A Superman Returns Movie Date

I've got to say, I was impressed. I had high hopes for the movie and it delivered for me big time.

But, let me begin at the beginning. I took another day off today to enjoy the day with the wife. It's been a while since we've gone on a date together and Superman Returns was a perfect movie to take her out to. Our daughter was at school and it was my son's day at daycare so we had the day to ourselves. We do this occasionally, taking time off from being full time parents and just enjoying each others company for a day. We don't generally do much except watch movies and eat out.

We decided to watch the movie at the Norwood Cinemas. After dropping off the kids, we drove to the Norwood shops and to have some coffee and a bit of breakfast. Norwood is a nice suburb just adjacent Adelaide with upscale shops and restaurants. It was great to enjoy a leisurely breakfast and have an adult conversation over the morning papers. I know this is what a few out there take for granted but it's a decent break for us.

After breakfast, we took in the early showing of the movie and were lucky enough to grab discounted movie tickets as well. ( For those in Australia, Coca-cola has a promo where you bring in 3 labels of any coke product and you get tickets for 5 dollars. It's not well known so I'm spreading the word. :) ).

At any rate, on to the movie. ( Caution: may contain spoilers! ) Like I said, I was impressed. Bryan Singer hit all the right notes with his version of Superman. His love of comic books and the history around Superman showed. From the keeping of the classic Superman theme by John Williams to the addition of the iconic scene that appeared in the cover of Action Comics #1, with Superman hoisting the car over his head.

Brandon Routh was an excellent choice, I have to say. It must have been the costume or the physique but at times he had that Christopher Reeve look about him. Reeve took Superman the character as his own ever since he made the first movie in 1978 and for me, every time I think of Superman I picture him in my mind. Routh has definitely took the elements that made Reeve's Superman work, the cheeky grin, the self assured swagger as Supes and the bumbling elements of Clark and he's made Superman his own. He's not Christopher Reeve and that's all good.

The plane rescue sequence was one of the best action sequences I've seen in recent times. It was heart thumping and breathtaking and I was glad we watched the movie in the big screen. That sequence in in itself was worth the price of admission. I was sort of let down that none of the action set pieces after that seemed to approach the same level.

And the big question: Superman's son? Well, all I can say, it's been done before in a few graphic novels and comic books so it's not new. However, if there is going to be a sequel, I kind of feel bad that Brandon Routh would have to share billing with a super kid, if they wanted to tie up that plot point. I think Routh deserves to have a sequel by himself as Superman. He may be on the road to typecasting but it's going to be a fantastic ride.

Anyway, it was an enjoyable flick and the wife and I were humming the Superman theme as we went out the cinema. People may have their gripes but as far as superhero movies go, it's probably not as good as Batman Begins but then, it's infinitely better than Daredevil.

We then had a nice lunch at a nearby Asian restaurant. Nothing fancy, just some Pad Thai, Singapore Noodles and Penang Beef Curry but it was yummy. After lunch, we walked around some of the shops along Norwood. I wasn't planning on it but I was able to pick myself up a new toy, but that's another blog post. :)



We didn't stay out long as it was close to 3PM and our daughter would be coming out of school any minute. As we drove back to pick her up, we still had that Superman theme still running in our heads, and for sure we'd be picking Superman Returns on DVD when it gets released.