I went and saw Superman Returns last night.

There’s something about Superman that evokes a bit more respect out of me than any other superhero. Perhaps because of his history of fighting for “truth, justice and the American way”. Perhaps it’s because he’s a powerful, other-worldly being who has come down to lowly earth and acted as its defender. He’s out in the open, not hiding from the public and never gets mistaken as the “bad guy”.

(the Spiderman movies have elevated the status of Spidey because of his inner struggles, but he’s not quite Superman)

So with the recent offering of exceptional comic book derived movies I was expecting wonderful things from Superman, the king of them all.

I didn’t measure up, and I’m not sure why.

Maybe it was the styling. Many scenes had the feel of the golden years of Superman. It was delightful to see them stay true. But many other scenes seemed so modern. Perhaps they didn’t mix well.

Maybe it was the acting. Brandon Routh (Superman) was good, but not great. Kate Bosworth (Lois) was fine. Kevin Spacey (Lex Luthor) was good, but seemed like he was in a different movie than the rest of them.

Maybe it was the script. Lois’ character never really developed just did different things. I would’ve liked to have seen more of Superman/Clark’s human (though not human) side.

And sometimes the lines just seemed forced, though I did love this passage:

Editor-in-Chief shows some pictures of Superman that a kid snapped on his cell phone and asks Jimmy what he’s got. Jimmy tosses down some pictures of the city sky with a blurry dot between the buildings.

Chief: What do you got Olsen?
Jimmy: Look, in the sky, Chief.
Lois [leaning in]: It’s a bird.
Chief [leaning in]: It’s a plane.
Jimmy [leaning in]: No, look, it’s …
Clark walks in and interrupts them.

Having said all that, it was very interesting the way they set Superman up as a Christ figure. I don’t know why I’d never though about that before. I mean, here he is, an all-powerful, wise and just being from another place that comes down to Earth with the traits he inherited from his father so that he could protect them and bring out the good in them.

But with all the religious messages being sent, I’m really pleased with the one that Superman Returns had. In the movie, Superman returns to earth after being gone 9 years. During that time Lois writes and article entitled “Why the World Doesn’t Need Superman”. Superman confronts her about this piece, take he up flying and says, “You wrote that the world doesn’t need a savior, but every day I hear people crying for one.”

Isn’t that so true? Sometimes people can get so self-righteous and independent that they start to declare that they can do things on their own. They don’t need help. They don’t need a savior. But at the same time there are people who are in real trouble, people that have realized they can’t rely on the the arm of flesh and they’re crying out for a savior … maybe not for them, but for the world.

Let’s not forget the savior we do have.

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