Okay. I don’t usually allow myself to get hyped up for summer movies any more because nine times out of ten, I walk away disappointed. But you know what? I am all IN for Man Of Steel after seeing this new trailer. I’m begging the powers that be to let this movie live up to what I’m seeing here.
There’s no question this will be filled to the brim with action. I only ask three things:
- Show me a more human Superman. As great as Christopher Reeve was, and is still the gold standard, I always felt his Superman was written too much as a hero and not enough of a human being (I know Superman’s an alien, but he was raised from infancy on Earth). Reeve’s Superman was a boy scout, with a child-like innocence and wore his emotions on his sleeve. “For the first time in my life, everything’s clear,” he says, his eyes moist as he takes Lois to bed in Superman 2. Ok, that’s sweet and nice, but now it’s time to see more of a regular guy who’s a hero in the blue costume.
- Again, as much as I appreciated Reeve’s performance as Clark Kent, the physical humor he adeptly played, I want to see less of a clown and more of a normal person who’s just a bit socially awkward. Not a comic character (yes, I realize the irony in that statement).
- Let the movie be as much about the action as it is about the characters. Looking at the previous trailers, it looks like Snyder will give us some characters that aren’t just contributing to action set pieces. Kevin Costner’s delivery of the line, “You are my son,” is heartwarming (I hate that word, but it always works so well). And I like how he suggests that maybe Clark shouldn’t use his powers even when others are in jeopardy. Little things like that indicate that the script gets it right. I just hope that by the 2nd act of the film, these little character beats aren’t jettisoned for all balls-to-the-wall action.
To me, Superman as a movie property stands above and beyond any other superhero movie. I never read Superman regularly growing up. I thought the character was silly and juvenile, what with Krypto, Superboy, Supergirl, Kandor in a bottle, Mxyzptlk, red K, green K, yellow K et. al. But when I saw Superman: The Movie and heard the John Williams score, I was all in as a little kid. Then I saw Superman 2 and it blew my head open. Superman was fighting super bad guys on screen! The president kneels before Zod! Superman flies up the Eiffel Tower and saves Paris! Granted that film is a little hard to watch now and a little boring, maybe because I saw it SO many times. As embarassing as it is to say, that movie did for me what the original Star Wars did for many filmmakers today: it was what inspired me to go into video/film production as a career. And ever since Superman 2, I’ve gone into a Superman film hoping to relive the magic of the first two films. Hasn’t happened yet. Bryan Singer came close, but went off the reservation ultimately. So, that’s why I say, at least for me, Superman stands above any other superhero movie. And if I’m going by the trailers, this new movie has the potential of making me feel like a kid again. http://qstorm.com/lightningstrikes
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