Wow, I must be cut from a different cloth or something. I just watched Batman Begins again for the second time (I rented it from the library) just so I could have a comparison to when people say "it's not as good as BB." The whole time watching BB all I could hear was Peter Griffin saying, "The movie insists upon itself." (that and seeing Katie Holms and giggling like a mad woman at the knowledge she's married to a nut case.) Not that BB was a bad movie, far from it, but I think there was too much going on. Only now did I get the whole "league of shadows" in relation to microwave getting stolen. Whew!

But this isn't about BB (as good as it is). Like I said before, I think my love for Superman Returns is coupled with the fact that the only exposure I've had to Superman my entire life was a viewing of the first film for the first time about 2 weeks ago and watching the "Look up in the Sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's the Amazing story of Superman!" on A&E. That being said, loving SR is very easy for me.

I think that even moral compasses are allowed to have emotional conflict. I never liked Superman because he was too much of a boy scout. Not that it is a bad thing, but it is a boring thing. The character oozes truth, justice, saving kittens, bake sales, and moral superiority. By making him more vunerable and emotinally torn it makes him more relatable to the audiance. I've been in situations where I know I need to do the right thing, but I'm emotionally hurt at the center at the same time. I like this Superman better.

And I don't think that Richard thinks that Jason is his own biological son. Unless Lois skanked herself up and slept with him right after Superman left, he couldn't even think it was his own. But I bet he's been with Lois for about 4 years and taken on the role of "daddy" with full vigor. I think Richard knows that Jason is not his son, but I don't think he thinks it's Supermans (but he might suspect.)
I think all these questions will be answered in the next film.