The Death Of Superman Review: 5 Ups & 6 Downs
4. It's Padded With Clark-Lois Melodrama
A huge portion of the film trains its focus on the relationship between Clark Kent (Jerry O'Connell) and Lois Lane (Rebecca Romijn), namely Clark's ambivalence over revealing his true identity to Lois, and her desire to meet his parents.
Most of this hand-wringing has been ably covered by both the Richard Donner Superman movies and the Lois and Clark TV series in particular, so seeing so much of this mere 81-minute film devoted to it feels like a bit of a waste.
To see Clark going out to eat with Lois while Doomsday is wreaking havoc on the world just seems silly, and making this the device that keeps Superman off-screen for a decent chunk of the movie's middle is absurdly transparent.
Above all else, it feels like overbearing padding in a movie that's not exactly busting bladders and testing patience with its already scant runtime.