Superman

More and more news of Bryan Singer's exciting new Superman movie, due for release next Summer emerges every day - and with access to bluetights.net and Singer's daily video log of the production it is easy to jump on the hype bandwagon. Seeing pictures of the new guy (Brandon Routh) in the famous costume and in the garb of mild mannered reporter Clark Kent you can't help but think back to Christopher Reeve. This led me to go out and buy the original 2 movies (3 and 4 don't could: they are rubbish!) in a secondhand boxset and introduce my daughter to them before she gets a chance to have the new images imprinted on her young brain. And I was glad I did, because you forget just how great they are! The then totally unknown Reeve is an absolute star from the first frame he appears, and manages to create believable differences between Clark and his alter-ego with effortless grace. OK the flying scenes now look old and don't have the magic they once did, but it is the scenes as Kent in the offices of the Daily Planet or bantering with Lois Lane that still shine. The scripting is well paced, the action still worthy of the name and the emotion underneath it all is surprisingly effective. And it is the latter which truly holds the secret of Superman's success - seeing him scream and fly off around the world so fast he reverses time when he finds Lois dead at the end of the first movie really brought a lump to my throat: it is very intense, giving the whole film a credibility that has really only ever been approached by the Spiderman movies, but never bettered. And then there's Gene Hackman! The casting of Kevin Spacey as arch nemesis Lex Luther is inspired but as with every other aspect of the production he really has his work cut out to match the original. As with Star Wars, Superman is so intrinsically a part of my childhood that it is almost sacred - be very careful Bryan... I have faith, but will not forgive easily if you mess this up! Kx