Brandon Routh is as hot as a hot thing can be.

Now that I got that out of my system, on with the review.

Five years after the mysterious disappearance of Superman, the world has moved on. Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) has moved on and into a serious relationship with Richard White (James Marsden), with whom she has a son.

She also won a Pulitzer Prize for the editorial, "Why the world doesn't need Superman", no doubt written out of her own bitterness of being left behind without as much as a goodbye by someone she was in love with.

Lex Luther (Kevin Spacey) is free due to lack of evidence and lack of Superman to testify. He swindles a fortune from a dying heiress (portrayed by Noel Neill, the original Lois Lane from the 1950s Superman TV series) and uses it to plunder Kryptonian technology from Superman's hidden respite, The Fortress of Solitude.

Over at the Kent farm, Martha (Eva Marie-Saint) rushes to the scene of a meteor crash, no doubt something that brings a sense of deja vu, and retrieves an exhausted Clark Kent/Superman (Brandon Routh) from the wreckage.

We learn that Superman made a journey back to Krypton when scientists on Earth spotted what's left of it in space. He wanted very badly to know if there were any survivors. With that itch scratched, there was nothing left to do but to come home.

Clark also returns to his job at the Daily Planet, where his colleagues believed he was off on a sabbatical. Naturally, nobody makes the connection when Superman also reappears the same day to perform a dramatic airplane rescue.

Superman is one of those stories where suspension of belief is necessary, especially since the world isn't getting any younger. It's hard to believe that nobody's figured out the Superman/Clark connection yet, especially at this one scene where it should have been as clear as day to Lois. Guess love really is blind.

The campiness of the movie is expected. In fact, Superman won't be complete without it. The outfits worn by the characters here showed a '50s influence, evoking that classic movie feel.

I'm pleased with James Marsden's portrayal of Lois's fiance. It would be easy to make him a character to hate because he is Superman's nemesis in the battle for Lois's love, but Richard White was heroic and likable in his own right. His character was a relief after that emo wreck he played in X-Men 3.

Spacey is a delight as Lex Luther, but the person with the biggest underpants to fill here is Routh (which he apparently does so well that digital touch-ups were required).

The trailer answers the question to what happens if you try shooting Superman in the eye instead of on his bullet-deflecting chest. That scene was worth every bit of how much it cost them to make it.