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After a waiting period of 20 years, reading many of the Superman comics, and watching the recent cartoon & live action shows, I finally had the opportunity to see the Man of Steel come back to the big screen with "Superman Returns." A huge part of me was sad because ever since I was little, the late Christopher Reeve had always been my Superman (even during his nine year battle with paralysis), and so I cried sometimes when I watched this movie. Because I'd wish it was "Reeve" as Superman (a character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1938). Still after watching this movie, I found it to be very entertaining, and how it tried to stay true to the Christopher Reeve films in spirit. Even though it does need a little work.

Watching the first 4 Superman movies (1978-1987) was always a treat to me. Mostly because I always looked up to Christopher Reeve. What he had always did was to stay as true to the character than any other actor in terms of clarity, warmth, and physicality. He was just one of those actors who made me believe in then character as a real person (or in laments terms, believe a man can fly). The first 2 films are without question the best in the series, but then the other 2 entries are a different story.

"Superman III" (1983) is for me the worst entry in the series. The film is (I'm sure for everyone else too) a Richard Pryor movie that's mostly done for comedy, and is not as serious, or entertaining, as the first 2 films. Although the scene where the good and evil Superman versions do battle in the junkyard does make that film stand out.

"Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" (1987) is a sad tale. It deals with a question which no one ever "really" tried to talk about: Superman saving the world from a nuclear arms race. Although this chapter does try to capture the spirit of the first 2 films in tone and style, it suffers because its producers (Golan-Globus' Canon Films) cut the budget dramatically. As a result, the film suffered in both bad special effects and editing (when it could have been saved). This film marked the final appearance of Christopher Reeve as Superman, and it was strongly believed there would never be another Superman film.

That was until Warner Brothers began the search for a right director to helm the next chapter. Not only that, there was a question of re-booting the series like they did with the Batman franchise. Numerous directors like Tim Burton (director of the first 2 Batman films), and Kevin Smith ("Clerks" and

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