9 Comic Book Movie Reboots That Just Plain Failed

Superman Returns

Following Christopher Reeve as Superman was never going to be an easy task. So, when the relatively unknown Brandon Routh was cast as the Man of Steel in Superman Returns, quite a few eyebrows were raised in the process. He certainly had the steely and chiseled look, but did he have the acting chops for such a meaty role?

The answer was a resounding no. Apart from the blander-than-boiled-chicken narrative and Bryan Singer’s yawn-inducing aesthetic choices, Routh had about as much charisma as a parked family station wagon. Not one person walked out of the theater thinking this was our new Superman, or excited to see where this story went next. It reeked of miserable mediocrity.

Even though the film was considered a box-office success, Warner Bros. wasn’t pleased with the weak worldwide return and decided to cancel the planned 2009 sequel. In retrospect, it was probably a smart move, because Singer’s Supes was one of the weakest we’ve ever seen.