Superman Returns: A-

The title of the movie refers to three things: the article Lois (Kate Bosworth) writes alittle under halfway through the movie, the movie title, and the act through which Superman/Clark Kent (Brandon Routh) regains hope and faith, in the audience as well. The story follows Superman back from a 5 year trip to see the ruins of Krypton to find Lois has moved on and Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) is unbelievably powerful and rich again. Luthor is up to his old land-grabbing schemes but with a new twist: crystals from the Fortress of Solitude. The story is familiar and hardly original to anyone who saw the first two Superman movies in the late 70's and it takes it about 45 minutes to amp up to great but what keeps us invested for that beginning sequence (and through much of the rest of the movie) is Bryan Singer's (the director) complete and utter mastery at being an orchaestrator at epic pop spectacle. My face was split in an ear-wide grin from the opening planet hopping credits to the final majestic shot (played over the original Superman theme). Later, as with the script, the performances (especially Brandon, who shamelessly fills that gigantic red/blue body sock) amp themselves up as well. The combination of Kevin Spacey as the big-bad and Parker Posey as his girlfriend Kitty make for a delicious pair of evil fun. They're banter with each other is acidic and tinged with wit, and Luthor's plan is equal parts preposterous and shockingly evil. The opposite of the Kitty/Lex relationship is Superman and Lois, whose scenes alone come to take on a haunted romantic air. The movie is over 2 1/2 hours long but you won't know, or care for that matter. And the edition of Lois's superkid? Gives Brandon Routh the one scene in which he proves he could very well be a movie star.