Finally.
Having missed it at the cinema and on several occasions since, Dave would finally get the chance to see the long awaited Superman Returns, thanks to the great site TV-Links.
The last line Superman says to Lex in Superman IV is "See you in twenty". Coincidently, that movie was released in 1986 and the new movie was released 20 years later, 2006. Dave had started to wonder if he would see it before 2026.
So what was it about?
The father sends the son to Earth. The exact relationship between father and son described as "The father becomes the son and the son becomes the father." The son, although clearly the saviour of the human race, is met with resentment. "The world doesn't need a saviour". He is beaten and humiliated and, despite knowing he is going to die, he still chooses to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, to remove the burden which will destroy mankind whilst sacrificing himself. The life fades from his body, whilst his arms are stretched out to either side in the shape of a cross. A deadly spear in his side ultimately striking the final blow.
But low and behold! The saviour is not dead! The bed in which he lay is now empty! Superman Returns. Oh, and just to put the icing on the cake, the father son thing is repeated with Superman's kid, which kinda makes it a Trinity.
Well, if your gonna rip off a story it might as well be from the best selling book of all time right?
The movie had at least two fairly major plot holes. The first, how could Superman possibly lift an Island/Continent into space when it was laced with Kryptonite and he still had a chunk of Kryptonite in his side? Sure, the Kryptonite in the Island was probably "diluted" and he dug down far beneath the Island to give him some protection and he got a lovely fix from the Sun just before doing it, but he still had a chunk of pretty damn pure looking Kryptonite in his side which wasn't removed till he got to the hospital. He should have been barely able to walk. How is Lex suppose to do anything if Superman doesn't play by the rules?
The second regards his son. Since Clark was surprised to see Lois was with someone, presumably she didn't start going out with Richard till after he left. Since he also has all the knowledge of the advanced Kryptonian people, one would think he could count. Although the audience didn't know anything about the physical side of Clark and Lois' relationship, presumably he did. He slept with her about 5 years ago. She has a child about 4.5 years old. Hmm.
Presumably, since there wasn't any overlap between her relationships with Richard and Superman, she and Richard should have been pretty certain Richard wasn't the real dad too. Ignoring all the "Who's the daddy" nonsense, Superman is an asshole.
Without knowing they slept together, his disappearence without saying goodbye is bad, but acceptable. He always kept her at a bit of a distance. He had to be "Super"man, someone above all the relationship stuff. But would a quick, "My homeworld may have been found. I need to go check." have really been so hard? Considering they slept together, that takes it to a whole new level. He's now one of those guys who just pop out to get the milk and are never seen again. Not knowing she was pregnant is no excuse and in fact adds to the crime, since it makes it more and more likely he slept with her and just wasn't around the next day. Lois forgives him way too quick. Come on girl, so he can fly, get over it.
Not many people could pull off being the saviour and a dick in one film.
I guess that's what makes him Super.
