Superman Returns

Here's the problem with SUPERMAN RETURNS: Superman has no character arc. He's the same guy at the end of the movie that he was at the beginning, and that lack of an arc leaves a hole where we expect a story.

Sure, SUPERMAN RETURNS has other issues: it feels unoriginal, its lead gives the impresssion of a guy doing a Christover Reeve impression, and we never sense that its protagonist is in any real danger. Those don't break the deal, however. Superman's lack of a journey, and the insignificant journeys of those around him, do. You cannot tell a story without character development and call it a story. You can call it a sketch, you can even call it an experiment, you can even call it late for dinner. But you can't call it a story.

I wanted to like SUPERMAN RETURNS. I really did. But the movie failed to hook or hold me, and I don't intend to see it again. Bummer.