Why the world needs Superman

Warning: this article probably contains some spoilers. If you haven't seen the movie but are planning on watching it read with caution...

I caught Superman Returns on cable the other night. I've never been a big fan of Superman and wasn't expecting much but I ended up being very pleasantly surprised.

The film takes place after the events of the second Christopher Reeve film. As the story begins no one has seen or heard from Superman in quite some time. He left (apparently quite abruptly) five years earlier in search of his home planet of Krypton, an ultimately fruitless endeavor. A lot has changed in his absence. Lois Lane has a child and a "prolonged engagement" to be married. His arch-nemesis, Lex Luther, has appealed his jail sentence and been released. Neither one is very happy with the man of steel.

In the first major action sequence Superman attempts to rescue Lois Lane and her fellow passengers on a jumbo jet plummeting to earth. He tries to steady the plane by grabbing the wing, only to have it rip from the fuselage. As he races to catch up the other wing tears free and he flies right through it. He gets to the front of the plane and tries to slow it descent. The scene switches to a professional baseball game, as spectators and players notice the jet plunging towards the field. At the last minute Superman manages to bring the jet to a stop, setting it down on the field. There is a moment of stunned silence and then the crowd erupts. If you are a sports fan you know that sound - it reminded me of Aaron Boone's eleventh inning home run in the seventh game of the 2003 ALCS. It is the shared sound of tens of thousands of people reacting instinctively to the absolutely incredible, and it rang so true that in that moment this movie had me hooked.

Brandon Routh does a great job both as Superman and Clark Kent, admirably filling the enormous shoes of the late, great Christopher Reeves. Kate Bosworth is an excellent Lois Lane. My favorite performance was by the always enjoyable Kevin Spacey. His portrayal of Lex Luther is sublime - you constantly sense a seething psychosis bubbling underneath the cool, brilliant exterior.

The special effects are very well done as is the set design, which gives the movie a vintage feel. The love triangle subplot (perhaps "love square" is a more adequate description, as there is some initial doubt regarding the paternity of Lois' son) is believable and satisfying, as is it's somewhat ambiguous resolution. Although for the most part the movie treats the material seriously when they do try to inject a little humor the results generally made me chuckle.

What I found most interesting was the mythical subtext, the idea of Superman as a sort of Christ-like figure. It's clearly there, although you can easily ignore it and still enjoy the movie. In one scene, as Superman soars through the clouds, we hear his father's voice: "They can be a great people Kal-El. They wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you, my only son". In another scene, floating above the city with Lois Lane, Superman tells her to listen, and asks if she hears anything. She tells him she doesn't, to which he replies "I hear everything. You wrote that the world doesn't need a savior, but every day I hear people crying for one".

The imagery is there as well. There's Lex Luther stabbing the weakened and beaten Superman with a jagged piece of kryptonite. Later, when Superman saves the planet, and billions of lives, his "burden" is literally portrayed, as well as the sacrifice he makes in the process, illustrated by shards of deadly kryptonite, reminiscent of thorns. After successfully completing the task, he falls back to earth, seemingly unconscious, arms spread wide. The crucifixion allusion is hard to miss.

This is just a comic book superhero, right? Certainly Superman is lacking in historical tradition. At the same time he is an iconic figure of American culture in the age of mass media. He is a symbol of strength and selflessness, freedom and justice, ideals which we profess to hold dear. In some sense he represents America at it's finest, an America we all want to believe exists, using his power to make the world a better place while asking for nothing in return. As an American citizen concerned with my country's current standing in the world community it was refreshing to watch a film that focused on this and allowed me to forget for a moment the message being sent by our current leadership's foreign policy. And although I am not at all religious I found the movie uplifting for the simple fact that it presented a hero who is unambiguously good. You can dismiss that if you like, but personally I think that sort of sneering sense of sophistication is one of the reasons people have been listening to the politicians who say "they hate us for our freedom".