Fridae

Look, up in the sky! It's a bird... it's a plane... it's Bryan
Singer! Yes folks, Superman may the hero of this movie, but in the
eyes of some LGBT cinephiles, the real hero is the movie's director
Bryan Singer.

If you don't already know, Bryan is an openly gay director who
stirred up quite a bit of controversy when he was asked to direct
Superman. For months, homophobic netizens speculated that he would
turn the Man of Steel into a Man of Steel Magnolias, even though
Bryan had by-then directed two hugely successful X-Men movies.

But as it turns out, there is nothing sissy about Bryan's vision
of Superman. Yes, the superhero is more sensitive and romantic than
any of his previous screen incarnations. But that only lends truth,
depth and emotionality to the new Superman character.

In fact, Bryan's homosexuality and his understanding of what it
means to be an "outsider" have translated well in Superman's context
— just as they did in the X-Men movies. Superman is portrayed as
someone who would never truly belong with the human race and would
never be able to settle down with his human lover, Lois Lane. In
fact, a scene in which Superman secretly watches Lois having dinner
with her fiance and son conveys what it feels like when a gay man
secretly watches his straight male crush hang out with his girlfriend...
sigh...

The story begins with Superman (Brandon Routh) returning to Earth
after going AWOL for five years. Superman, you see, has been flying
to every corner of the universe in search of his real home. But
now that he's back, he is shocked to discover that the love of his
life, Lois (Kate Bosworth), has a son and a fiance (James Marsden).
Not only that, Lois had — in Superman's absence — written a scathing
column titled Why the world doesn't need Superman.

But she couldn't be more wrong. Superman's arch nemesis Lex Luthor
(Kevin Spacey) has just been released from prison with a dastardly
plan to flood the United States and create his own continent. It
is up to Superman to save the world once again...

Playing the iconic superhero, newcomer Brandon Routh is surprisingly
charming and convincing. He switches effortlessly between his geeky
Clark Kent persona and his heroic Superman character. Kevin Spacey
is fun to watch as the evil Lex Luthor, as is actress Parker Posey
as Lex's moll. The only letdown is Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane. She
may be extremely cute and sexy, but her portrayal of Lois is somewhat
flat — especially when compared to the previous Lois Lanes played
by feisty Teri Hatcher and Margot Kidder.

Still, Superman Returns delivers almost everything that you would
expect from a big-event movie — stunts, special effects, sass, spunk
and most importantly, soul.