The Review Is In...

and I was pleasantly surprised by "Superman Returns".

In fact, pleasantly sounds too mundane or even polite. How about "after seeing this movie, I wished I could not only fly but I had a pair of long blue tights and a red cape I could wear around the house?" Yeah...that's the ticket.

I wasn't too optimistic about this movie, what with all it's hype at any toy store/grocery store (read: the Supercenter) and with the producers taking creative liberties to change the big RED "S" to more of a maroon-ish tint. I thought that with the onslaught of "Cars" the past couple of weeks as well as people looking forward to next week's "Pirates of the Caribbean 2", I just had a hunch that SR would suffer a fate much like that of Ang Lee's "The Hulk".

I was wrong.

Even though it was over 2 hours and 30 minutes, the action seemed well paced and the special effects were...well...special. Especially the shots of Superman flying at break-neck speed and his cape billowing in the wind. I really felt like I was watching someone actually flying through the air. The other spec FX were very good, especially the shots of the bullets bouncing off Brandon Routh's chest and eye. Yes, I said his eye.

The plot was not quite what I expected but for the sake of those who haven't seen it yet and want to, I won't divluge any kind of spoilers. But I don't think they explained why Superman had left NYC over 5 years ago other than he went looking for a distant piece of Krypton and came back empty handed. Nor did they evolve the whole Superman/Lois Lane love thing but they made several backhanded references to those scenes we were all shocked to see in "Superman 2" with Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder.

That is one thing this movie did NOT have. No cursing, no foul language, no sex, no blood splattering...none of it. At least by our estimations. And you know what? It actually made the movie that much more enjoyable to me. In the end, (again...not giving away any spoilers here) Superman is able to maintain his morality and high code of ethics/behavior, something that many "heroes" in this day & age forget about.

If you've got a youngster who wants to see this movie, I don't see anything at all that would prevent you from taking them. It's a little more violent than "The Incredibles" and only in that it's a live-action flick. There may come a few questions about "parenting" but nothing an 8 year old can't come to terms with. I give it 4.5 out of 5 red capes.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I hear my wife calling out to me in distress. I think I just saw Jake's red cape I could borrow for a few minutes, eh? LOL

Argh...false alarm. She just told me to get off the internet and come visit her while she eats. No distress call here...just the wife about to hit me with a big chunk of kryptonite if I don't get in there.

Coming sweetie.