Superman Returns

Superman Returns is a 2006 superhero film directed and produced by Bryan Singer. It is based on the DC Comics character Superman and serves as a homage sequel to the motion pictures Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980), ignoring the events of Superman III (1983) and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987).

Plot
While his arch-nemesis, Lex Luthor, plots to destroy him once and for all, Superman returns to Earth after a five-year absence and finds that the world has drastically changed during his absence. Lois Lane has moved on with her life, and society has learned to survive without him. Superman must find a way to reconnect with her and find his place in a world that may no longer need him.

Why It's Great

 * 1) It brought back the iconic Superman that we all know and love while reintroducing him with a new actor, Brandon Routh (who would later play Ray Palmer/The Atom on Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow).
 * 2) The ensemble cast does a decent job replacing the cast from the original Superman films.
 * 3) Bryan Singer, the director of X-Men, did an amazing job handling a new, non-Marvel property.
 * 4) The iconic John Williams theme returns, remastered for the 21st century by John Ottman (who also did the opening theme for X2: X-Men United).
 * 5) The cinematic disasters that were Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace have been retconned out of existence by this film.
 * 6) The glorious recreation of the 'Superman catches a falling plane' scene.
 * 7) Marlon Brando's opening narration from the first movie is reused in the opening of the film. It even includes quotes that had previously been unused.
 * 8) * On a related note, Marlon Brando posthumously reprising his role as Jor-El through the use of archive footage combined with CGI was quite an impressive feat at the time.
 * 9) Awesome visual effects.
 * 10) 15 years later, Brandon Routh would return to play Superman from Earth-96 in the CW's tv event adaptation of "Crisis on Infinite Earths".

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Not enough action scenes.
 * 2) Kate Bosworth is badly miscast as Lois Lane.
 * 3) No villains just only Lex Luthor, Kitty Kowalski, his 3 henchmen, and gunmen shooting Superman to his eyes.
 * 4) Misuse of Kal Penn, not to mention the fact that he has zero dialogue.
 * 5) Superman's suit from this movie hasn't aged too well with the red shorts and his "s" shield belt feel too "comic booky".
 * 6) The runtime feels rushed.

Reception
Superman Returns currently holds a 75% "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average of 7/10.

Box Office
The film opened up at #1 on its opening weekend with a domestic gross of $52,535,096. It would later make a domestic gross of $200,081,192. In overseas markets, the film made $191,000,000. Overall, the film made a worldwide gross of $391,081,192 against its $204 million budget. Despite getting praise from critics and audiences, the film was a box office disappointment.