saw: superman returns
If The Incredibles, Batman Begins, Spider-Man and X2 have proved that dated superhero concepts can receive thrilling generational makeovers, Bryan Singer's Superman retread proves that no matter how sincere your nostalgia, serving up a self-indulgently paced state-of-the-art facsimile of late-Seventies kitsch is a one-way ticket to camp. (Not that Supes, that most schizoid-gay-stalkerish of superheroes, from his mile-high red platform boots to his all-rubber-external-undergarment aesthetic, needs much help in that area.) Throw in an unsettling absence of internal conflict and a not-ready-for-vaudeville super-villain subplot and you've got Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow minus the kickin' deco production design—i.e., not much to write home about. Grade: C+