At the start of the film, the Man of Steel (Brandon Routh) returns to earth after a five year trip to explore the remnants of his home planet, Krypton, only to discover that many things have changed since he left: The love of his life, Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth), is now engaged and has a son; his old nemesis, Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey), has been released from prison; and, worst of all, pain and suffering has befallen Mankind. He quickly resumes his old duties, fighting for truth, justice, and the American Way, all the while unaware that Luthor is cooking up a scheme that result in the deaths of millions, including Superman himself.

The film is gorgeous—although with a budget of $260 million, it better be. The special effects are all top notch, most notably when Superman takes flight. These sequences are all thrilling and lend themselves to moments of visual poetry: A sequence, for instance, in which Superman hovers in space looking down at the earth below is absolutely breathtaking. The acting is also excellent. Brandon Routh fills the big, red cape admirably, doing the late Christopher Reeve proud. Although looking a tad young for the part, Kate Bosworth captures Lois’s headstrong beauty well, and never falls into the trap of acting like a damsel-in-distress. And, despite being underused, Kevin Spacey is great fun as Luthor, walking a fine line between funny and loathsome.

With so many great elements falling into place, you would expect “Superman Returns” to be better than it is, but despite all the strong performances and exciting visuals, the film’s story falters. This is because there’s never any sense of danger or excitement. As I said before, Superman can do anything. So when that plane starts to crash or that boat starts to sink, you’re never too worried about it because you know that Superman will rush in at the very last minute and save the day (and, sure enough, the film seems to relish in moments in which people looked doomed, and then a red boot or a spit-curl suddenly appears in the corner of the screen). I suppose that, in a superhero movie, you can expect the superhero to prevail. Still, watching Superman shoot through the sky, peer through walls, and blow out fires with his “Super-Breath” feels less and less like extraordinary powers as the film goes on, and more and more like plot devices.

But maybe I’m being a bit too hard on the Big, Blue Bird. I can’t really blame the film for the faults of a character created over seventy years ago. To be fair, “Superman Returns” is a movie that will, no doubt, drive comic book fans wild, and makes for a decent summer popcorn flick. But I can’t help wishing that with all his Super powers, Superman had developed Super-Personality as well.

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