Cinema - Superman (12A)

If you’re a fan of MTV you may have recognised Brandon Routh from Christina Aguilera’s ‘What a Girl Wants’ video, but other than a brief appearance on ‘Will & Grace’ he was a complete unknown in the UK. That of course all changed this summer when he started to appear on billboards throughout the land as part of the Superman Returns promotional machine. Director Bryan Singer reputedly wanted a new, fresh-faced unknown actor to relaunch the comic book hero into our communal psyche – and because he looks so much like the old Superman, Christopher Reeve, it hasn’t been difficult to do. But this time round Superman isn’t just a plain superhero – he is the saviour of the world and it is very difficult to ignore the Christ-like references throughout the film, especially when Marlon Brando is spliced from the 1978 original to let us know he has sent his son to save the world.

This may make the film sound implausible (as if a man flying through the air, ripping the wing off a plane doesn’t) - but it works. Routh is very good. He manages to be believable, charismatic, strong and sensitive all at the same time, and Kevin Spacey is magical as the villain Lex Luther. Lois Lane is disappointing, she should be lot more feisty and a lot less flighty, but the plot is fast and exhilarating and the fact that Superman now has a son leaves us with endless possibilities for future films. Nice new spandex suit too. KA