Man of Steel

For those of you who read my last post, you know I don't care for Superman. And if you read it early enough, you may have noticed I mixed up Kevin Costner and Michael Keaton. I stated Michael Keaton's name but was think of Costner's work in "Field of Dreams", "Waterworld" and "Dances with Wolves". A rookie mistake, but know that I have already flogged myself for that and hopefully it will never happen again.

"Man of Steel" is a retelling of the origins of Superman, and despite Christopher Nolan's best efforts, he didn't make me like the character anymore. Superman, in my opinion, is a dying super hero. He was great in 1938 when immortality and alien lifeforms were interesting and fun, but immortality is boring now (I apologize for how pretentious that sounded). He's too perfect.

Look at the symmetry in his face!!! He's so darn handsome!!!

Even in this, the "darker" version of Superman, he was a little goody-two-shoes. He never did anything wrong. The thing that makes great characters great is that they're not two-dimensional. They have depth. If they have a code they live by, where they will never do any wrong, something should lead them to do wrong.

SPOILER ALERT!!! DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH IF YOU HAVE YET TO SEE THE MOVIE!

Also, Clark's human father is an idiot. I don't care if the world would fear your son if they see him save a dog or you from a tornado, just let the kid save you, you stupid-head! He could have subtly saved the dog and been back before the tornado hit your car!

END OF SPOILER!

As far as Superman movies go, I thought this was the best (Yes, even better than the old ones). But, again, I hate Superman. So Superman fans might have thought differently. However, no one can deny the greatness that is Michael Shannon! He was the best part of this movie by far! Call me a terrible human being, but I connected with General Zod more than Superman. I thought his reasoning for his actions was totally and completely justified for his character.

He was just trying to save his planet. Exactly what Superman did...

And yet HE'S the bad guy!

My expectations were exactly as I thought they'd be for this movie. I thought I would like this movie except for the fact that it was about Superman.

If only it wasn't about Superman.

My Grade: B

P.S. Superman has the stupidest freaking alter-ego out of any super hero.

I Just Wish It Wasn't About Superman

Arguably the most anticipated movie of the summer or year, people will be flocking to their local theatre to see "Man of Steel" around mid-night tomorrow night. I might be one of them depending on how tired I am, but not because I'm excited for the movie itself, but rather, the movie features the work of some of my favorite people in the film industry.

Christopher Nolan is writing and producing it. Zack Snyder is directing it. Hans Zimmer has conducted a fantastic score, which I have already listened to. Michael Shannon is going to be awesome, as always. Especially in a villainous role. Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner are two of the best actors in the past 30 years, regardless of their recent work. But what I don't like about the movie is what should matter most.

I hate Superman.

But... I thought everyone liked me...

Now, I know how he was created. I know he first started out as a bald headed villain by two high-school students who decided to make him a hero and he progressed from there. But this is how I imagine how it may have happened.

Two kids are playing a game of Superheroes and Villains in their back yard. One kid keeps getting the upper hand, so the other kid makes up a Superpower.

"Bang! I got you! You're dead!"

"Nuh-uh! I'm impervious to bullets!"

"I used a catapult to throw a boulder at you! You're dead!"

"Nuh-uh! I have Super Strength and I caught it!"

"You can't get me! I'm behind this building!"

"Nuh-uh! I can jump over buildings!"

"I threw you off a sky scraper!"

"Nuh-uh! But I can fly!"

"I have your ball!"

"Nuh-uh! I have the power to make you give it back! Or I'm telling my Mommy!"

And on and on! The dude has pretty much every Superpower! Nothing can hurt him except for Kryptonite which can only rich people know how to get. He is virtually immortal. That takes all suspense out of scenario.

I haven't enjoyed any Superman movie. Yes, even the originals. Couldn't even finish them. The filmmakers of them don't put enough doubt in my mind that everything will be ok. Take "The Avengers" for example. We all knew no one major would die in that movie. But they built up enough doubt in your mind that when Tony Stark went into that worm hole, you had a slight feeling that it wasn't going to end well. That's all that needs to happen. No one has gave me any doubt that Superman might not be OK.

All of this being said, If anyone is going to be able to do that with Superman, it's Christopher Nolan. That dude will kill off anyone if it makes the story better. And I love it when a movie proves my expectations wrong for the better.

I hope I'm wrong.

"Man of Steel" Officially opens up this Friday June 14th, with mid-night screenings nation wide tomorrow.

And this is still one of the Best Trailers I've ever seen. I just hate Superman so much!!!!