In Defense of Brandon Routh's Superman

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Critics, and moviegoers for that matter, can be hypocritical.

It happens all the time, especially with remakes, reboots, and re-whatever-you-want-to-call-them these days. But there’s one cinematic instance where film pundits and opinionated viewers constantly contradicted themselves: Superman Returns.

Crash-landing in the summer of 2006, Director Bryan Singer (X-Men franchise) chose Brandon Routh as the titular character. Upon that announcement, journalistic stirrings regarding how much he looked like the beloved last guy (Christopher Reeve) who played the iconic superhero bubbled up as symbols of hope for a long-awaited 19 year revival.

Then the big-budget juggernaut flew into theaters. And by box office blockbuster standards, it barely made a dent.

Even with a worldwide theatrical gross of $391 million, financially it couldn’t offset the production budget of $209 million. Sure it probably recouped some the lackluster big-screen cash on the flourishing DVD market at the time, yet that detail was not what critics/journalists were focusing (blaming) on during its D.O.A. reception.

Brandon Routh, a virtual unknown, was hit by a speeding locomotive (yes, at times we’re super cheesy here at Crave) of unwarranted slams. Reviewers like the late Roger Ebert all complained about the flick, devoting at least one negative paragraph to Routh’s “charisma-free” performance.

Now if this was court room, as a lawyer, I would spin a tale or anecdote that shows how these people drew this conclusion; which in taking this boring route would make you believe something like After Earth is vibrant and entertaining. But being the blunt guy that I am, allow me to provide the evidence in one concise sentence: The things these naysayers negatively articulated about Routh were coincidentally the same factors/reasons that had them all fawning over Christopher Reeve’s four-movie run as the man of steel. Hell, some of them blatantly say that in their write-up!

First off, the script didn’t do Routh, or anyone else who leaped (more cheese anyone?) into this sucker, any favors. And people whose intelligence was apparently insulted with sequences such as the convenience of seeing Clark Kent returning to his old job at the Daily Planet right about the same time Supes reappears, is just laughable. Seriously people… understand the (comic-book) history. Furthermore, can we please cut the crap about how the glasses don’t “disguise him?!” No one was bitching in the ‘80s. Though I fully admit liberties can, and should, be taken with this particular plot element – something that Man of Steel will more than likely tweak under the guise of director Zack Snyder and writers David S. Goyer and Nolan – take an intelligent breath.

The above paragraph refers to a tactic called “being reverent” my foolish friends. Granted, it may not make for a glorious entertaining comic-book movie, and I’m sure Nolan’s game-changing take on the Batman mythology the year before didn’t do this flick any favors either, but cut Routh some slack. He boldly played through a mediocre movie and if you really go back and watch it in an unbiased manner he may have given the standout performance, despite the brief dialogue execution that hampered the flick.

And think about it, do you really think he had a choice at that point in his career on how to play the red-caped character? Superman Returns was essentially a remake of 1983’s Superman III. And in most instances, if a filmmaker and/or actor fail to emulate the original material (and spare me how far the Superman history goes back… I know) both critics and fans virtually riot. Knowing that, does it make any sense at all why he is quite-often saddled with being the kryptonite to this reincarnation – that really wasn’t?

So to Brandon Routh, wherever you are (hopefully not making movies like Dylan Dog: Dead of Night at the moment), allow me to apologize for my blast-heat-vision-first-ask-Clark-Kent-questions-later journos and comment board thugs. The screen they watched you on must’ve been made of lead, for it stymied their respective critical superpowers on your respectful super display of homage.