Batman V Superman: Ranking Every Movie From Worst To Best

8. Superman Returns

Why is Superman Returns so consistently overlooked? It has its flaws, sure - it's too long, over-reliant on CGI, boasts some frankly nonsense moments and Brandon Routh's strong imitation of Christopher Reeve never goes beyond imitation - but it is still at its heart entertaining and emotionally charged. How can this earnest, ambitious film be widely discarded and dour destruction porn trumpeted as a hidden gem? The movie that Bryan Singer departed his beloved X-Men for, Returns shows the director's penchant for flagrant altering of established franchise continuity almost a decade ahead of his mutant return with Days Of Future Past; a pseudo-sequel to Superman II that overwrote Supermans III and IV, Returns was a nostalgia trip to both the Reeve era and the roots of Superman. Fitting of Singer's passive approach to canon, a lot is changed even from the original films, especially the 1930s aesthetic, but that only ties into the greater sense of the American dream. What Returns gets so right is the Jesus metaphor - the man who hears his fathers words in the clouds sacrificing himself to save humanity, only to return to life and ascended to the heavens never feels hokey (unlike some other parts); it's a genuine logical arc that gets to the heart of Superman as a God and, retroactively, serves as a fitting full stop on the Reeve era.