‘I’ ON CULTURE
The trailer for the new movie Superman was so good, I really looked forward to the actual movie. Unfortunately, the movie, while pretty good, is not as good as its coming attractions. Yes, we have a nice new Superman (David Corenswet), and the computer graphics, while not breaking new ground, are splashy. But the overdone plot and almost caricature characters weaken the film. Actually, super dog Krypto, mostly done by computer, may be the most interesting character and says nothing more than “woof.”
The movie starts off with Superman landing in Antarctica having been beaten by “the hammer of Boravia,” another metahuman, which we learn is being controlled by arch-villain Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult). He is saved by Krypto, who drags him by the cape to the “Fortress of Solitude,” where he is healed by some nice robots as he listens to what remains of a damaged tape of his parents telling him to be good.
He returns to Metropolis as Clark Kent and takes up with his great love Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan). But he has stopped a war and ensured no casualties, which makes him hated by American generals, who work with Luthor to destroy him. Luthor has used another metahuman (the phrase used for the superheroes in the film), the Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría) to spot Superman and find the Fortress of Solitude, where he gets the tape of the parents and restores it.
Soon after, the tape is released, and it turns out Superman’s proud parents wanted him to be a dictator and to take a harem to recreate the Kryptonian race. Suddenly Superman is the top illegal alien around. Superman, being a do-gooder, submits to arrest and humiliation and is put in a pocket universe created by Luthor. The rest of the film shows how he escapes and eventually stops Luthor from destroying the planet.
My problem was not with the politics of the whole thing. Superman as alien? Let’s face it. He was raised in Middle America, fights for “peace, justice and the American way” (a phrase not used at all in the film) and has saved the city, country and world more than a few times. So throw him in a place a thousand times worse than Alligator Alcatraz and torture him? Hey, under real circumstances, Kristi Noem would escort him to a federal building to get sworn in as a citizen, and Donald Trump would give the oath of citizenship. But this is the movies. Ironically, both pro- and anti-immigration writers have argued that the film favors their point of view. It was also strange that until the very end, Superman actually lost all his fights.
When politics get into movies, I prefer subtlety. Captain America: Civil War actually debated the duality of individual responsibility versus group decision making. But it underlay a really good story line. It was art done with a sharp-pointed pencil, with many shades of gray. This film used large crayons.
My basic issue is that there is no depth to the characters. It is not that the acting is bad. It is fine. But the writing is one-dimensional. Superman is like a super peacenik, not wanting to hurt anyone. And that is lovely. But when a couple of metahumans are beating you and trying to kill you, it might be time to reconsider. Lois Lane is the perfect picture of the determined heroine. She can use technology she’s never seen before, can convince at least some folks to actually do the right thing, and still manage to not get a speck of dust to damage her makeup. Luthor looks like Dr. Evil but without the jokes. And a man who can make the kind of scientific breakthroughs he does should not have the petty jealousies that he demonstrates. Most of the other metahumans don’t get a chance to do more than show one element of personality, but I did think Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific was quite good as a valuable second hero.
I took the grandkids to the movie and they enjoyed it, and the older ones understood the basic plot. But there is a lot of story here, and much of it gets lost. There are a half dozen metahumans and, except for Superman, almost no backstory on them.
But it is a decent summer film; a bit of an oasis in a summer of mediocrity. However, with ticket prices as high as they are, and with outrageous prices at the candy stand, a family could do better to wait until they can rent it. But for big DC Universe fans, go enjoy!
“ Superman is like a super peacenik, not wanting to hurt anyone. And that is lovely. But when a couple of metahumans are beating you and trying to kill you, it might be time to reconsider.”
This is literally the opposite of the character in media. To argue it should be different is to make him what he is not; his character is about. He doesn’t actively and maliciously kill anyone and only as a result to protect the lives of others. Not to mention he actually does this, he lures a villain into a situation where they ended up getting trapped in a black hole. I feel like your points don’t have any logical consistency, and aren’t based on the film itself.