We went to go see Superman Returns last Friday night. My overall assessment of the film is that it wasn’t what I thought it would be given the hype for it, but it was a good movie, nonetheless.

The most notable “thing” about the movie is that it is really long. One of my friends timed how long it took for the opening credits to go by and it was 6 minutes. There is another scene where Superman is reminiscing about his days as a boy on the Kent Farm and that takes at least 5 minutes – so right there were 11 minutes that we could have done without (these minutes would have been better spent in a longer DVD release). That being said, the time wasn’t completely wasted because Bryan Singer created some good film with that time (except for the opening credits – that was, in fact, a waste). Hopefully, he uses his time better in the already planned Superman sequel for 2009.

What I found unexpected about the story is that it was pretty much a generic Superman vs. Lex Luthor plot. Superman is a good guy and Lex is a bad guy and both Brandon Routh and Kevin Spacey are brilliant in their roles. However, the movie sometimes leaves you wishing that there was “more” to it. After the movie, a bunch of us were talking and I compared it to the Spiderman series where there is just so much going on and so many storylines and subplots that every minute of film time is a necessary evolution of the entire story. Singer’s Superman Returns doesn’t have that same feel and although it works for the movie, it will definitely leave you feeling like you’re eating a hollow cake – it tastes good and looks phenomenal, but the yummy insides are no where to be found.

I also take issue with this concept that Superman is no longer an American icon. I don’t like that. Superman’s iconic promo has always been, “truth, justice, and the American Way.” That’s just how it is with Superman – the whole world knows that he stands for these things. The fact that this iconic slogan was reduced to, “truth, justice, and all that stuff,” is offensive. What’s wrong with the “American Way?” What? Because Hollywood hates President Bush they are going to throw the baby out with the bath water? That’s horseshit. But not enough to detract from the actual movie itself.

The fact that there is so much Christian iconography in the movie sorta makes up for the lack of “American Way,” but in a different respect. Anyone who watches this movie and DOESN’T see how Singer tries to make Superman out to be Jesus Christ definitely needs their eyes checked out! But the images play well, although sometimes they tend to become a lot less subtle than the producers and writers may have liked.

Overall, I’d give this movie a solid B+ rating with glimpses of an A- here and there. If I had the time to catch a cheap matinee, I’d probably go see it again. Otherwise, it’s probably a definite DVD buy for me when it’s released. I can’t stress enough how great Spacey is as Lex Luthor or how well Routh fits into the Superman role. My recommendation – go see it in a nice theater with a good sound system so you can appreciate what a great job the folks did in putting this film together. But don’t expect a tantalizingly deep plot – it’s good guy versus bad guy in this film.