Ebert & Jared

The other day I watched Superman Returns. I'd been putting it off because...well...because of Chrissa. As anyone in a relationship can attest, once you are a "we" you don't get to see every movie all the time in the theater. Sometimes if we're lucky there'll be two movies out at the same time, and I can see a manly-shoot 'em up while Chrissa is seeing her girly-kissy movie.

We now have Netflix and are milking it for all it's worth. Chrissa has her list and I have mine. If the stars align and I happen to want to watch her movie, or she mine, then we watch together. Otherwise, it's every man or woman for him or herself.

So Superman was really good! I think Brandon Routh made an even better Superman than Christopher Reeve. He had a better physique than Christopher Reeve and his acting was better. He was able to convey both humanity and alienness. He was also more international--protecting the whole world rather than just Metropolis. I enjoyed how he hovered above the earth and listened for people to help. It strengthened the metaphor of Superman as a symbol of Christ.

I think the biggest letdown of the movie was Kevin Spacey. Not because he wasn't good. He was a better Lex Luthor than Gene Hackman. But Kevin Spacey had the potential of making Lex Luthor a truly intricate character. Bad but with depth. And really scary. Instead, he was the melodramatic evil-genius surrounded by bumbling henchmen in black shirts and suits. Maybe that's truer to the comic book, but I just wished they had used this opportunity to bump it up to the next level.