"Always be prepared", Perry White declares ominously as two alternative front pages of the Daily Planet are prepared, one reading "Superman Is Dead", the other headline fittingly entitled "Superman Returns." I prepared two similar titles for this review. I as soon as I heard that Bryan Singer (Hollywood's answer to Comic Book Guy) was directing the notorious Superman project (a project that has been postponed for years, restructured, recast and reassigned several times) I knew that there was a 50/50 chance Singer would bring his usual fan boy sensibility to the legacy of a grand cinematic achievement, originally envisioned in 1978 by Richard Donner. The original Superman was an innovative classic--it was a bold vision of a comic book brought to life in the hushed eloquence of the 1970s. The film made the audience believe a man could fly, and that a "comic book story for kids" could be made into a romantic comedy adventure equally enjoyable for adults.

What Singer manages to do successfully is to infuse a dose of energy and childlike enthusiasm into the heart of a noble character that's easy to dislike. The director of The Usual Suspects and X-Men 1 and 2 is technically savvy and delights in every special effects sequence in Superman Returns like it were a Todd McFarlane splash page. The action sequences are indeed loud and impressive. Bryan Singer brings a certain amount of human adoration when it comes to directing mutants, aliens or even hardened criminals. Any protagonist that's just a little more than ordinary, he loves to hang out with and explore their character down to the smallest paranormal detail.

In Superman Returns, Bryan Singer watches with anticipation as Superman returns to earth after a five year absence of visiting the lost remains of the planet Krypton so that he can become the savior of mankind once again and somewhere along the way reclaim the heart of Lois Lane. What he fails to do in Superman Returns, however, is to make more than just a four part miniseries out of a verifiable legend. While there are interesting plot twists and ideas flying around that make the film watchable unlike "bad" superhero movies like The Fantastic Four, the movie lacks a feeling of grandiosity and urgency. It's the fine quality of dread and excitement that the trailer delivered but the movie never quite gets to, choosing instead to stage a lot of artificially thrilling rescue scenes that we correctly predict Superman will overcome.

The performances in the film are adequate, which is a major disappointment. Brandon Routh inhabits the Man of Steel with innocence and charm and does a clever Christopher Reeve impersonation. However, because Kate Bosworth's performance as Lois Lane is so uninspired and of TV quality competence (she could easily star on CSI: Bakersfield and nobody would notice or care) we never get the sense of truly revisiting Superman and Lois Lane after so many years.

Kevin Spacey easily gives the worst performance of the movie and his career--which doesn't necessarily mean it's ludicrous. It's simply standard Kevin Spacey, who is always a cut above the work of his contemporaries. Spacey sleepwalks through his villainous role, bringing no certain menace or hamminess to Lex Luthor, a part that Gene Hackman wisely overacted in 1978. Spacey is intellectual and condescending as the evil mastermind and somehow an unbalancing force between the colors of bland heroism and colorful evil.

There is a lot of action in Superman Returns, and the director, true to form, ensures that it's not an entirely predictable ride. What he does not deliver though, is a sense of personal connection to the Superman legend or to Richard Donner's vision original 1978. Is it an unfair comparison to suggest Bryan Singer is no Richard Donner? Ask Marlon Brando, whose million dollar performance in the first Superman film is still being exploited so that Warner Brothers earns back every penny of that notorious overpayment.

Bryan Singer chose to honor the original Superman film series in continuity instead of revitalizing Superman on his own terms. Therefore it seems only fair to point out that Marlon Brando was the only real connection to the 1970s hit, since the romance of Lois Lane and Superman lacked identification, and every major and minor character was miscast in order to appear forever young.

Superman Returns is watchable without being entertaining or unbearable; and that is ultimately disappointing. A true injustice--to make nice guy Superman into a bore. In 1978, Richard Donner transcended Superman's archetypical persona and made what could have been a goody-two-shoes kid's movie into a spectacle. In his shortcomings Bryan Singer only reminds us that Superman is not as interesting as bad boy mutants like Wolverine and Storm. Rats, and I had my "Superman Returns Saves The Day" title all ready. Grade: B-

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