Superman Returns Review

Superman Returns


Release Date: 29th June 2006 - Australia


Production Companies
Warner Bros. Pictures (presents)
Legendary Pictures (in association with)
Peters Entertainment
Bad Hat Harry Productions (in association with)
DC Comics
Red Sun Productions Pty. Ltd. (Uncredited)

Distribution
Roadshow Distribution


Genre: Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 154 minutes


Budget: US$209,000,000

Box Office Gross: $391,081,192
(Worldwide)


Plot Summary
He's back. A hero for our
millennium. And not a
moment too soon,
because during the five
years Superman sought
his home planet, things
changed on his adopted
planet. Nations moved on
without him. Lois Lane
now has a son, a fiancée
and a Pulitzer for "Why
the World Doesn't Need
Superman." And Lex Luthor
has a plan that will destroy
millions - no, billions - of
lives.


Cast
Brandon Routh - Clark Kent/
Superman
Kate Bosworth - Lois Lane
Kevin Spacey - Lex Luthor
James Marsden - Richard White
Parker Posey - Kitty Kowalski
Marlon Brando - Jor-El
(Archived Footage)
Tristan Lake Leabu - Jason White
Frank Langella - Perry White
Sam Huntington - Jimmy Olsen
Eva Marie Saint - Martha Kent
Kal Penn - Stanford
Tristan Lake Leabu - Jason White
David Fabrizo - Brutus
Ian Roberts - Riley
Vincent Stone - Grant
Jack Larson - Bo the Bartender
Noel Neill - Gertrude Vanderworth
Stephan Bender - 15-Year-Old Clark
Peta Wilson - Bobbie-Faye
Jeff Truman - Gil
Barbara Angell - Polly

Crew
Story/Producer/Director - Bryan Singer
Based on Comic Book "Superman" -
Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster
Story/Screenplay - Michael Dougherty &
Dan Harris
Executive Producers - William Fay,
Chris Lee, Scott Mendick & Thomas Tull
Producers - Gilbert Adler, Lorne Orleans
(IMAX) & Jon Peters
Co-Producer - Stephen Jones

Casting Director - Roger Mussenden
Production Designer - Guy Hendrix Dyas
Conceptual Designers - Ed Natividad &
Jeff Julian
Supervising Art Director - Hugh Bateup
Set Decorators - Brian Dusting &
Jack McKenzie
Costume Designer - Louise Mingenbach
Choreographer/Movement Coach -
Terry Notary
Director of Photography - Newton Thomas Sigel
Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator - Dan Bradley
Second Unit Director: Baseball Unit, Los Angeles -
Michael L. Fink
Second Unit Director: Additional Photography,
Australia - Brian Smrz
Special Effects Supervisor - Neil Corbould
Special Effects Supervisor: Australia - David Young
Visual Effects Supervisors - Tim Hawkins
& Mark Stetson
Visual Effects Supervisor: SPI - Richard R. Hoover
Visual Effects Supervisor: Framestore CFC -
Jon Thum
Visual Effects Director of Photography -
Bill Neil
CG Effects Supervisor: Framestore CFC -
Mark Hodgkins
Animation Supervisor: SPI - Andrew R. Jones
Film Editor - Elliot Graham
Film Editor/Music - John Ottman
Sound Designer - Erik Aadahl


Awards

2007 Academy Awards
Best Visual Effects - Mark Stetson, Neil Corbould,
Richard R. Hoover & Jon Thum (Nominated)


Review
'SUPERMAN RETURNS' was a pretty decent addition to the film series, but it does owe a heavy debt to the spirit of the two classic movies, thanks to its director Bryan Singer who finally returned the Man of Steel back to the big screen. The cast was a really good example particularly Brandon Routh who did an extraordinary job as the Man of Steel and Kevin Spacey was impressive as Lex Luthor. My only interesting part of the film was Superman saving an airplane with a space shuttle was a very strong piece of the feature.

It's too bad that the sequel didn't get made and perhaps fans were disappointed because it didn't include the material from the comics. While 'SUPERMAN RETURNS' was not a flop, a film to this scale and proportion should have made a lot more.

Star rating: (3/5) Average

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