And finally, of course there could only be one thing atop this list Brandon Routh. Hes the ideal successor to Christopher Reeve, and can more than handle both the outright heroics of Superman and the bumbling helplessness of the Clark Kent persona. Personally, I count Reeve as one of those perfect superhero castings akin to Robert Downey Jnrs Tony Stark/Iron Man. In terms of pure physicality, hes a natural fit for the part, and through his performance he encapsulates that earnest longing to uphold truth, justice and the American way that defines Superman. Sadly, the executives at Warner Bros didnt maintain their support for this version of the character, and went for a dark reboot instead of continuing on with Routh. Wouldnt it have been great to see Rouths Superman battle off against some more iconic DC characters? How would he have fared in a fistfight against General Zod, or Doomsday, or Batman? Sadly no one will ever know, but Rouths role as The Atom on The CWs superhero shows provides a decent consolation. All in all, then, Superman Returns is a superhero movie that has much more going for it than it is widely gets given credit for. It has a strong script, some great castings and one of the best action sequences in cinematic superhero history. Its a real shame that it has such a naff reputation. What do you think of Superman Returns? Let us know in the comments
