Routh doesn't quite fill Reeve's cape but has charms

As we all know, Superman is the Zeus in the pantheon of comic-book superheroes: the first of our pulp culture's do-gooder man-gods, the longest lasting (68 years), the most fanatically followed (think of Seinfeld's obsession) and the one with the most complex mythology.

MOVIE REVIEW

SUPERMAN RETURNS

DIRECTOR: Bryan Singer

CAST: Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey

RUNNING TIME: 154 minutes

RATING: PG-13 for some intense action violence

GRADE: A-

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Superman also is a premise that has worked in virtually all media: comic books, comic strips, animation, the radio (where much of his back story was developed), four television series over 50 years and a big-budget movie cycle in the '70s and '80s.

He also works in "Superman Returns," an immensely satisfying revival and continuation of that Warner Bros. movie series, which comes to us after a lag of 19 years with a new Superman (Brandon Routh) and some $180 million worth of digital effects.

It's not quite a runaway success, the casting is hit-and-miss and there's nothing hugely innovative in the story line or the effects. In an era full of superhero movies, it's not likely to have anything close to the impact of the '79 version with Christopher Reeve.

But the film is magnificently mounted, it moves like a speeding bullet and it's so respectful of Superman traditions that even the pickiest of die-hard fans should love it. After a lapse of two decades, it revitalizes the franchise and makes it seem fresh and alive.

The story has Superman returning to Earth after a five-year sojourn in which he's been exploring a fragment of his home planet Krypton that has been floating around the universe since its destruction. (Exactly why it took him five years to do this is not explained.)

He crash-lands on the Kent family farm, has a tearful reunion with his widowed mother (Eva Marie Saint) and returns to Metropolis, where he finds Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) has a small child and a Pulitzer Prize for an article on "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman."

The Man of Steel also finds that his nemesis, Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey), has gotten out of jail, uncovered the Fortress of Solitude and is using the secrets stored there to fuel another of his ambitious, genocidal real-estate deals.

As Superman sets out to stop him, the ghost that hangs over the movie is the late Christopher Reeve, whose looks, dash and deadpan humor made him the definitive Superman and whose grit in the wake of his tragic accident made him a symbol of never-give-up courage.

It's a tough act to follow and Routh doesn't quite do it. Still, he's likable, he has charisma, he looks like a cross between Reeve and Tom Cruise, he mimics Reeve's charm well in several scenes and he's about the best we could expect in an impossible situation.

The same cannot be said for much of the rest of the casting, including Frank Langella, Parker Posey, James Marsden -- all surprisingly lackluster -- and Kate Bosworth, whose somber Lois has none of the spunky appeal Margot Kidder brought to the role.

Effects junkies also may reasonably complain that, for all its mega-budget, the visuals of the first CGI-enhanced Superman do not exactly boggle the senses, advance the art form or seem that much more impressive that the non-digital work in "Superman" I and II.

But, while hardly groundbreaking, the visual effect of a man convincingly soaring through the air still imparts quite a thrill, and director Bryan Singer skillfully uses it to carry the movie and anchor several exhilarating action sequences.

And some of the film's weaker casting choices are made up for by Kevin Spacey, whose Lex Luthor strikes just the right chord of cheeky demented genius and gives the film an agreeable touch of comedy and anarchy. It's his best movie performance since "American Beauty."

Above all, the film works off the dedication of writer-director Singer ("X-Men" I and II), whose love of Superman tradition and the Superman movies is legendary, and who turned down the third "X-Men" for the chance to direct this film.

Instead of trying to reinvent or modernize Superman, Singer has struggled to retain the things we love about him, taking him into the 21st century but retaining his '30s newspaper world, where the Internet has no presence and eager cub reporters still wear bow ties.

Singer finds just the right tone to tell his story, winking at some of the absurdities of the premise (no one notices Superman and Clark Kent look alike) but otherwise taking it seriously, and avoiding the tongue-in-cheek self-awareness that ruined "Superman" III and IV.

His film is, at its core, a kind of museum of Superman: reusing the irresistible John Williams score, re-creating the original film's title sequence, loading it with cameo appearances of "Superman" movie and TV veterans, and obscure references to the mythos.

At the same time, the film has a life and pull of its own that comes from Singer's unique vision and desire to revitalize the character and make him relevant. It's a nice blend, and it gives "Superman Returns" a spark that few action blockbusters of its class can match.

P-I movie critic William Arnold can be reached at 206-448-8185 or williamarnold@seattlepi.com.