When I went see Superman Returns, my hopes could not have been any higher. 
I thought " Finally a new superman movie!!! After several decades they are finally giving the most iconic superhero his screen time. Man with the recent advances in special effects this movie is going to be...going to be ummm...well SUPER!!! "
 
Then I saw it. What a disappointment. At best the movie barely surfaced above mediocrity.  To its credit, the movie was a love letter to the Richard Donner movies and Christopher Reeves. That was the main issue with this film it worshiped the other movies to a fault. Dont get me wrong I loved the Reeve/Donner movies but Superman Returns' homage to the previous films styles just made me feel like should be watching the previous movies instead. 
This is seen most symbollically with the lead actor.Brandon Routhe resembles reeves...very slightly...but the director tried to pull off every camera trick and angle to maximize that resemblance. They gave the actor very obvious blue eye contacts. For the whole film we didnt see Routhe act as Superman. We saw Routhe act as Christopher Reeves acting as superman. This copy performance results in a very diluted taste.
This dilution is spread throughout the entire movie.
Despite this...Despite superman stalking lois..Despite superman having a child with lois.. Despite all of that I could have forgiven the movie until

This...........

Behold the biggest "screw you" to the Fans!

He had large chunks of earth to protect him.

I think my thoughts are summed up well as well as yours in this review. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BOr1CbyG9so

He had large chunks of earth to protect him.

Also Superman as Deadbeat dad/Creepy stalker didn't help

Lex Luthor and Lois Lane. Didn't do it for me.

I can excuse the New Krypton lifting feat, what I can't excuse is Superman having a son by Lois, they shouldn't be able to cross species breed. Also, Lex wasn't at all intimidating...then again, he wasn't in the original Superman film either. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Michael Rosenbaum is the best live action Lex ever.

This wasn't the reason that the movie was poorly received . . . no one wanted an addition to a 25+ year old franchise with the same Villain and a Superbaby . . . there so many misfires in this movie that they this scene you're spotting here was actually one of the greatest moments in the film.

Though it had major flaws and was quite disappointing, I still watch it whenever its on....

That's your number one reason? How about the acting, the story, over all failure to establish any character depth?

I forgot to include this video earlier which corrects one of the mistakes made by our faithful reviewer http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nit8TyzkQds

This wasn't the reason that the movie was poorly received . . . no one wanted an addition to a 25+ year old franchise with the same Villain and a Superbaby . . . there so many misfires in this movie that they this scene you're spotting here was actually one of the greatest moments in the film.

That's your number one reason? How about the acting, the story, over all failure to establish any character depth?

I honestly feel this movie gets more hate than it deserves. Was it perfect? No movie is, but I really believe this movie was heading in the right direction for what Superman movies need to be. The whole catching a plane was epic, Superman saving all of Metropolis was also pretty epic and showed just how much quick thinking he could be. Show casing how Superman literally could hear EVERYTHING going on in the world, yet through all of the chaos could still be there to stop a runaway car. I mean the showcase of his various abilities, I felt, were displayed pretty well and made for some great scenes in the movie.
 
Really, the only thing I personally hated in the movie was the kid...the kid shouldn't have been there... -__- But everything else I felt were great and still feel this film is picked on more than it should be.

I really hated when superman having child with lois.Kryptonian cant have children with a human!!!

@The Stegmansaid:

I can excuse the New Krypton lifting feat, what I can't excuse is Superman having a son by Lois, they shouldn't be able to cross species breed. Also, Lex wasn't at all intimidating...then again, he wasn't in the original Superman film either. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Michael Rosenbaum is the best live action Lex ever.

@War07 said:

I really hated when superman having child with lois.Kryptonian cant have children with a human!!!

That's not true.

Depends on the continuity and the SR universe never claimed that humans and kryptonians are genetically incompatible.

The whole point of that scene was his resilience. He was weakened terribly when he landed on the island, which is why he went UNDER the island, in order to lift it to space via the earth that it was imbedded in. The Kryptonite pieces started to expand through the rock near the END of that attempt and he fought through it, though it was killing him. And it nearly did.

@80sBaby: I mean in the comic books!!

@War07 said:

@80sBaby: I mean in the comic books!!

Why would you bring up the comics continuity in a thread about the movie?

And, even in the comics, it depends on the continuity. There are Elseworlds and future storylines where Clark and Lois do have children. So, it's not without precedent.

@adamrolls: I think that scene was not a "screw you" but more showcasing his resilience. I personally do not like the movie though it was badly acted, I didn't like the cross species superkid, and the movie failed in the character depth department. I am cautiously optimistic for the Man of Steel though.

@80sBaby: I thought the movie are made from comic.

The only story I know Lois and Clark have a child together is When Ever Happen to the Man of Tomorrow? And the another is the Adventures of Superman where lois died carrying Superman's child!!

@War07: Why would you think that? The movies always make adjustments to accommodate the story/medium. They never match up 100% with the comics.

And have you read DC 1 Million? Remember, Superman and Lois had descendants. And Geoff Johns retconned Conner into being half-human/half-kryptonians. Both these evens were canon to Pre-FP DC.

Also Superman as Deadbeat dad/Creepy stalker didn't help

@80sBaby: No I havent Read DC 1Million.Is it good?

@adamrolls said:

Everything but Lex.

I have condensed your post to a proper size for the masses.

@War07 said:

@80sBaby: No I havent Read DC 1Million.Is it good?

Yes, very good.

I suggest you get the trades.

*faceplam* this movie gets so much undeserved hate from people that just jump on a band wagon and pick up thing that have already been thrown at it. The movie was exactly what it was meant to be a homage to the past movies that it was a sequel too.In terms of acting the actors did a great job Brandon Roth was a great Clark Kent / Superman Kevin spacey was a great Lex Luther and who ever played Louis lane was great too. Now on to the kid.Superman was away for five years at the start of the movie so he was away when Louis gave birth and didn't find out about his son till much later on in the film and lois most luckily knew but didn't want to say anything cause every one was happy with the current arrangement. So I'll end on this judge a movie any movie on its own merest and form your own opinion don't go on a website and bitch about something that has been bitched about well over a 100 times....now I'm going to make a cup of tea

It's kind of an anally retentive reason to make this the number one reason the movie was bad. So you're saying that if there hadn't been chunks of kryptonite jutting through the bottom of the island around Superman, that would have made up for the fact that the movie was 2 hours of wasted potential and dullness?

I did not like the spandex costume and the glasses disguise which was just too silly in live action. I also don't like kryptonite which makes superman look dumb. Nothing much happened in the movie and it was like a one hour tv show that will continue next week. Most episodes of the Smallville tv show were actually more interesting than the movie.

 
 
@HeroFromKrypton: @HeroFromKrypton said:

It's kind of an anally retentive reason to make this the number one reason the movie was bad. So you're saying that if there hadn't been chunks of kryptonite jutting through the bottom of the island around Superman, that would have made up for the fact that the movie was 2 hours of wasted potential and dullness?
 

@adamrolls: I think that scene was not a "screw you" but more showcasing his resilience. I personally do not like the movie though it was badly acted, I didn't like the cross species superkid, and the movie failed in the character depth department. I am cautiously optimistic for the Man of Steel though.

I saw it when I was about 11, I bored to death.

It was just boring. I always found it kinda odd how they can make a boring movie about a character whos main book is titled "ACTION COMICS".

I viewed that as a feat of Superman's perseverance and tenacity.

SR was terrible not also because of the acting. Routh was not bad. He was just given a few lines. It wasn't his fault. I'd rather blame the casting. They were too young.

SR was terrible because of the lack of action and the lovechild and the overuse of Luthor.

The film was terrible in general, while it could be decent enough or even better, it could be great. The main problem in my point of view? It wasn't interesting. I thought I was watching Superman 1 all over again with some additions that were making it even more dull and quite frankly more pointless and stupid. I liked Routh as Supes/Clark. I wanted to watch a second Superman effort with him. Never happened. C'est la vie. Let's see what happens with Man of Steel (crossing fingers).

the costume was not great,superman's hair were ridiculous(i just don't get why superman must use a fuck##g ton of gel)but the main problem is that it was..boring.there was no conflict ,supes just liftted stuff most of the times thoug it was amazing when he pulled the island into space or when he stopped the plane.

however it wasn't SO bad as many people believe. i just hope that MOS will be different,more action,a better and more modern costume,henry cavil as superman and a very god director who knwos the meaning of the word :epic.

I also want to add that even if the island wasn't made of kryptonite it would still be physically impossible since it would crumble completely and it actually goes against the laws of physics and he'd be lucky if he could get the whole island off by himself because it would i fact require a whole team of kryptonians to lift that thing.

I also want to add that even if the island wasn't made of kryptonite it would still be physically impossible since it would crumble completely and it actually goes against the laws of physics and he'd be lucky if he could get the whole island off by himself because it would i fact require a whole team of kryptonians to lift that thing.

I have to agree some of the Superman stunts are just too unscientific so adults can't take Superman seriously.

I have to agree some of the Superman stunts are just too unscientific so adults can't take Superman seriously.

• sure he can fly
• sure he has heat vision
• sure he moves super-fast
  
• sure he can unbelievably large heavy things
• Sure he has tactile telekinesis  to keep the unbelievably large objects from crumbling under his own weight
• So this guy can do whatever he wants..hmmm I don't think you'll get much dramatic tension from stories built around him...oh wait he has a weakness? wow it weakens him immediately? and could kill him?..wow thats interesting.

• Oh wait it doesn't weaken him if he tries really really really hard.. and doesn't give up...and believes in himself...and uses the power of love... and all the children in the world clap for him

@Kal'smahboi said:

The whole point of that scene was his resilience. He was weakened terribly when he landed on the island, which is why he went UNDER the island, in order to lift it to space via the earth that it was imbedded in. The Kryptonite pieces started to expand through the rock near the END of that attempt and he fought through it, though it was killing him. And it nearly did.

This, also he Sun dipped before the attempt and he got closer to the sun (or at least less filtering) as he was being exposed and he was in orbit once he was exposed - so leaving earth's gravity, meaning less gravity (as you move away from the Earth's core). Also, OP is overlooking the basics which is; this was done for emphasis (on his resilience).

@adamrolls said:

When I went see Superman Returns, my hopes could not have been any higher.
I thought " Finally a new superman movie!!! After several decades they are finally giving the most iconic superhero his screen time. Man with the recent advances in special effects this movie is going to be...going to be ummm...well SUPER!!! "

Then I saw it. What a disappointment. At best the movie barely surfaced above mediocrity. To its credit, the movie was a love letter to the Richard Donner movies and Christopher Reeves. That was the main issue with this film it worshiped the other movies to a fault. Dont get me wrong I loved the Reeve/Donner movies but Superman Returns' homage to the previous films styles just made me feel like should be watching the previous movies instead.
This is seen most symbollically with the lead actor.Brandon Routhe resembles reeves...very slightly...but the director tried to pull off every camera trick and angle to maximize that resemblance. They gave the actor very obvious blue eye contacts. For the whole film we didnt see Routhe act as Superman. We saw Routhe act as Christopher Reeves acting as superman. This copy performance results in a very diluted taste.
This dilution is spread throughout the entire movie.
Despite this...Despite superman stalking lois..Despite superman having a child with lois.. Despite all of that I could have forgiven the movie until

This...........

Behold the biggest "screw you" to the Fans!

Remember when Superman landed on the island and was immediately beaten by Luther and the thugs. It wasnt a graduate loss of power...The power loss was so quick superman didnt even realize had been depowered to the strength of a normal man
I know when I'm watching a superman flick I have to check plausibility at the door , but when you establish that kryptonite weakens superman to the strength of a mortal man immediately, you better stick that parameter!!
Cut to 5 minutes later you see superman straight up lifting the Kryptonite Island with Kryptonite Crystal Phallic Symbols pointed right at face.
How Is this Possible?
No way did flying up in above the clouds for a little sunlight make him invincible to kryptonite. He had been exposed sunlight be fore and he was still depowered when he landed on the Island... How did this Happen? Well this what I think happened. The writers wrote themselves into a corner. Luthor built a kryptonite island and supeman is completely depowered when he is around Kryptonite . The writers needed a climactic resolution so they said "screw the rules we established earlier, Lets just have superman lift the Kryptonite Island" Well Those are my thoughts ...What are yours on this movie

He flew into space where our magnetic field and ozone layer do not block any of the sun and saturated himself with solar energy. it made sense to me that it would take time for the kryptonite to sap his p[owers and strength. And he wasn't 9nvulnerable to the Kryptonite. It eventually sent him into a coma.

I didn't have a problem with that, I had a problem with there being no super-villain for him to slug it out with.

@adamrolls said:

@drgnx: Yes i get that he exposed himself to the sun before the "feat"...but he was exposed to the sun before this. So he went a little bit above the clouds he gets more and got some sunshine. i suppose it would make him stronger. But the kryptonite is an off switch to his powers... its not a gradual loss of power... atleast thats how they show it in the movie.Superman landed on the island he was powerless immediate. He came there being able to fly...use heat vision...lift heavy ..things and once he landed he was beaten up like three guys... This is the same superman from superman 1 with reeves right? in that one luthor put the kryptonite necklace on him and he was drowning in water... again super man flew and superburrowed himself into the lair..he was obviously energized enough to do that effortlessy . Then he is exposed to kryptonite and is immediately weakened. I get that they were trying to show resilience but they just made it silly.

Well, you are assuming it was an instant switch, but it could also just be that it drains quicker at his normal power levels, but when charged he has a bit more leeway, depending on how much he has charged (think of draining a tank), that and he could have dug deeper into his reserves to further stave off the effects. Then on top of this, it was probably exaggerated in the movie, a little, for effect.

At the end of the day, K has always been a plot device, it is the same in the comics, so not sure why it would surprise you that it is used like this in the movie.

It's bad enough that Superman lifts the Kryptonite continent but they got the whole crystal thing wrong. In the first Superman only the green crystal was used to create Superman's home. And then in the second one (in both the theatrical and Richard Donner cut pretty much) he uses the green crystal to get his power back. The clear crystals were just mostly recorded information, except for the parts when they had a heart to heart talk with him about becoming human.
Really late reply but I just rewatched th movie last night to see if it was a bad as I remember. And it was.

It was just so f'n boring.

Trying to force Lois Lane into a story and making a story revolve around her.

Nice to see that old threads are bumped instead of creating new ones. It happens a lot lately and I like it.

As for the topic. No that isn't the number one reason imo. The horrible son/deadbeat dad sub-plot is.

Oh, man it was horrible.

The sub plots, the acting, the story, the plot holes, Singer wasn't performing at his best when he made Superman Returns. He tried to copy Donner too much and the writers made too much of a mess of the overall narrative and characters in this story. Superman leaving Earth for 5 years was dumb too. Still, at least the plane rescuing scene was superbly shot.