Superman Returns

So the husband and I saw Superman Returns today.

Before I get to my thoughts on the movie, a word about movie food. While in line at the concession stand, we had a discussion about what size popcorn to buy - small or medium. We ended up with the small. Now, I worked for a movie theater from my senior year of HS through my sophomore year of college and I worked in the concession stand. The current small popcorn size at a Regal theater is the size of the medium popcorn I used to sell. The other sizes go up too in a similar manner. And we wonder why we keep getting fatter?

Now on to the mini-review. Overall a very enjoyable summer action type movie. Well worth paying the price to see it in the theater. I'll probably buy it on DVD (after I get Superman I and II but before I get III and IV). At about two and a half hours it does feel a bit long (mainly at the end) but it moved at a decent pace. Batman Begins it's not. I'm not sure it will revitalize the series. But it was good enough that I didn't walk out saying "Bryan Singer didn't do X3 for this."

Things I liked: Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor; the integration of John Williams' Superman Theme into a new score by a different composer; the visual effect as Superman uses his x-ray vision, Parker Posey (looking like Lara Flynn Boyle in MIB II) as Luthor's moll; the fact you hear/see a sonic boom as Superman breaks the sound barrier (a realistic effect not seen in prior films); the fact that the dorkiness is still there (ie Clark says things like "swell" and Perry says "great Caesar's ghost"; the movie retains the wholesomeness that is the essence of Superman.

Things I didn't: Lois Lane - Kate Bosworth is just plain boring and they dumbed Lois down (ie "how many 'f's are there in catastrophic?"; fact that Kate Bosworth and Brendan Routh both look significantly younger than Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder (and this on takes place after Superman I and II); the ending was dragged out too long.