Word: supermans
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...SUPERMAN RETURNS...
...CHALLENGE The problem with Superman is that he doesn't have enough problems. He can pretty much do anything-dude has superbreath-and apart from the kryptonite thing, he's pretty much invulnerable. And oh, my stars, what a do-gooder. Where's the inner conflict? Or the outer conflict, for that matter? He's not dark and troubled like Batman or Wolverine, or cute and clueless like Spider...
WHAT'S NEW You can't openly monkey with the Superman mythology--there are probably federal laws against it-so to reinvent him director Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, the X-Men movies) went subtle, quietly tweaking canonical story lines to roil Supe's placid emotional waters. When the movie opens, Big Blue has been gone for five years, and he gets back to find that Lois Lane has a new guy (!) and a kid (!!). Now, wouldn't that ruffle your spit curl...
...BUZZ The set radiated bad p.r.: there were rumors of reshoots and wild budget overruns (the reported cost is a mighty $185 million). And do comic-book fans really care if Superman is a lover as well as a fighter? New guy Routh fills out the blue tights, and Spacey looks like a deliciously loony Lex Luthor, but Clark Kent might need to find a new beat. -By Lev Grossman...
...CHALLENGE The X-Men have a problem. Not the threat of Magneto or the fact that a pharmaceutical company has come up with a "cure" for mutancy (jeez, can't we all just get along?). The issue is the loss of Singer (to Superman), who directed the first two movies, and his replacement by Brett Ratner (Rush Hour, Red Dragon), who hasn't yet shown Singer's talent for the shadowy action sequences that are the franchise's specialty. Oh, and Frasier Crane is the Beast...