but, then again, who doesn’t?). I did wonder, at first, why they would re-cast Lex Luthor if they went out of their way to keep an authenticity to the original Clark Kent and resurrect Marlon Brando from the grave. I mean, Gene Hackman’s not dead… I’m sure he could have done it. On the other hand, Kevin Spacey was absolutely fantastic. I loved every minute of his performance… I just wish there would have been more of it. Even James Marsden, who annoyed the crap out of me as a cocky, unpersonable Cyclops in the X-Men films, eventually won me over. No complaints in this department.

Special Effects / The “IMAX 3D Experience”
So, I don’t think it was worth it to see this movie in the IMAX for almost $15. Granted, it was a learning experience, but I do wish it could have been a less costly one. This film was the first to be shot in 2D and be digitally enhanced to 3D… and, in some scenes, it shows. Certain objects that should have more depth to them (e.g. a house) appear flat, although their flat outlines do pop out against the rural backdrop. Other scenes look absoltuely amazing. That’s the other thing that should be mentioned — the entire movie is not in 3D… only certain scenes are. At first, that concept annoyed the crap out of me, but as the movie progressed I realized that an entire 2-and-a-half-hour long feature in 3D would have made me vomit. Perhaps that’s because the IMAX screen is 6 stories high… I’m still optimistic about the 3D releases in the future on conventional movie screens (when you’re *not* seated in the second row). I will say this about the IMAX this time around, though — I went to see Matrix Reloaded in IMAX when it was released, and all I could think about was Keanu Reeves’ razor burn in some scenes. This was not the case in this film. I do not feel that the IMAX screen was a hinderance.

Other than the problems I may have encountered with the IMAX or 3D portions of the film, the special effects were amazing. Superhero movies don’t always have the best special effects. Hell, I can tell a practical Spider-Man from a CG one anyday… and I even detected the CGI claws they gave Hugh Jackman for X-Men United… but I don’t have that complaint here. After seeing this movie, I trully believe that a man can fly.

Additionally, the Marlon Brando animations are really well done… aren’t they?

Overall
Superman Returns lives up to the hype. It doesn’t exceed it, but doesn’t fall short… and is worth normal ticket price. Don’t be duped by the allure of IMAX 3D… it’s simply not worth it yet. I’m eagerly anticipating the next release in the franchise… and I’m praying that Bryan Singer comes back.