[Nerdspresso] Brandon Routh rises above the "Ick"

By Jeff Stanford, Special to Southpoint Access

Someone needs to give Brandon Routh a hug. This guy was plucked from obscurity 20 years ago to play the Man of Steel in “Superman Returns.” He got a lot of flak for being the guy who had to follow Christopher Reeve, but he was still the best thing in a boring movie. The fact that he eerily resembled Reeve was both an asset and a liability.

Fans either gave him props for honoring Reeve’s legacy or called him a cheap imitation. The movie ultimately failed to live up to expectations. “Superman Returns” turned out to be a big snore. By the time it left theaters, Routh’s career momentum seemed to go with it. For the last two decades, he’s bounced among TV series, Hallmark movies, and comic turns in films such as “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” and “Zack and Miri Make a Porno.”

Routh’s most prominent role in recent years was as a second-tier superhero, the Atom, on The CW’s “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.” He also enjoyed a poignant return as a middle-aged Superman in the 2019-20 “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover, which connected The CW’s superhero shows. Routh is a journeyman actor who just keeps plugging away, even if that means starring in a Christmas movie about kittens or indie flicks with titles like “Life Is Hot in Cracktown.”

This guy deserves better.