Why did Superman Return?

Caveat to the reader: If you haven't seen "Superman Returns" you may want to avoid reading any further as this post contains content that may "spoil" your movie, in the event that you choose to see it in the future.

I have always loved Superman. As a superhero fan, I've found his character very interesting. Unlike most superheroes, Superman's alter ego is an ordinary, hard working citizen, Clark Kent, who's trying his best to make a living. In most cases the situation is the other way round, with the alter ego usually being the superhero. Also, Superman has an amazing variety of superpowers at his disposal, and more importantly, has a potentially deadly weakness that creates a fine balance.

But most significantly, Superman is considered to be a leader, someone who takes control of things and is unfazed by difficult and seemingly disastrous situations. His moral uprightness and ability to sustain himself beyond human levels of emotion makes him even more special.

So you can understand why I'm disappointed with "Superman Returns". Superman does not only appear to be emotionally weak in this movie, he is shown to have made moral misjudgments and some unwise decisions over time. To be more specific, he tries to wreck a perfectly happy family and is shown to have an illegitimate child. Also, between Louis Lane and him, Louis is the one that has the moral uprightness to say "no" to Superman's rather open advancements. Followers of Superman comics and cartoons would note that it was rather Louis Lane who used to openly pursue Superman, with Superman being the one who used to play it cool.

Also, Louis Lane's personality in the movie does not match the character itself. Louis Lane is supposed to be annoying, stubborn, confident, big mouthed and usually gets her own way, whereas in the movie she's quiet, dreamy, very emotional and really not that irritating. I think making her a mom has changed most of her personality.

But, overall, the movie itself wasn't terrible. However, I expected more coming from the Superman franchise.