72
Metascore
40 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100TimeRichard CorlissTimeRichard CorlissThe best Hollywood movies always knew how to sneak a beguiling subtext into a crowd-pleasing story. Superman Returns is in that grand tradition. That's why it's beyond Super. It's superb.
- 90VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthyGrandly conceived and sensitively drawn.
- 90NewsweekDavid AnsenNewsweekDavid AnsenThis Superman, which infuses its action with poetry, soars as a love story filled with epic yearnings, thwarted desires and breathtaking imagery.
- 88ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliSuperman Returns is not only a credit to the first two Superman movies; it may be the best of the series. Its combination of romance and fantasy adventure is unparalleled in superhero comic book-to-movie sagas.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttDirector Bryan Singer positions this new film as a sequel to Donner's film, and his Superman -- played with winning fortitude by newcomer Brandon Routh -- is less a Man of Steel than a Man of Heart.
- 75Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanThe surprise of Superman Returns is that it isn't a funky, ambitious conceptual reimagining, like last summer's "Batman Begins." This really IS your father's Superman; it re-creates - and updates, though just barely - the universe Donner invented.
- 75Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversSuperman returns with a bang. Singer tarnishes his hero's halo with just enough sexual longing and self-doubt to make him riveting and relatable. That "S" on his suit has a whole new meaning: He's a Soul man.
- 50The New YorkerAnthony LaneThe New YorkerAnthony LanePicture my disappointment as I realized that, for all the pizzazz of Superman Returns, its global weapon of choice would not be terrorism, or nuclear piracy, or dirty bombs. It would be real estate. What does Warner Bros. have in mind for the next installment? Superman overhauls corporate pension plans? Luthor screws Medicare?
- 50Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertWhen the hero, his alter ego, his girlfriend and the villain all seem to lack any joy in being themselves, why should we feel joy at watching them?
- 40New York Magazine (Vulture)New York Magazine (Vulture)The bigger problem is that Singer’s weighty rhythms are disastrous for Superman, and the movie actually gets heavier in its last half-hour.