Superman Returns (2006)

Wuchak February 15, 2020

★ 8/10

***The Passion of the Christ, I mean Superman*** Superman returns to Earth after five years trying to find out what happened to his homeworld. As Clark Kent he gets his job back at the Daily Planet newspaper, but finds out Lois Lane has moved on without him -- having a live-in fiancé and a five-year-old child, not to mention winning a Pulitzer for her article "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman." Meanwhile Lex Luthor and his henchmen discover Superman's Fortress of Solitude and steal some of the alien crystals. Luthor's mad scheme is to create a new continent, killing billions of people in the process. The story is a superhero retelling of the Christ story: - Jor-el gives his only son to protect (save) humankind. - Superman repeatedly states that he's everywhere and will always be around (i.e. omnipresent). - Luthor and his henchmen's beating of Supes is reminiscent of Chr…

John Chard April 13, 2020

★ 8/10

The light to show the way. After a five year hiatus, Superman returns to Earth to find that Lois Lane is now a soon to be married mother, but some things don't change, loony Lex Luthor is loose and his latest plan will kill billions of people. I first reviewed Superman Returns some two years after its initial release, I had first caught it on release back in 2006 and was really taken with Bryan Singer's approach to a subject he clearly loves. I was awash with nostalgic fervour back then and the moment the theme tune kicked in (great move by Singer to use the John Williams original) I was grinning like a Cheshire cat, yet it seemed I was in a minority back then as regards the film's worth, and with each passing year I find I still am. Superman Returns will forever be known as the franchise entry that has too much heart, because it finds Singer giving Superman emotional fortitude…

r96sk January 9, 2025

★ 6/10

'Superman Returns' brings an ounce of life back into the series, at least when compared to the prior three installments, but unfortunately overall it's disappointing. For such an overlong run time, I feel like nothing actually happens in this either. I doubt I'll remember it. Brandon Routh is decent as the title character, I don't have any notable positives about his performance but then I don't hold any negatives about him either. The same can be said about the rest of the cast to be honest, Kevin Spacey plays a bad guy well (barely acting, some may say). It's better than 'Superman III', which I guess is one of the reasons for this to even exist; given it ignores events from that film onwards. For me, whilst it's not out and out bad, I didn't get anything noteworthy from this 2006 flick.

CinemaSerf August 1, 2026

★ 6/10

I suppose it didn't really help Brandon Routh that he looked so much like Christopher Reeve when it came to distinguishing himself in this role. Consequently try as he did, he just didn't. This largely unnecessary but perfectly watchable sequel sees him return to "Metropolis" after a five year absence in deep space to discover that "Lois" (Kate Bosworth) is married and has an enigmatic young son "Jason" (Tristan Lake Leabu) with "Richard" (James Marsden). "Perry" (Frank Langella) is still the curmudgeon running the "Daily Planet" and the drippy "Jimmy" (Sam Huntingdon) is still trying to get himself noticed. "Clark" is welcomed back, but his alter ego knows that something is amiss. The scheming and plotting "Luthor" (Kevin Spacey) is out of jail and now has a plan that ought to see his caped nemesis reduced to a green, glowing, gibbering wreck and so leave the world open to his dastardly…