We went to watch Superman Returns last night.

I had long known that I would go watch it regardless of who came with me or not. What I didn't expect was the major rush of fangirlism that hit me as soon as the theme music played.

I was having serious palpitations. I got into the movie so bad that I couldn't stop grinning at many, many points and I almost cried when the unnerving bits came out.

I'm not going to reveal the plot, people!! BUT...I do recommend this movie to anyone who has ever liked any superhero. You may like Superman, you may hate him but this version you have GOT to watch.

Forget football (although one guy sitting behind me and Shook could not but I'll write about him in a minute), forget your other responsibilities and just come in and watch this movie.

Superman had long ago become a basis for a lot of superpowered heroes. I fell in love with Superman when I was 7 years old. My father, who was studying in the UK at that time, always had Superman comics with him when he came home or when we went to visit him. So. amidst all my family and childhood problems, I got myself lost in this American ideal. For me, Superman became exactly what the creators wanted him to be: the hero who swoops in to save the day. In my case, he was the one who saved my sanity and my emotions. When my father's relatives did what they called a boycott of my mom and I while my father was away, I knew what was going on but as long as I could open up a Superman comic and read it, I was fine. So in a strange way, since my father would bring back new supplies with him or when my mom went to visit, she'd bring them back for him, I felt as if my father was around again. But I was always aware that Superman was not real. Unlike lots of other dumb kids who think they could fly when they wear the cape, I knew I would never look up at the skies and see a blue and red streak go by. All he was, was an escape mechanism from selfish, useless and mean relatives.

So for years after, I hung onto Superman, even when I didn't need him as much. When the first two movies came out, my father took me to watch them and I loved how Christopher Reeves played him. And this made me like Christopher Reeves and I followed hhis movies after that as much as I could.

Then somehow when I got too old to depend on Superman, I naturally turned to Clark Kent. Well, I think Dean Cain had a lot to do with it.

Through all the movies, TV shows and comic books, I followed Superman's evolution as much as I could. When I was old enough, I began to buy the comics myself. When he 'died', I am ready to admit I cried. When they created those other Superman substitutes, I ranted a bit but accepted them. When he came back, I cried. When he got married, I grinned for weeks. I always liked Lois Lane. She was daring (a bit reckless but daring), she was persistent, she was a career woman and she was brunette. How great is that!!

So after years and years of not seeing Superman I was jumping for joy when I knew they were making Superman Returns. When Christopher Reeves got that riding accident, I figured there was never going to be anymore Superman movies. But when I saw Brandon Routh, it was like the sunshine coming through the clouds!! During the movie, I grinned and did a bit of the jig on my seat and basically annoyed anyone within a two seat radius. He is cute...in a geeky way, as my sister would put it.

Brandon Routh not only looks like Christopher Reeves, he sounds like him too. His Clark Kent is not as painful to watch as Christopher Reeves's though, thank goodness. And Kevin Spacey being Kevin Spacey was phenomenal. He was mean. He was generally someone you'd love to hate and would hate to love. He was so nasty that I was on the verge of hating Kevin Spacey for life. But then, we're thinking adults so we should be able to differentiate between the actor and the characters they play. (Speaking of which, I watched First Daughter the other day. Mark Blukas is cute. It was Riley I hated. Those who follow Buffy would know the meaning of this)

So, yeah, I grinned and almost did the American thing by clapping my heart out and jeering in a cinema. When we got out, I practically floated, as Henrick said it. He also said I was flushed. But I was grinning until my face felt like it was splitting and I was gleeful. 'Squee' is too mundane a word for what I was feeling.

I am going to buy the DVD; original if I have to.

Last night, Superman again launched his American propoganda. He was again the ideal American man - selfless, patient, generous and sacrificing. He's like MacGyver in a cape and tights.

What I might do next is to find all the Superman comics I did miss and get them. Hard copy or PDF, I don't care. I've already got some of the X-Men saga so I might as well do the same for what really counts with me. And since I bought a DVD writer yesterday, I can burn them all into DVD later.

And what I might also break down and get is a Superman T-shirt (just the logo) and maybe after that keep an eye out for Superman Returns calendar at the end of the year. Those wall calendars are a tradition with me since I got back from the US. Last year, I got French Kitty. The 3 years before that it was Buffy and Angel. So next year, it looks like it'll be Superman Returns.

I don't make a good movie reviewer because I don't want to spoil the movie for some people (unless I hate the movie, of course. Then I'll just say so and refuse to talk about it ever again). But for Superman Returns, I'll recommend it.