Chaz, you ARE the punmaster.

As a matter of fact, Ebert raised that very question (about the 5-year dual absence)in his review of Superman Returns. Most reviewers have given Superman Returns fair to middling marks, but Ebert allocated just 2 stars (pretty low by Ebert's usually generous standards).

I'd have to knock it down at least another half-star. I found the movie mostly boring; I considered leaving after the 2 hour mark, when I realized I had another 40 unentertaining minutes to go. Not even close to the standards of the 1978 and 1980 Superman and Superman II.

Personally I enjoyed these following items:
* Lois Lane has a noggin of steel. She gets tossed around a crashing jet and has a water-tight steel door on a yacht crank her in the cranium and she's just fine. She is a wife-beater's dream.
* Kryptonite radiation is lighter than air. When Supes is ON the kryptonite island he can barely stand, when he gets beneath it, he lifts the whole damn island & flies it into space (where it will slam into the Phantom Zone and release some criminals for the sequel).
* Perry White is more concerned about Superman coming back than an EMP that decimates an entire city.

It says a lot about a film when Jimmy Olsen is the smartest character of the bunch.

Glad to know so many others noticed the obvious holes in the story. I had the same thoughts about Lois being the woman of steel. Any human being would've been broken in about a 100 places during the plane ride from hell.

My biggest problem, however, was with Lex's motivation. Let me get this straight: he's going to create a continent so he can sell real estate? Riiiight.