Reporting from the Daily Planet

Saw Superman Returns with my Smallville-obsessed sister. I thought it was a good movie, a good way to spend an afternoon. The basic plot is that Superman returns to Earth after a 5-year absence, having gone through his adoptee identity crisis.

Costumes were all retro, as they are in most superhero flicks. It's like a visual reminder that though the rest of the story involves 21st- century technology (cell phone pics, fax machines, laptops), the story originated in an era believed to be less complicated, so everybody has to dress as if Krushchev has just denounced Stalin. It's hyperreal, but something the audience just accepts.

The only person of color in the film was on Lex Luthor's side (which I'm stunningly okay with, because it's Kal Penn). I am also stunningly okay with ignoring all the Christ metaphors so inherent in any Superman narrative. The film also had rampant product placement, but what film doesn't these days? Either the return of Seattle's gray sky has made me complacent, or I'm losing my anti-apathy drive!

And the Man of Steel makes his international debut! Maybe he did this in the old movies and I just don't remember, but in this one he spreads truth, justice, and the American Way around by also saving non-Americans. Although Metropolis is, of course, always the priority. Not to mention Mama on the farm in the heartland.

Good, cheesy fun for the Fourth of July! Although there were the awkward moments in the theatre when I found a scene uproariously hilarious, and nobody else did. But then that always happens...