The Griffon News

For those of us with a towel still safety pinned around our necks as we rush through our living room, we finally have an excuse to act like a five year- old again. On Tuesday the Man of Steel was back and in a big way.

This past summer marked the return of Superman to the big screen, and on November 28th that movie, Superman Returns, hit store shelves. But it wasn’t just Returns that came to the market again.

Superman Returns came out in a one disc as well as a two disc special edition and Target is carrying the Collector’s Edition which features 3-D cover art and two original radio broadcasts of the Superman show. The movie is also available in a boxed set which contains all four Christopher Reeve productions as well as a recut version of Superman II.

In case you didn’t already know Superman Returns features Brandon Routh as the last son of Krypton, Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane and Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor. Taking the helm on this endeavor is X-Men and X-2 director Bryan Singer whose experience with cherished comic characters makes him the best possible fit for this movie. To top it all off, the new score by Paul Ottman brings a new perspective to the classic themes John Williams wrote with the first movie.

The story behind the movie is this: Superman has disappeared for five years and when he returns home, he finds that everyone has moved on including Lois Lane.

Brandon Routh’s portrayal of the Man of Steel is nothing short of perfection. There are so many mirrored images of Christopher Reeve in his actions that it helps you feel like only a
few years have passed since Superman first flew onto the screen, not the twenty some odd years that have actually passed.

And the depth that is added to the character in this movie makes it stand well above the rest. Finally there is a story line that deals with Superman’s biggest paradox, having unlimited strength but still not being able to stop painful events from occurring.

Lois now has a son and a prolonged engagement with another man, played by James Marsden, who people will notice as Cyclops from Singer’s previous two X-Men movies, an actor whose roles in movies almost seem set up for losing the girl.

Kate Bosworth’s role does fall a little short of the strong character presented by Margot Kidder in the original films, but she does fit well into the cast.

Meanwhile Lex Luthor is released from prison after an appeals court grants him freedom and is finally able to let his newest plan unfold. Spacey’s rendition of the iconic chrome dome villain could not be more complimentary to Gene Hackman’s character.

As for the DVD itself, the two-disc edition contains bonus features such as behind the scenes footage with actor Kevin Spacey and ten additional scenes not shown in theaters.

So if you’re looking for something to take you back to the good ole days of attempting a jump off your roof so you could be a superhero, Superman Returns is definitely the route to take.