Superman & Lois Lane: Things We Forgot We Forgot

SPOILERS BELOW

Hansel and I are fresh from viewing SUPERMAN RETURNS last night and I've got a few things that need to be said.

First, this new guy wearing the tights - it took me a good thirty for forty-five minuites to stop comparing him to Christopher Reeve. It's amazing how definitive Chris was for this role. Every word that came out of Superman's mouth, every gesture, every bumble by Clark Kent brought comparison to the way Christopher did it before.

But then something happened. I don't know when, or why, but at some point, Bryan Singer's story emerged victorious over my struggle againt willful suspension of disbelief - and I started enjoying myself.

This is quite a decent film. I found myself surprised at the direction the story took several times. The script managed to supply the characters with a depth that was unexpected.

I loved the fact that Supes had to struggle against the physics of the real world when trying to save an airplane, that the metal of the craft buckled while he was trying to slow it down, that a wing gave way and snapped off whle he was trying to slow it's spinning out of control. It helped place Superman in the real world, illustrating that while the man inside the cape may be impervious to bullets, he can make mistakes.

And this Superman makes mistakes. It is his mistake in judgement that is blamed for Lex Luthor's freedom. This Superman is a jealous man, a hurt man, a very lonely man - and that helps make him Every Man.

There was one particular moment in the film that struck me as more than the an obligitory homage to the films that came before. During a crisis that requires him to fly out into the Atlantic Ocean for a rescue, Superman sees a giant trough opening up in the sea floor. When he realizes this rip in the sea floor is heading straight for Metropolis, you can actually SEE the character remember the earthquake in the first film that claimed Lois' life. Again he must decide between her and the fate of many more souls. Nicely done.

The visuals are great. Most of the modern CGI stuff looked really, really sharp, though there were a couple of instances in which an animated Supes looks just a bit too cartoony. And while the crystal island is awesome, I found myself wondering how in the world owning such craggily, crappy, unfarmable land would vault Lex Luthor to global domination.

My one nagging issue with the film really didn't bring itself to the forefront of my mind until an hour after coming home. At the end of Superman II, Supes wiped Lois Lane's memory of her love affair with him with a magical kiss. It was done to protect her, to relieve her of the pain of being in love with him, yet being unable to be with him. Cleary in Superman Returns, Lois has no memory of knowing Clark Kent's secret identity. Yet, when she delivers big news to Superman in the hospital, it's clear she remembers being with him. In fact, the memory of that relationship is central to a lot of conflict within Lois' relationship with her son's father.

So, if somebody can explain to me how Lois remembers only a bit of what transpired in Superman II (Lex clearly remembers EVERYTHING that happened in both films), I'd love to hear from you.

The film's a bit long, and drags a bit after the big climax. Was it necessary to go on for another 20 minutes after the story was finished? Perhaps the hospital visit, and the evnts that transpire therein, could have been worked into the middle of the movie, providing Supes with new motivation to save a world that thought it no longer needed him.

What do you think?

I'm going to give it three hands up out of four.