Superman Returns

After an absence of nearly two decades, the Man of Steel is back in Bryan Singer's epic Superman Returns, an enthralling film that shows respect for the character (as well as the movies starring the late Christopher Reeve, to which it is both sequel and homage), while also adding surprising depth and richness by emphasizing the hero's sense of isolation and the burdens imposed on him by his powers. The plot has Superman (Brandon Routh, excellent as both Superman and Clark Kent) coming back to Earth after five years of fruitless searching for remnants of his home world, only to find Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) with a young son, engaged to marry another man, and still angry that Kent left her without a word of explanation. To make matters worse, Lex Luthor (the wonderfully malicious Kevin Spacey) has stolen Kryptonian technology from the Fortress of Solitude and plans to use it to kill his caped rival and dominate the world. Superman Returns features a succession of spectacular set pieces, but what really distinguishes the film are its elegant imagery and elegiac tone. Singer not only treats Superman with affection and dignity, but also imbues his story with grandeur and poetry rather than mere eye-popping razzmatazz and loud volume. Though two-and-half-hours long and deliberately paced, the movie is so good that time, like the hero, seems to fly by. Highly recommended. [Note: Available in either widescreen or full screen versions, or a two-disc special edition, DVD extras on this two-disc set include the 174-minute “making-of” documentary “Requiem for Krypton” (which features “From Script to Screen,” “Designing Superman: From Art and Costume Design to Set Construction” and “The Joy of Lex: Behind the Scenes with Kevin Spacey”), 11 deleted scenes (15 min.), a “Resurrecting Jor-El” featurette on recreating the character played by the late Marlon Brando (4 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for one of this summer's best films.] (F. Swietek)