‘Superman’ is back on track

Few big-screen franchises have fallen so far or so fast as Superman, who has been absent from multiplexes for nearly two decades. “Superman Returns” provides a most satisfying resurrection, especially for those who have always regarded the Superman story as a Christ allegory.

The first two Christopher Reeve films were big hits with critics and the public in 1978 and 1981. But it’s hard to find anyone with a kind word for “Superman III” (1983) or “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace” (1987), both of which were so out to lunch that Superman retreated to television with “Smallville,” “Superboy,” an animated series, and “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.”

Throughout the 1990s, and especially after Reeve had a paralyzing and ultimately lethal accident, it looked like television was where the franchise would stay. It certainly did in the 1950s, when George Reeves played the Man of Steel on a weekly basis.

Tim Burton, Kevin Smith and others tried and failed to get a new big-screen version off the ground. Richard Donner, who created the distinctive visual style of the 1978 and 1981 films, had gone on to his own “Lethal Weapon” series.

But a wounded franchise can be successfully revived, as Warner Bros. demonstrated last summer with “Batman Begins,” which more than lived up to the promise of its clean-slate title. In addition to a terrific cast, it benefited from a young and talented director, Christopher Nolan (“Memento”).

Warners is trying again with “Superman Returns,” directed by Bryan Singer, who left his own “X-Men” franchise, taking with him the talented writers — Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris — who helped make “X-Men 2” the best of that series.

Kevin Spacey, who won his first Oscar for his performance in Singer’s “The Usual Suspects,” plays the chief villain, Lex Luthor. And James Marsden, who was Cyclops in the “X-Men” series, returns to the Singer fold as Superman’s romantic rival.

Singer calls the result a chick flick about “what happens when old boyfriends come back into your life.” Superman, now played by 26-year-old Brandon Routh, who was hired partly because he looks like Reeve, is the old boyfriend of Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth), who has won a Pulitzer since she last saw him.

“Why the World Doesn’t Need Superman” was the title of her prize winner, which apparently carried the sting of a jilted lover. She still adores him, but she’s offended that he left without saying goodbye.

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He’s been absent from Earth long enough that she’s acquired a new boyfriend, Richard White (Marsden), as well as a five-year-old son named Jason. The dilemma for Superman/Clark Kent, who is still carrying the torch for Lois, is, as Singer puts it, “emotional Kryptonite.”

This romantic triangle is handled with unexpected tact and tenderness. Richard, the nephew of Lois’s boss, Perry (Frank Langella), is unequivocally a good guy, a doting father and undoubtedly a devoted lover. He just can’t measure up to an airborne saint.

In one of the more wrenching scenes, Superman spies on Richard and Lois and witnesses the depth of their bond. At the same time, Richard suspects the strength of Lois and Superman’s connection. It’s confirmed when he discovers that her computer password is not Jason, not Richard, but Superman. It’s not an easily resolved situation, and the script never suggests that it will be.

Donner’s 1978 movie boosted the Man of Steel’s spiritual credentials, thanks in part to John Williams’ stirring theme music (dusted off again for “Superman Returns”), and Singer and his writers take them even further. It isn’t just that Superman’s father (the late Marlon Brando, via flashbacks from Donner’s film) declares “I have sent them you, my only son.”

The crucifixion imagery is explicit, and so is a truly spectacular miracle involving a runaway plane that Superman prevents from wiping out a packed sports stadium. This somehow doesn’t come off as just a special-effects stunt. It’s genuinely exhilarating, the kind of moment that can bring a packed theater to its feet.

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