10. Superman Returns (2006)
Perhaps I’m jaded, but, quite honestly, the Superman films of old never did anything for me. I was probably too busy getting past the fact that Superman saved the day by spinning the earth, and therefore, somehow, time, backwards. I also wasn’t ever really a huge fan of the incredibly powerful character to begin with, and when the movies added memory-erasing kisses, hints of mind reading, and, lest we forget, super cellophane chest emblems, I admit, I lost interest! Fast forward to 2006, when Bryan Singer managed to make me actually care about this almost-impervious savior. Christopher Reeve will always be the ideal cinematic Superman, I admit, but Brandon Routh is a perfectly good substitute as both Clark Kent as well as Superman, whose immense powers are fully embraced in Singer’s portrayal of the Kryptonian messiah.
His powers are somewhat lessened in the film, and the effects of Kryptonite have been altered to not take immediate effect, but this makes the agony he goes through to save the world from Kevin Spacey's delectably hammy Lex Luthor all the more dramatic and effective. I imagine the feeling of excitement I felt upon Superman’s reappearance was something along the lines of how viewers first felt in 1978 when Christopher Reeve first appeared on screen wearing the red and blue. Superman’s sacrificial lifting of the kryptonite island is a thing of dramatic beauty. When the desperate citizens of Metropolis race to save the impervious man, you’d be hard pressed to not feel like shedding a tear.
The movie has its flaws, for sure. Kate Bosworth's bored performance as Lois Lane is particularly atrocious – a simple recasting with Rachel McAdams would’ve done wonders! James Marsden is also wasted as the unfortunate fiancée, and the movie sloppily follows up on Superman II by throwing in a super-powered son, but Kevin Spacey’s continuation of Gene Hackman’s humorous, hammy portrayal of Lex Luthor and Parker Posey’s snarky, sympathetic sidekick are fantastic. Perhaps its greatest feat, however, is making me truly care about Superman himself. Too bad they’re rebooting…
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