You will believe that a man can fly.

In 1978, there was a movie directed by Richard Donner, which starred a relatively unknown actor by the name of Christopher Reeve. Despite being the star, Reeve's name did not appear first in the credits or even in early promotional material. There were two actors of much bigger note who took a role in this film. The first, was Marlon Brando, who played the father to Reeve's character. The second was Gene Hackman, who played Reeve's nemesis.

This movie told the story of an orphan who managed to find his place in the world, stand up to the face of evil, and in all likelihood, get the girl.

This movie was titled Superman, and it was one of the first movies that I was taken to (even if I was too young to remember it). It spawned several sequels, the first of which was excellent, and the other two which were... indifferent.

The last film in the series, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace was generally deemed a dismal failure, and the series appeared to be dead. Later on Christopher Reeve suffered a serious accident which caused him to be paralyzed from the neck down. Sadly, Mr. Reeve died of complications from his paralysis before a cure could be found, but Christopher did a great deal to raise awareness and fund research into finding cures for paralysis.

Since that time, the orphan from the planet Krypton has been absent from the Silver Screen. He has made appearances in the animated DC Universe, first in his own show, then later with the Justice League. And there have been several television shows, each focusing on a different part of his life.

Today, Superman Returns.

The movie has a limited release tonight, with 10:00 p.m. and midnight screenings. The film has it's general release tomorrow.

I will be at the Arena Grand theatre in Columbus, Ohio tonight at 10:00, along with my wife and two good friends, eagerly waiting to see an icon and hero once more dominate the screen.

Marlon Brando is still there as the father. Gene Hackman has been replaced by the equally gifted Kevin Spacy. The familiar music from composer John Williams will be heard once more. And while no one will ever replace Christopher Reeve as Superman in my eyes. But I have high hopes for Mr. Routh, and I hope that after this movie is released, a new generation of children will have a face for the Man of Steel. I hope that he can inspire kids in a way that Wolverine and Batman just can't. The X-Men and Batman and Spider-Man are all heroes, no question. But Superman reaches out to the best and the brightest in each of us.

There will be a spoiler-free review here tomorrow.