I really enjoyed it. I think a lot of people wanted a hopeful Superman movie, and I think this movie delivered on it. I think there is a lot of ink spilled on the topic of superhero movies. On...
I really enjoyed it. I think a lot of people wanted a hopeful Superman movie, and I think this movie delivered on it.
I think there is a lot of ink spilled on the topic of superhero movies. On their dominance in the mainstream, and the relationship that mainstream success has on what type of movies get made by the movie industry. I don't think this movie will really change any of those trends, but I do think that this movie is a good movie for the culture. For the people who want to see a superhero movie, this movie encompasses the positive ideals that I think make superhero movies enjoyable.
I liked that it sold the idea of the DC Universe on being in it and wanting to learn more as opposed to deliberately telegraphing the next film and how beats in this film are going to pay off and...
I liked that it sold the idea of the DC Universe on being in it and wanting to learn more as opposed to deliberately telegraphing the next film and how beats in this film are going to pay off and it's going to be epic and just you wait and see. It's just a movie, and it's better that it is.
Tone and Politics (synopsis level spoilers)
Also, this movie is a direct contrast to Marvel in the political space. The Sokovia Accords would be a non starter here because Big Blue would make it a point that we don't do wars anymore, full stop. It directly comments on disputed territory that the US wants to sell arms to for their own convenience and the world that these heroes are protecting is not just the world outside your window, but a world that is part of a better tomorrow, and they absolutely should be! It was probably the most punk rock cape movie in theaters for a long, long time. (It even had a scene about what was punk rock vs pop punk, which is how you know it has credentials.)
I did think it was a little overstuffed, and it's an interesting choice skipping origins and first team ups and just dropping you into the middle of this, but small complaints and if it sets the universe up for better movies down the road, I think it's a decent price to pay.
I think that's one of the things that made me really enjoy it. It didn't really bother with worldbuilding or staying in continuity with other films, instead using elements that are either so...
it's an interesting choice skipping origins and first team ups and just dropping you into the middle of this
I think that's one of the things that made me really enjoy it. It didn't really bother with worldbuilding or staying in continuity with other films, instead using elements that are either so well-established or so easy to understand that they need no introductions or explanations.
if it sets the universe up for better movies down the road
I hope they go the opposite route, making films that work well as standalone films, and don't require hours of homework before going to the threatre. It doesn't even matter much to me if the films end up contradicting each other to a certain degree.
I agree, if the cost of the DCU is that sometimes things happen off screen, in order for every movie to be able to be everyone's first, totally willing to make that trade.
making films that work well as standalone films, and don't require hours of homework before going to the threatre.
I agree, if the cost of the DCU is that sometimes things happen off screen, in order for every movie to be able to be everyone's first, totally willing to make that trade.
Just saw the movie today. Overall as someone who really likes Superman I would say this is a good movie that I enjoyed, but a bad rendition of Superman. If I had to guess, I would say this was...
Just saw the movie today. Overall as someone who really likes Superman I would say this is a good movie that I enjoyed, but a bad rendition of Superman.
If I had to guess, I would say this was written by writers who didn't like Superman growing up because they thought he was too boring and overpowered. Dude is constantly on the back foot this whole movie. Until the last 10-15 minutes I don't feel like there is ever a moment where it feels like he is in control of the situation. Any situation.
The movie starts with text on the screen saying that for the first time ever, Superman has lost a fight. And from that point on, the guy is just constantly struggling. When he's fighting some faceless goons with Luthor tech, its difficult. When public sentiment turns against him, he doesn't know how to respond. Even when he is fighting a big generic monster that should be his bread and butter, he ends up taking a backseat to other heroes who show up to help.
The big problem I see with this version of him is not physical weakness though, its his lack of emotional stability. There is a part from the trailers where you see Lois Lane interviewing Clark as Superman, and that happens early on in the film. In this scene, Clark starts off saying he is media savvy and can handle tough questions, but he very quickly cannot handle it. He gets defensive and seems to scoff at the very idea of being questioned, and I just personally don't think that fits at all. It's not how Superman would react in character, and it's not how Clark would react out of character.
There's a part where he is upset about something, so he smashes through a wall and threatens a nonsuperpowered person with violence. That's something Shazam would do, because he is still a child. Superman has a lifetime of experience with not losing control and bullying people with his powers. Its one of his most defining character traits.
Lois Lane is in the movie, but her relationship with Superman/Clark quickly devolves into relationship drama. Later on they reconcile, and once they do they don't really interact again until the end of movie kiss. Because if its not drama, it's not interesting, right?
The most "Superman-esque" scene in the movie is not Superman at all, it's Mr. Terrific fighting some goons. Which I liked a lot, Mr. Terrific is great in this. Luthor is also pretty good, but he doesn't get very much characterization until one monologue at the end. It relies a lot on you already knowing what his whole deal is.
Bottom line, Superman is a superhero in this film, but he isn't the Gold Standard of a superhero like he ought to be.
However, I should say I still liked the movie. I hadnt really been keeping up with Marvel anymore, but this movie felt refreshing after seeing so many movies in the Marvel style. It is a movie thats more earnest and not undercut with humor as much. Theres still some, but less. I liked the side characters and thought they played off each other well. Luthor being unapologetically terrible wasnt what I was expecting, but it works well.
That's highly disappointing. That'd be like Steve Rogers yelling at and bullying someone. I want to see the reverse kind of Superman, where he's just so great at fighting bad guys and monsters and...
That's highly disappointing. That'd be like Steve Rogers yelling at and bullying someone.
I want to see the reverse kind of Superman, where he's just so great at fighting bad guys and monsters and doing the Super Hero thing and do all things we wish we could do, with kindness and grace, effortlessly. But as Clark Kent he doesn't know how to navigate small time human emotions well or how to deal with being perceived as weak because of his kindness. He could fly to the moon and be a lone wolf and only come down to help, but he's choosing to learn how to human, and that's a different kind of strength.
I think its just a consequence of the fact that American entertainment seems to lean heavy on drama in general. There were 15 minutes of previews between the starting time and the actual movie...
I think its just a consequence of the fact that American entertainment seems to lean heavy on drama in general.
There were 15 minutes of previews between the starting time and the actual movie start, and I noticed that every preview was doing that sound effect thing of having a loud rising sound in the background like its building up to something big. This was even happening on movies that were not at all dramatic, like a preview for The Cat in the Hat. Its just the default to sprinkle in a little drama to everything, like its salt.
I suspect thats why the filmmakers wanted every confrontation to feel like it had some stakes, so they never wanted anything to seem too easy for Superman. But I feel like that's a very iconic Superman move, to have bullets bounce off him or tank an enemy's punch without flinching. Often times a show will have some more minor antagonist early on thats not on the superheros level, and that will be the chance to do stuff like that, but this movie starts with him fighting a hard opponent right away so they dont get that chance.
There's absolutely zero reason for Cat to be like this. Nor Minecraft. Low stakes is fine: the climax just has to be proportional to the rest of why we care about any of these characters. Them...
There's absolutely zero reason for Cat to be like this. Nor Minecraft. Low stakes is fine: the climax just has to be proportional to the rest of why we care about any of these characters. Them struggling with untied laces is fine if it's a big hurdle for them.
I greatly enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy when it was just Peter walking around a deserted planet kicking a critter. I hope the pendulum swings back soon. Not everything has to be high stakes all the time, because then there'd be nothing at stake.
Music fun fact time: that's called a "riser," and they are a common synth sound effect used in dance music as well as movie soundtracks. Two of the common approaches to make them are: Put a low...
that sound effect thing of having a loud rising sound in the background like its building up to something big
Music fun fact time: that's called a "riser," and they are a common synth sound effect used in dance music as well as movie soundtracks. Two of the common approaches to make them are:
Put a low pass filter on white noise, with the resonance turned up a bit, and slowly raise the cutoff.
Start with a tone and very slowly raise the pitch (using the oscillator pitch control and not changing the note key being pressed).
The film coming out has made me think a lot about Superman's character and what it means to people, and I'm curious what your favorite characterization is (or what you see as the "truest" version...
The film coming out has made me think a lot about Superman's character and what it means to people, and I'm curious what your favorite characterization is (or what you see as the "truest" version of him).
Thats a tough question. I dont know if there is a single characterization that I think fully encapsulates the character. He has different personality aspects that shine in different kinds of...
Thats a tough question. I dont know if there is a single characterization that I think fully encapsulates the character. He has different personality aspects that shine in different kinds of stories.
In terms of movies, Man of Tomorrow is a good young Superman story, All Star Superman is a good old Superman story.
But the aspects I like best about the character tend to work more in comic format, where you can do shorter stories that are more like vignettes. Superman shines best when you lean into the idea that he is overpowered, and that can do well in brief encounters but is hard to fill up a 2 hour film, or even a 25 minute TV episode. Adventures of Superman 40-41 is a good example. This scene would only take a couple minutes to resolve in a live action film. But is a good length for a comic.
Tildos, it has been too long since we've done a proper discussion thread for an opening weekend. What are your feelings on Superman? Do you think James Gunn has a good sense of what the DC...
Tildos, it has been too long since we've done a proper discussion thread for an opening weekend. What are your feelings on Superman? Do you think James Gunn has a good sense of what the DC Universe needs? How is this going to tie into Doomsday?
Im a big fan of Superman. I dont think this did a great job of handling the character, but I do think Gunn will do a good job with the DC universe. I thought it was refreshing that they wasnt so...
Im a big fan of Superman. I dont think this did a great job of handling the character, but I do think Gunn will do a good job with the DC universe. I thought it was refreshing that they wasnt so much Marvel style humor all the time, but there are still a few good comedic beats too.
Mr. Terrific was a highlight, I hope he gets his own movie in the future.
One of my favorite things about this movie is that it wasn’t epic. I think a big part of the problem in many superhero movies is the mindset that the stakes have to be higher, the fights more...
One of my favorite things about this movie is that it wasn’t epic. I think a big part of the problem in many superhero movies is the mindset that the stakes have to be higher, the fights more epic, everything has to be more than what we’ve seen before. The tradeoff is the people in the story.
It felt like a season finale of a tv show.
Spoilers
At least one fight was entirely background, setting up the idea that Superman isn’t alone in his fight. He accepts help and recognizes that others are good at this job. This sets up the end battle in Maldovia, where he doesn’t just accept help, he asks for it.
Everyone has their own idea of what Superman is, which is a point in time, anyway. He’s going to be different when he’s new to superhero-ing than he will be mid or late career. This is also a character that first appeared in 1938, he’s pushing 90. There have been many interpretations of him in this time, everyone seems to like the one they read first the best. I do think the general idea of hopefulness is key to most of those. We already have a brooding Batman and an antihero Wolverine, it’s refreshing to finally see a dopey good guy Superman, especially right now.
I liked Martha and Johnathon a lot. My only complaint is trust they had accents and he didn’t, I would have liked him to code switch when talking to them.
Heres my midweek post about it I watched it again. I will say the look of the film is still something I’m trying to get used to. If it was shot the same way as the first Guardians of the Galaxy I...
I watched it again. I will say the look of the film is still something I’m trying to get used to. If it was shot the same way as the first Guardians of the Galaxy I would have no issue saying it’s an all-timer superhero film. I somewhat understand the creative decision behind the film looking the way it does, and for the most part it works, but for the times it doesn’t it makes me wonder.
Man of Steel is something I’ve tried and tried to like. It should be something I’m into. Whenever I hear the score or see reels of the films beautiful cinematography it makes me want to love it. But the weak writing and the terrible performance from Cavill just makes it impossible. The first thirty minutes of the film is actually good, but once we get to Lois Lane (who’s subplots in MoS and BvS are always the dullest and less interesting) it’s just over for me.
I have not watched Superman Returns since I was a child but from what I remember it is pretty slow, I’m pretty sure I would always fall asleep to it and the reason I didn’t watch Man of Steel in theaters as a 13 year old was “Superman is boring.”
I would place this below both Superman The Movie and Superman II, mostly because those two have this grand visual scale to them. Which Nolan was heavily inspired by for Batman Begins.
This is unmistakably Gunn’s film though, and for WB to give him that level of creative control for one of their flagship characters is incredible. It’s a shame numbers aren’t looking great for this (mostly due to the INT market cratering for superhero films) because it deserved to make more than Man of Steel at the very least
I liked it a lot -- I was surprised how much it felt like reading through a few issues of a comic book. Love how it just jumps into the world and connects so many smaller episodes into the larger...
I liked it a lot -- I was surprised how much it felt like reading through a few issues of a comic book. Love how it just jumps into the world and connects so many smaller episodes into the larger plot.
The cast was great all around, but I think the standout for me was Hoult as Lex -- I was unsure of him in the trailers, but he absolutely owned every scene he was in. The promos already showed most of the best scenes for Clark and Lois, so while they were great, they never really surprised me. Partly my fault for watching those first though, I suppose.
I do agree with the comments that Superman felt too much the underdog for most of the film. An early scene where he's totally in charge would've helped sell him more as the world's most powerful superhero -- even just showing him casually stopping the war under a hail of bullets would've made a huge difference. That said, I like him being a bit more vulnerable in this iteration. Cavill's Superman was so hilariously overpowered that it made the rest of the Justice League feel inconsequential.
Speaking of the Snyderverse, Gunn's film lacks the operatic gravitas of Snyder's. I'm not sure yet if I consider that to be a good or bad thing, but it's noticeable. I generally dislike Snyder's films and his writing, but I did at times find myself missing that epic sense of scale that he brings to the table.
I thought the humor was hit or miss (which is fine, since the film isn't nearly as joke-saturated as the typical Gunn outing), but man my theater was almost stone cold silent outside of a couple moments, which kind of muted the fun for me. I suspect his style of humor is starting to wear thin on most people, he might be wise to start collaborating more on his comedic writing.
Anyway, I hope the movie does well, because IMO this is a very solid start to the DCU. I want to see more of this world -- it feels fresh and new, and man that scene at the end has me really excited for Supergirl next year.
I really wanted to like this movie, all my friends did, but the film feels very superficial? Like all the metaphors are shallow and don't hold up to any scrutiny. I don't think it's really about...
I really wanted to like this movie, all my friends did, but the film feels very superficial? Like all the metaphors are shallow and don't hold up to any scrutiny. I don't think it's really about anything other than Superman.
I've gone off superhero films as I've gotten older unfortunately. Maybe I'm sick of James Gunn works in particular, because I did enjoy Thunderbolts a few weeks back. That was much stronger thematically.
So, I just saw it a few hours ago and I want to take the movie point by point, separated by character. Superman: No notes on the actor's performance, great job. I think his imperfections and how...
So, I just saw it a few hours ago and I want to take the movie point by point, separated by character.
Superman: No notes on the actor's performance, great job. I think his imperfections and how he sums them up to Luthor were very well done. That said, another poster here has said they think this Superman was written by someone who thinks Superman is OP, and I agree. We don't really have any scenes of Superman living up to the ideal the character symbolises, because he's being worked around or beaten up so often. We do get him rescuing civilians from whatever monster or disaster is going on, but contrivedly only one civilian or animal is in danger at a time, so there's no Iron Man 3 scene of him taking the time to rescue a dozen at once. We also skipped his origin, which is very fair considering audiences are familiar, but that means the reveal about his past and how he resolves it fell flat to me because the thing it subverted wasn't built up to.
Lex Luthor: God I wanted to like him. I like the actor, and I like Lex's overall plan of mass media manipulation to get around Superman's abilities. But his character is undercooked and the actor doesn't have enough to work with, the script having to resort to lengthy monologues to his subordinates about things they already know or that are way too personal for him to admit to. I am only slightly exaggerating with the following, very blunt exchange: Lex Luthor: Rahr, I'm okay with meta humans but Superman is an alien not a human so I hate him. Superpowered flunky: I know Lex, I hate him too. I gave up my humanity so I can kill him.
Krypto: Unfortunately far too reliant on looks and gags for charm, he hinders Superman so often with his antics that he cones off as annoying - though granted that's very realistic for an undertrained varely adult dog.
Justice Gang: Green Lantern has none of the charm that Nathan Fillion can bring, being a flatly characterised dickhead - and I don't just mean the haircut. Hawkgirl is okay but barely gets any time, and Mr. Fantastic's stoic 'so smart that he he doesn't relate to normal people' routine is nothing without anyone to contrast against.
Lois: Again, the actor did a fine job and she is given time to contribute to the plot, but there's more that she could have done. I feel like she could have represented professional investigative reporters against Luthor's army of paid influencers, going into the warzone he created to give the public live footage of what's going on and skewering his manufactured narrative - and thus giving the Gang our Superman cover to intervene with public support.
Jokes and Gags: I think whoever it was that decided to tone these down made the right call. The film still has these from time to time, but they aren't nearly as intrusive as in the MCU. The soundtrack can work, but is occasionally too jarring for the tone of the scene, particularly the ending one.
Overall it's a good movie and a step in the right direction after Snyder, but it's a 7 rather than a 8. All these points can be improved and it's probably to set up development in the future, but that's no help to this movie. Cut the Justice Gang scenes down, increase the main characters'.
PS. re. the rating - bear in mind I'm by no means a comics fan, or at this point particularly inclined to superheroes. I gave a 7 based on my own personal enjoyment, but I think relative to the average summer blockbuster it's a great improvement, and certainly the best pick this summer if you need something with mass appeal to go with friends or family.
I really enjoyed it. I think a lot of people wanted a hopeful Superman movie, and I think this movie delivered on it.
I think there is a lot of ink spilled on the topic of superhero movies. On their dominance in the mainstream, and the relationship that mainstream success has on what type of movies get made by the movie industry. I don't think this movie will really change any of those trends, but I do think that this movie is a good movie for the culture. For the people who want to see a superhero movie, this movie encompasses the positive ideals that I think make superhero movies enjoyable.
I liked that it sold the idea of the DC Universe on being in it and wanting to learn more as opposed to deliberately telegraphing the next film and how beats in this film are going to pay off and it's going to be epic and just you wait and see. It's just a movie, and it's better that it is.
Tone and Politics (synopsis level spoilers)
Also, this movie is a direct contrast to Marvel in the political space. The Sokovia Accords would be a non starter here because Big Blue would make it a point that we don't do wars anymore, full stop. It directly comments on disputed territory that the US wants to sell arms to for their own convenience and the world that these heroes are protecting is not just the world outside your window, but a world that is part of a better tomorrow, and they absolutely should be! It was probably the most punk rock cape movie in theaters for a long, long time. (It even had a scene about what was punk rock vs pop punk, which is how you know it has credentials.)
I did think it was a little overstuffed, and it's an interesting choice skipping origins and first team ups and just dropping you into the middle of this, but small complaints and if it sets the universe up for better movies down the road, I think it's a decent price to pay.
I think that's one of the things that made me really enjoy it. It didn't really bother with worldbuilding or staying in continuity with other films, instead using elements that are either so well-established or so easy to understand that they need no introductions or explanations.
I hope they go the opposite route, making films that work well as standalone films, and don't require hours of homework before going to the threatre. It doesn't even matter much to me if the films end up contradicting each other to a certain degree.
I agree, if the cost of the DCU is that sometimes things happen off screen, in order for every movie to be able to be everyone's first, totally willing to make that trade.
Just saw the movie today. Overall as someone who really likes Superman I would say this is a good movie that I enjoyed, but a bad rendition of Superman.
If I had to guess, I would say this was written by writers who didn't like Superman growing up because they thought he was too boring and overpowered. Dude is constantly on the back foot this whole movie. Until the last 10-15 minutes I don't feel like there is ever a moment where it feels like he is in control of the situation. Any situation.
The movie starts with text on the screen saying that for the first time ever, Superman has lost a fight. And from that point on, the guy is just constantly struggling. When he's fighting some faceless goons with Luthor tech, its difficult. When public sentiment turns against him, he doesn't know how to respond. Even when he is fighting a big generic monster that should be his bread and butter, he ends up taking a backseat to other heroes who show up to help.
The big problem I see with this version of him is not physical weakness though, its his lack of emotional stability. There is a part from the trailers where you see Lois Lane interviewing Clark as Superman, and that happens early on in the film. In this scene, Clark starts off saying he is media savvy and can handle tough questions, but he very quickly cannot handle it. He gets defensive and seems to scoff at the very idea of being questioned, and I just personally don't think that fits at all. It's not how Superman would react in character, and it's not how Clark would react out of character.
There's a part where he is upset about something, so he smashes through a wall and threatens a nonsuperpowered person with violence. That's something Shazam would do, because he is still a child. Superman has a lifetime of experience with not losing control and bullying people with his powers. Its one of his most defining character traits.
Lois Lane is in the movie, but her relationship with Superman/Clark quickly devolves into relationship drama. Later on they reconcile, and once they do they don't really interact again until the end of movie kiss. Because if its not drama, it's not interesting, right?
The most "Superman-esque" scene in the movie is not Superman at all, it's Mr. Terrific fighting some goons. Which I liked a lot, Mr. Terrific is great in this. Luthor is also pretty good, but he doesn't get very much characterization until one monologue at the end. It relies a lot on you already knowing what his whole deal is.
Bottom line, Superman is a superhero in this film, but he isn't the Gold Standard of a superhero like he ought to be.
However, I should say I still liked the movie. I hadnt really been keeping up with Marvel anymore, but this movie felt refreshing after seeing so many movies in the Marvel style. It is a movie thats more earnest and not undercut with humor as much. Theres still some, but less. I liked the side characters and thought they played off each other well. Luthor being unapologetically terrible wasnt what I was expecting, but it works well.
That's highly disappointing. That'd be like Steve Rogers yelling at and bullying someone.
I want to see the reverse kind of Superman, where he's just so great at fighting bad guys and monsters and doing the Super Hero thing and do all things we wish we could do, with kindness and grace, effortlessly. But as Clark Kent he doesn't know how to navigate small time human emotions well or how to deal with being perceived as weak because of his kindness. He could fly to the moon and be a lone wolf and only come down to help, but he's choosing to learn how to human, and that's a different kind of strength.
I think its just a consequence of the fact that American entertainment seems to lean heavy on drama in general.
There were 15 minutes of previews between the starting time and the actual movie start, and I noticed that every preview was doing that sound effect thing of having a loud rising sound in the background like its building up to something big. This was even happening on movies that were not at all dramatic, like a preview for The Cat in the Hat. Its just the default to sprinkle in a little drama to everything, like its salt.
I suspect thats why the filmmakers wanted every confrontation to feel like it had some stakes, so they never wanted anything to seem too easy for Superman. But I feel like that's a very iconic Superman move, to have bullets bounce off him or tank an enemy's punch without flinching. Often times a show will have some more minor antagonist early on thats not on the superheros level, and that will be the chance to do stuff like that, but this movie starts with him fighting a hard opponent right away so they dont get that chance.
There's absolutely zero reason for Cat to be like this. Nor Minecraft. Low stakes is fine: the climax just has to be proportional to the rest of why we care about any of these characters. Them struggling with untied laces is fine if it's a big hurdle for them.
I greatly enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy when it was just Peter walking around a deserted planet kicking a critter. I hope the pendulum swings back soon. Not everything has to be high stakes all the time, because then there'd be nothing at stake.
Music fun fact time: that's called a "riser," and they are a common synth sound effect used in dance music as well as movie soundtracks. Two of the common approaches to make them are:
Put a low pass filter on white noise, with the resonance turned up a bit, and slowly raise the cutoff.
Start with a tone and very slowly raise the pitch (using the oscillator pitch control and not changing the note key being pressed).
The film coming out has made me think a lot about Superman's character and what it means to people, and I'm curious what your favorite characterization is (or what you see as the "truest" version of him).
Thats a tough question. I dont know if there is a single characterization that I think fully encapsulates the character. He has different personality aspects that shine in different kinds of stories.
In terms of movies, Man of Tomorrow is a good young Superman story, All Star Superman is a good old Superman story.
But the aspects I like best about the character tend to work more in comic format, where you can do shorter stories that are more like vignettes. Superman shines best when you lean into the idea that he is overpowered, and that can do well in brief encounters but is hard to fill up a 2 hour film, or even a 25 minute TV episode. Adventures of Superman 40-41 is a good example. This scene would only take a couple minutes to resolve in a live action film. But is a good length for a comic.
Tildos, it has been too long since we've done a proper discussion thread for an opening weekend. What are your feelings on Superman? Do you think James Gunn has a good sense of what the DC Universe needs?
How is this going to tie into Doomsday?Im a big fan of Superman. I dont think this did a great job of handling the character, but I do think Gunn will do a good job with the DC universe. I thought it was refreshing that they wasnt so much Marvel style humor all the time, but there are still a few good comedic beats too.
Mr. Terrific was a highlight, I hope he gets his own movie in the future.
One of my favorite things about this movie is that it wasn’t epic. I think a big part of the problem in many superhero movies is the mindset that the stakes have to be higher, the fights more epic, everything has to be more than what we’ve seen before. The tradeoff is the people in the story.
It felt like a season finale of a tv show.
Spoilers
At least one fight was entirely background, setting up the idea that Superman isn’t alone in his fight. He accepts help and recognizes that others are good at this job. This sets up the end battle in Maldovia, where he doesn’t just accept help, he asks for it.
Everyone has their own idea of what Superman is, which is a point in time, anyway. He’s going to be different when he’s new to superhero-ing than he will be mid or late career. This is also a character that first appeared in 1938, he’s pushing 90. There have been many interpretations of him in this time, everyone seems to like the one they read first the best. I do think the general idea of hopefulness is key to most of those. We already have a brooding Batman and an antihero Wolverine, it’s refreshing to finally see a dopey good guy Superman, especially right now.
I liked Martha and Johnathon a lot. My only complaint is trust they had accents and he didn’t, I would have liked him to code switch when talking to them.
Heres my midweek post about it
I watched it again. I will say the look of the film is still something I’m trying to get used to. If it was shot the same way as the first Guardians of the Galaxy I would have no issue saying it’s an all-timer superhero film. I somewhat understand the creative decision behind the film looking the way it does, and for the most part it works, but for the times it doesn’t it makes me wonder.
Man of Steel is something I’ve tried and tried to like. It should be something I’m into. Whenever I hear the score or see reels of the films beautiful cinematography it makes me want to love it. But the weak writing and the terrible performance from Cavill just makes it impossible. The first thirty minutes of the film is actually good, but once we get to Lois Lane (who’s subplots in MoS and BvS are always the dullest and less interesting) it’s just over for me.
I have not watched Superman Returns since I was a child but from what I remember it is pretty slow, I’m pretty sure I would always fall asleep to it and the reason I didn’t watch Man of Steel in theaters as a 13 year old was “Superman is boring.”
I would place this below both Superman The Movie and Superman II, mostly because those two have this grand visual scale to them. Which Nolan was heavily inspired by for Batman Begins.
This is unmistakably Gunn’s film though, and for WB to give him that level of creative control for one of their flagship characters is incredible. It’s a shame numbers aren’t looking great for this (mostly due to the INT market cratering for superhero films) because it deserved to make more than Man of Steel at the very least
I liked it a lot -- I was surprised how much it felt like reading through a few issues of a comic book. Love how it just jumps into the world and connects so many smaller episodes into the larger plot.
The cast was great all around, but I think the standout for me was Hoult as Lex -- I was unsure of him in the trailers, but he absolutely owned every scene he was in. The promos already showed most of the best scenes for Clark and Lois, so while they were great, they never really surprised me. Partly my fault for watching those first though, I suppose.
I do agree with the comments that Superman felt too much the underdog for most of the film. An early scene where he's totally in charge would've helped sell him more as the world's most powerful superhero -- even just showing him casually stopping the war under a hail of bullets would've made a huge difference. That said, I like him being a bit more vulnerable in this iteration. Cavill's Superman was so hilariously overpowered that it made the rest of the Justice League feel inconsequential.
Speaking of the Snyderverse, Gunn's film lacks the operatic gravitas of Snyder's. I'm not sure yet if I consider that to be a good or bad thing, but it's noticeable. I generally dislike Snyder's films and his writing, but I did at times find myself missing that epic sense of scale that he brings to the table.
I thought the humor was hit or miss (which is fine, since the film isn't nearly as joke-saturated as the typical Gunn outing), but man my theater was almost stone cold silent outside of a couple moments, which kind of muted the fun for me. I suspect his style of humor is starting to wear thin on most people, he might be wise to start collaborating more on his comedic writing.
Anyway, I hope the movie does well, because IMO this is a very solid start to the DCU. I want to see more of this world -- it feels fresh and new, and man that scene at the end has me really excited for Supergirl next year.
I really wanted to like this movie, all my friends did, but the film feels very superficial? Like all the metaphors are shallow and don't hold up to any scrutiny. I don't think it's really about anything other than Superman.
I've gone off superhero films as I've gotten older unfortunately. Maybe I'm sick of James Gunn works in particular, because I did enjoy Thunderbolts a few weeks back. That was much stronger thematically.
So, I just saw it a few hours ago and I want to take the movie point by point, separated by character.
Lex Luthor: Rahr, I'm okay with meta humans but Superman is an alien not a human so I hate him.
Superpowered flunky: I know Lex, I hate him too. I gave up my humanity so I can kill him.
Overall it's a good movie and a step in the right direction after Snyder, but it's a 7 rather than a 8. All these points can be improved and it's probably to set up development in the future, but that's no help to this movie. Cut the Justice Gang scenes down, increase the main characters'.
PS. re. the rating - bear in mind I'm by no means a comics fan, or at this point particularly inclined to superheroes. I gave a 7 based on my own personal enjoyment, but I think relative to the average summer blockbuster it's a great improvement, and certainly the best pick this summer if you need something with mass appeal to go with friends or family.