Superman Returns was refreshingly free of camp, and it is a relief to finally see a Lex Luthor not surrounded by cretinous henchmen, which a man of his intelligence would not actually tolerate for a moment.
Ned Beatty is a wonderful character actor, to be sure, but he seemed out of place in Luthor's whole world. You are right, though, that the ex-con goons that Lex used in SUPERMAN RETURNS were certainly intimidating.
Was I the only one that cracked a big fat smile on seeing that Kumar himself working for Lex Luthor? Kumar, how COULD you? Maybe he went to jail for getting that cheetah stoned back in HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE.
It does make sense though, that someone as vain and egotistical as Lex would surround himself with slower people like his sidekick, Kitty Kozlowski. Many people enjoy feeling superior and bullying others, and so they surround themselves with dumb people (some say this was the reason for Bush Sr.'s appointment of Dan Quayle). This is a common behavior, and it somehow seems so very right for someone like Lex Luthor.
