Cupsogue Pictures in association with Eaglehouse Pictures recently released director Gene Fallaize's highly anticipated fan-film, "Superman: Requiem."

The film's plot focuses on Superman who, as the world's greatest super hero, has come to be relied on by law enforcement across the globe to deal with some of the major tasks that face society.

However, after after a kryptonite bomb explodes in his face, the Man of Steel loses some of his powers and must overcome this new challenge and still be the hero the world needs him to be.

The film stars Martin Richardson as Clark Kent/Superman who does an okay job in his role as the Man of Steel but seems a bit miscast due to his small stature. He excels well as mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent but comes across as a bit lost and physically unimposing as Superman while needing the Ali Noels character to spell everything out for him.

Speaking of the character of Ali Noels, actress Stacy Sobieski does a wonderful job in bringing this new character to life and making it her own. While the he evolution of her relationship with Clark feels a bit rushed, the chemistry betwenn the two actors is highly evident and superb.

Julian McDowell as Daily Planet Editor, Perry White provides an iteresting take on the beloved character. Although McDowell borrows certain elements from prior actors who have starred in this role (such as Jackie Cooper and Lane Smith), his version of Perry White comes across as a rather loud and demanding boss who seems to always be angry about something. He's a joy to watch but certainly not a boss I would ever prefer to have.

The role of Cat Grant is minimal but actress Audrey Kaipio still does a wonderful job of bringing a certain sex-appeal to the role (reminiscent of actress Tracy Roberts role as Darla Sanderson on "The Adventures of Superboy" tv series) which in turn features Richardson in his best moments as a bumbling Clark Kent.

Rounding out the primary cast is Paul Khanna as the film's villain, Alex Luthor, the estranged son of Lex Luthor. Khanna provides probably the best performance of "Superman: Requiem"; bringing just the right amount of evil and cunning to the role while being just as obsessed with land as his father was.

One negative thing about the Alex Luthor character is that there is mention of Superman being responsible for the death of his father, but the story behind this revelation is never explored and the audience is left to come up with their own theories as to what happened.

"Superman: Requiem" also features an appearance, albiet in voice only, of actor Jack O'Halloran who starred as the mute Kryptonian criminal, Non in "Superman: The Movie" and "Superman: II". O'Halloran can be heard as the voice of the space shuttle commander in the opening sequence of the film.

Considering that "Superman: Requiem" didn't have the financial backing of Hollywood, it is a well done fan-film and features a wonderful opening credit sequence that is a definitive homage to the Christopher Reeve films of Richard Donner.

The fact that Superman loses his powers early on in the film is a clever way to keep the budget down by there being no extreme need for countless special effects every few minutes.

The special effects that are showcased are very well done for a fan film while others come off as a bit low-budget. For example, the green screen work is nearly flawless but anytime someone fires a gun (which is surprisingly often), the resulting effect is poorly conceived and obviously digital.

While the film is set to take place a number of years after the events of "Superman Returns", elements from the 2006 Bryan Singer film are briefly hinted at but are just as quickly brushed aside such as Lois Lane having left Richard White and moving to London and the character of Superman's son being completely ignored.

Although the entire film doesn't come off as theatrical, the overall look of "Superman: Requiem" is very sharp and, for the most part, bright and colorful. Certain shooting locations that the production crew chose really help add to the size of Requiem's Metropolis and the world viewers are immersed into.

"Superman: Requiem" was obviously a huge undertaking and the crew behind it really seem to be proud of what they have managed to accomplish. Overall, the film is a joy to watch and really only suffers from following too loosely in the footsteps of Superman films that have come before as opposed to all-new, original version of the hero, ala Zack Snyder's "Man of Steel". Bryan Singer of course followed this recipe as well for "Superman Returns" and the result wasn't all that it could have been.

Ever since "Superman: Requiem" was announced over a year ago, Superman fans have been anxiously awaiting it's release and, thus far, reaction has been mostly positive. Even though the film has it's flaws here and there, the overall storyline and style seems to be winning over Superman fans around the world and that really is saying something when the target audience for "Superman: Requiem" consists of some of the most critical fans around.

It's easy for anyone to nitpick and critisize someone else's work but, at the end of the day, director Gene Fallaize and his amazing team managed to make a feature-length Superman movie which is something very few individuals can put down on a resume. Fallaize and company were not afraid to take on this daunting task of a movie and they managed to tell their Superman story to the entire world.

Watch the film for yourself at: http://www.themanofsteelisback.com/.