"Superman Returns" Tonight

Have fun if you're going to a midnight screening. But don't get your hopes up too high. I've avoided the press screenings because I think it wil be more fun to watch the movie with a paying audience. But everyone I know who has seen it has been nonplussed. The trades were positive about its commercial prospects, but the mainstream reviews are mixed, from the NYT to the LA Times. It's not a bomb -- if you want to enjoy it, you will. But it's not a rousing success either, so take what pleasure you can from a scenery chewing Lex Luthor and a stalwart Superman. It flies. It just doesn't soar.