Superman Returns - but is that a good thing?

I saw Superman Returns last week (the day of release, actually) and I'd like to share my thoughts on it.

Lex was not our Smallville style daddy-never-loved-me, sympathetic Lex. He was the Gene Hackman style Psycho-smart Lex. At one point Lois yells at Lex "But Millions of people will DIE!" and Lex shouts back "BILLIONS! The press is always underestimating me." Who could be that nuts?

Superman as a possible absentee father? I mean, as boyscoutish as Supes is supposed to be, I doubt he'd have knocked-up Lois and ran out of the galaxy (assuming the kid is his - that is a question asked in the movie). But the very idea that he *could* have done that - it's out of character.

There were a ton of Iconic moments. Everything from scenes out of Action Comics #1 (the cover, Big Blue's first appearance) to the cover of "Peace on Earth" - a famous Alex Ross cover for a graphic novel.

The costume was good. The texture made a huge difference. If you look closely, (which I did sitting on the front row), you can see the whole thing is covered in tiny little Superman S-shields. On a special I watched prior to the movie, they said each S-Suit cost as much as a luxury sports car!

Good moments - questionable subplot - cartoonish villians (Lex and nameless kronies) - great scenes / action. There was even a Passion-esqe Crucifixion style scene. Think Jesus and the Roman soldiers or Caesar and Brutus/the Senate - or better yet - Gladiator under the Coliseum with the bad Caesar. But, the most important part is - Superman is back on the big screen. You might want to take some dramamine before going, though. Lots of shakey cameras. I mean lots. Like 1/4 of the movie. There's also a lot of bass in the sound effects.

I'd give it a 4 out of 5 stars.