“On my world it means hope” Part Two

If someone acts and sounds like Superman, then he probably is,
and two out of three ain’t bad.

Tyler Hoechlin is at least 300 times better looking than I  could ever hope to be.  But, to me at least, he just didn’t quite personify the Superman look - he’s an alternative to the symmetrical, strong jawed features we’re used to. And I still can’t get used to those weird cape brackets on the shoulders.

But he wore it well.

In every other aspect, however, this was the best Superman we’ve had in many many years, with a warmth, charisma and humility which has been especially missing of late. The easy authority and sheer likeability of his performance reminded me most of George Reeves. Even without the costume and superpowers, you’d be drawn to this figure and inspired by him.

It sounds simple when put like this - and makes you wonder why so many have struggled with the concept recently.  Let people be afraid of Batman, but you should want to BE Superman.

And despite achieving all of this, Hoechlin still managed to deliver a portrayal which didn’t eclipse his cousin in her own show. Bravo sir, and I hope you come back, one day.

Which brings me to the Supergirl series itself.  I don’t want to be unkind - as a friend pointed out, this is a family show - but now that Superman has retuned to Metropolis I doubt I’ll be tuning in again.

Perhaps the gritty Netflix Marvel series have just spoilt me for anything less than believable, flawed characters, rather than pretty people delivering Saturday morning cartoon dialogue.

But ultimately, I’m happy that there’s a bright and breezy Kryptonian bearing that shield and fighting for truth and justice, and glad that her viewing figures don’t need me.

Just super - you wait for years, and then two come along at the same time...

“On my world it means hope.”

He’s been through a lot this year, but it takes more than an unmentionable cinema experience to keep him down

We’ve been told in an earlier film that the shield, above, means ‘hope’ - so here is a much-needed dose. 
It’s far too early to really tell, of course, and this is really his cousin’s show, but these few minutes feel more like the character I’ve always loved than anything else I’ve seen this year.

It’s good to have you back, Superman!

Man, oh Man...

Nerd rage over Batman v Superman is clogging the internet. 

(spoiler warning)

World's Finest: All the following, aspirational artwork is by the incomparable Alex Ross.

And although I agree with most of it, I’ll try not to bother repeating it here.  As most of us seem able to concoct a more logical, intelligent and entertaining plot for this long-awaited film just a few minutes after having seen it, I’m going to present my own thoughts in the form of a scenario:

1975: just before tea-time.  

A young stick insect with a red beach towel tucked into the neck of his blue t-shirt is watching with bolt-upright attention as an episode of The Adventures of Superman begins on a small black and white TV set.  “Faster than a speeding bullet…” the rapt youngster mouths in time to the opening narration…

George Reeves and Adam West,  the superheroes of my childhood.

Suddenly a confusing special effect appears in front of the screen: a swirly, lightning-rimmed tunnel from which protrudes the head and shoulders of an older stick insect, shouting almost incoherently above the electrical crackling and reverb filter.

This is ‘Future Phas’ and he’s bringing himself an urgent warning from dark days yet to come.

“You like Superman, don’t you?  the apparition yells.  “In a few years time a couple of films are going to come along which you will just love.”

The young insect’s antennae flick upwards at this.

“At the moment you like him because he’s stronger than anyone else and can fly, but as you get older you’ll realise that Superman stands for so much more. Compassion, courage, the determination to try always to selflessly do the right thing, to help and protect others at any cost…”  

"...who came to Earth with powers far beyond those of mortal men..."

“The point is”, noting his younger self’s attention drifting back to the TV, he moves on quickly, “after the good films there will be some not-so-good ones.  But you’ll always find something to like about them, and keep hoping for better.”

“However,” He allows an ominous pause,  “in forty-one year’s time there will come a film which will betray all of those principles I just mentioned, and you must avoid it at all costs...” 

Future Phas shouts louder as the noise of the tunnel around him starts to increase:

“It’s going… to be called…  Batman v-v-v-v-v….” The last syllable elongates then cuts off like a needle being pulled off a record, as he suddenly winks forward to his own time.

“Batman?” mutters the little Phasmatodea in the abrupt silence, as he rises to fiddle with the vertical hold,  “I thought he was talking about Superman…”

Clark, Diana and Bruce from the conclusion of 'Kingdom Come'.

In the distant future, evil sometime-scientist, billionaire and occasional property developer Lex Luthor has hatched the perfect plan to finally destroy Superman.  He’s realised that propaganda is the best way to bring his nemesis down, so makes contact with someone who hates Superman almost as much as himself - a man called Frank Miller, and arranges to adapt one of this Writer/Artist’s most brutal works.

Luthor hatches a scheme to produce two propaganda films, three years apart. He’ll be subtle, posing as a director with the same amount of syllables in his name, even ending with the same letter. 

The first film will introduce doubts about Superman, undermining public trust in him and shifting the Man of Steel’s fundamentally benevolent nature. Then the follow-up will really go in for the kill.

In the next one Superman will be vilified, demonised, beaten, humiliated.  He’ll barely be given any lines so audiences will never hear his point of view, he’ll be made to act out of character not just for himself but any sane person, and finally he’ll be killed and buried. 

And although overlong and utterly joyless, if this film is marketed properly people in their millions all over the world will pay money to watch.  

To really cement Luthor’s victory he’ll even include a scene metaphorically showing exactly what this film really is, and will laugh long and hard when audiences everywhere raise that warm jar to their lips and drink it all down.

Alex Ross illustrates yet another sequence between the two leads 
better than anything currently on offer elsewhere.

Melee à trois

A particular few minutes of footage from the current Comic Con has left us Black and Blue.

After months and months of very little there is a lot to take in with the recent Comic Con Batman v Superman trailer. These are some thoughts on it from a life-long Superman fan: the Phasmatodea of Tomorrow.  From the perspective of someone who prefers his cape black - read Bat Simian's synced views here: http://jetsimian.blogspot.co.nz/2015/07/cape-expectations.html

And here's the trailer itself:

Jeremy Irons as our third Alfred in as many years instantly impresses with his RADA gravitas.
 

Alfred wisely councils putting Pearl Harbour behind them

Fascinating that he appears to be the voice of reason in the Wayne household, echoing  the wisdom of a particular solo-mother in rural Kansas. I always assumed that a certain Amazon princess would break up the sadly inevitable stoush between the title characters, but maybe Alfred Pennyworth and Martha Kent send them to their rooms (caves/fortresses) instead?

Now the world is ready for you, and the wonders you can do,
Make a hawk a dove, stop a war with love,
make a liar tell it true...

And speaking of Wonder Woman, despite the negative on-line response to Gal Gadot's lack of physicality, she certainly looks the part in the very brief glimpses we're afforded here (wearing, as a workmate has quipped: her "Wondie-Onesie"). Ben Affleck also looks great with convincing smouldering rage. I decided from the start to be a supporter of his casting and I'm already smugly glad that I did.

Mention Jersey Girl one more time, I dare you...

I'm less certain about Jesse Eisenberg's Luthor, perhaps he's meant to be instantly slap-able? I'd have preferred Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston: surely perfect casting? Elsewhere Holly Hunter continues to sound more and more like a mid-western Sean Connery, while Cavill IS Superman, having made the role his own before he even put the costume on in the first film.

Meanwhile, someone else does the heavy lifting, as usual

This is going to be a crowded tale for sure, with more and more characters from the DC universe crammed in with every new announcement. And I really don't need to see yet another enactment of the murder of young Bruce Wayne's parents - oh please no.

I wanted, (quite reasonably, I thought), a Man of Steel sequel about Superman, but instead am not only getting a potentially rushed introduction to the Justice League, but an interpretation of a highly-regarded, but thoroughly nasty, Batman story from the end of the 1980s.

Despite all this I'm very much looking forward to this film. With my interest in the Arrow and Flash TV series wavering around zero, with great surprise I have to come out as more of a Marvel man after all, but also Superman fan first and foremost (so conflicted - maybe I'm MC-DC?) But most of all, I really want to see DC's big three on screen together, and I hope Gal Gadot is as successful at inheriting her mantle from a definitive 1970's interpretation as Cavill was.

Speaking of whom: poor Kal-El looks as if he's really being put through the wringer in this. From carrying the catastrophic consequences of the first film (just remember that he saved the world, everyone!) to a persistent rodent problem and the emergence of his perennial, but usually follically-challenged, arch nemesis.

So I won't blame him if for once he doesn't hold back all the time. Frank Miller's original storyline for The Dark Knight Returns comic concluded with a more thoughtful and realistic confrontation - which I hope Zack Snyder veers more towards in this film.
After all, although this latest hulking Batman drips with menace, as Superman reminds him in The Dark Knight Returns: "Bruce... you're just meat and bone - like all the rest".

On the other hand, as my 'Wondie-Onesie workmate' also reminded me, Superman always has to endure so much suffering because only he can bear it. To extend the already abundant religious analogy: he suffers for our sins, while the other guy in this film title wants us to suffer for them.

Yearly projections

The medium of film seems an appropriate way for this blog to look back on the year that was.

2013 is almost over, and in terms of cinema entertainment it’s been a memorable year.

Marvel films continue their, until now, unchallenged domination of the big screen, but wait, up in the sky, is it a bird, is it a plane..?

Alas, this list is dominated by large, noisy 3-D blockbusters, but spectacle is best appreciated on a big screen, after all.

A couple of smaller films brought plenty of film magic of an altogether different kind and I only just managed to get tickets to duck Matt Smith’s chin in 3-D. 

It seems that I may have missed ‘the film of the year’ however, as Gravity continues to attract praise from pretty-much everyone.

Here are some of my highlights (and a notable low-point).

Skyfall
Although released in late 2012, we saw Skyfall at the beginning of this year, making Bond the first of three long-running fictional heroes celebrating an anniversary on-screen in 2013. And if this film put a foot wrong I certainly didn’t see it. I particularly loved the more personal, scaled-down resolution, with no large-scale assault on a super villain’s lair to stop a satellite-borne laser beam starting World War Three, this time.  Instead, Bond is desperately trying to get two elderly British thesps to safety through the besieged, fast disintegrating remnants of his family estate, and it’s riveting. 
Another highlight was young Ben Wilshaw as the new Q.  Making an instant impact with screen-presence well-beyond his age, some suggest him as a natural choice for the new Doctor when Matt Smith announces his departure.  By the year’s end Wilshaw has been cast as another icon instead: Freddie Mercury.

Iron Man 3

Two sequels and a last-chance reboot dominated the middle of the year, and I made it my business to organise group viewings of all of them with friends of varying enthusiasm.

First out of the gate was Tony Stark’s latest outing (which apparently could have been the original Iron Man 2 if the unexpected success of the first film hadn’t produced that ill-advisedly premature and hurried sequel a few years back.)

Downey delivers, as usual, and the idea of having Stark suffering from post-Avengers combat syndrome was a fascinating one.  Pairing him with the antithesis of a cute kid (Downey jnr, jnr?) lead to the film’s most charming scenes, Ben Kingsley is exceptional and Gwyneth Paltrow wears a vest top very well. But somehow this sequel fades from memory quite quickly after the climactic explosions die away.

Star Trek – Into Darkness

The biggest and perhaps only criticism I’ve heard of this film is that “It wasn’t as good as the first one”.  I suspect chances were it was never going to manage that particular feat, and I personally loved Abram’s second Trek.  An intriguing refracted image of the original Star Trek 2, on steroids, it also managed to tell an exciting, original story and the large cast were well-served.  Benedict Cumberbatch shows why he is everywhere at the moment.

Man of Steel

I’ve wrote plenty about this film here http://fasmatodea.blogspot.co.nz/2013/11/steel-works.html
and it just might be my favourite cinema experience of 2013 due to the intense feeling of relief that this man can still make us believe he can fly.  Perhaps a little cold and nihilistic at times, this is none-the-less the best possible start for the ‘other’ comic superheroes’ advance on the big screen. Led - as is only right - by Superman. Watch out Marvel!

 Pacific Rim

Aargh. How could this come from the mind of the same man who made Pan’s Labyrinth? As clanking and colossally monstrous as its ‘stars’, but not in a good way.  Please redeem yourself with your Lovecraft film, Mr Del Toro.

Song for Marion

Not seen on the big screen, we enjoyed this, appropriately, in more intimate surroundings at home.  A lonely man struggles with the loss of his wife only to finally realise that good can come from any situation and it’s never to late to change.  This is the epitome of a well-made, modestly budgeted British film with several hundred times more heart than anything on offer at the multiplexes, as brilliant performances and plenty of humour take you through a spectrum of emotions before thankfully coming to rest on ‘life-affirming’.  It probably helped that the original General Zod: Terence Stamp, the ninth Doctor: Christopher Eccleston, and the gorgeous Gemma Arterton were in the lead roles, too.

The Magic of Belle Isle

Perhaps a state-side answer to Song for Marion, another loveable curmudgeon finds redemption and a second chance due to the irrepressible natures of those around him, and a dog called Spot.  Morgan Freeman brings even more charisma than usual to the role of disabled former-author Monte Wildhorn and the every-day eccentricity of Belle Isle, combined with priceless, and sometimes elaborate, dialogue helps make this lovely little film irresistible.

The Day of the Doctor

I saw the Doctor Who 50^th anniversary special with my wife and father, in a cinema packed with fans of all ages, in 3-D.  The audience was roughly 50% female, some wore Matt Smith costumes, some took their parents, even their Grandparents (or is that the other way-around?).  This alone would have been enough to burst my sad little fan-heart with joy, but impossibly, The Day of the Doctor actually lived up to its hype.  After a very patchy series earlier in the year, the programme-makers somehow got back in touch with the essence of ‘Who’ just in time, and literally gave us a celebration which had something for everyone.  Twelve (“No sir; thirteen!”) spinning little blue boxes felt like every Christmas present ever, arriving all at once.

Beyond the Edge

A late arrival (saw it yesterday!) and well-worth inclusion. I researched Hillary and Tenzing’s climb fairly exhaustively earlier this year (see infographic below), but this documentary finally conveyed what the climb was actually like, from the treacherous Khumbu icefall to the terrifying vertical Hillary’s Step. Superb research gives new insights to a story already familiar to many, while beautifully filmed recreations of key events convey the emotion and spectacle.  The achievement is humbling, yet stirs National pride at the same time, and our cat carries the name Ed with justified honour.

Hip to be Square

The dubious rubber-fetishism of 'the Bat' has never been for me, I've always been a blue tights kind of guy...

Superman is 75 this year, so it’s almost impossible to imagine a time when he wasn’t leaping tall buildings in a single bound.  The ‘Man of Tomorrow’ has had his highs and lows throughout the decades, but it’s good to be able to write about this particular pop culture icon now, at a time when he seems to be flying higher than ever. 

I've already written about the extreme relief which Man of Steel's success has been this year, and I can never suppress a wry smile when I see the current preponderance of the 'S' symbol on street wear when I'm out and about in our own Metropolis.  It's as if the old fashioned values of Superman, which had seemed to disappear under a bat-shaped shadow of cynicism and vengeance some time ago, (or was it actually a huge ‘M’ for Marvel?), have finally emerged back into the sun.  Perhaps newer generations are less inclined to shuffle uncomfortably when faced with words like truth and justice; righteous outrage and intolerance of societal ills are apparently Y-Generation traits and we should all be grateful for that.

However, the direction Man of Steel's marketing took seemed initially at odds to this proud new attitude.  Not only did we seem to have a film without the character’s name in the title and a shy teaser poster which barely even shows the ‘S’ symbol, but a trailer which cut Amy Adams off before she can even say “Superm…”  As we now know however, this apparent coyness turned out to be nothing of the kind, and all for good reason.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.  I'd call myself a fan of the character, but at the same time feel somewhat fraudulent in doing so in doing so because Superman is a creation of the DC comics world, and I never read them.  With a scant few exceptions, my experience of Superman is almost exclusively through what are strictly called adaptations - in film and television. 

George Reeve was Superman when I was growing up in the mid-seventies, even if Adventures of Superman actually first screened in 1952. It wasn't unusual to have shows of this vintage screened in prime viewing slots back then, and the fact that it was one of the very first series ever to be filmed in colour probably helped (not that any of us had colour TVs yet). We didn't know or care that it was horribly dated even then.  The rushing wind sound as Superman took to the air (in the same special effects shot every time, which looked as if it had been matted with a black felt pen) and the unforgettable introduction (“...is it a bird, is it a plane..”) were the most exciting thing our 15 inch black and white screen ever lost its vertical hold on.

 In years to come, a little film by George Lucas absolutely hypnotised and entranced me to the exclusion of almost all else.  So when I heard that a Superman film was coming out the following year, which according to the inevitable hype was going to be 'better than Star Wars' , I vowed to hate it there and then. I probably wouldn’t even have gone to see it, except my family, (once again, I recall it was Mum who was especially keen) dragged me along while we were away on holiday.

I’d love to report that I loved Superman the Movie on sight, but I stupidly wouldn’t let myself. I knew it was good, I could see that Christopher Reeve was the Man, but instead I picked and niggled at this magical film like the brat I was.

But two years later, we all went to see Superman II and that experience transformed me into a life-long fan in the space of 127 minutes. Yes, it’s a fabulous film (although even I came to realise not as fabulous as the first) but it was more what happened at this particular screening.  During the climactic battle in, under and above Metropolis, the whole cinema audience went crazy for Superman. Perhaps it was a little ironically intended, or maybe this spontaneous release of enthusiasm could have happened at another film - but that night everyone clapped and cheered and yelled for all they were worth.

I’d never experienced an audience responding to a film like that before and I doubt I ever will again - walking out of that cinema, with John William’s beloved score still blaring from the speakers, I felt like I wanted to fly.  “We used to cheer the cowboys at the pictures” said my Dad afterwards, “Now they’re cheering Superman!”

By the time Superman III arrived, friends and I took our girlfriends – the days of tagging along with our families were past. It was fun, but if we felt like being analytical we could see that it was very far from a good film.  And when Superman IV limped into cinemas four years later I couldn’t even find anyone prepared to see it with me, and only caught it myself many years later on VHS (not the best use I ever put my membership card to).

These were the dark years, but while everyone flocked to see Batman at the cinema, I rediscovered Superman the Movie through VHS, and with the maturing of what passed for my critical faculties I could finally appreciate it for the modern masterpiece it was.  Of course it has its faults, but the tone is absolutely right.  The world believed a man could fly back in 1978 because everyone involved in this film believed it too, particularly Director Richard Donner and his Star.  Even Brando, overweight, overpaid and unrehearsed, turns in a performance of almost preposterous gravitas and dignity.

I never really invested in Lois and Clark: the New Adventures of Superman on TV, as it always struck me as little more than a thinly-caped vehicle for Teri Hatcher’s debatable talents.  It certainly had its fans though.  When Christopher Reeve’s tragic 1995 accident was reported and someone at work gasped that Superman had broken his neck, another very young colleague cried: “Oh no, poor Dean Cain!” Similarly, Smallville never caught on with me – ten years of foreplay – really?

What did excite me was the news that the ‘Godfather of the modern superhero film’ and massive Superman fan, Bryan Singer was bringing ‘Big Blue’ back to the screen.  Everything about it sounded perfect – John William’s music: tick, a sequel which follows on from the second Reeve film and over-writes the last two: GREAT idea, a digital Brando cameo: could it get any better?

It might be surprising to contemplate that, takings–wise, Superman Returns was a huge success and there was much talk of a sequel.  However, what we saw on screen was proof that you can be too much in love with something, as Singer clearly was with the 1978 film. His ‘sequel’ actually comes across as an infatuated remake (coining the expression ‘re-quel’), as he lovingly re-crafts key scenes and even lines of dialogue from Donner’s film.  The title sequence, a 21st century reworking of the original opening, is great, and when the rare action is delivered, it hits the spot.  However, with his annoyingly undersized ‘S’, Brandon Routh comes across as more of a ‘Superboy’ and this rather ‘emo’ film has been labelled the world’s first ‘Superhero weepie’.

A limited market, to be sure…

Seven years later, Man of Steel took the exact opposite approach to Singer, treating the subject as if it had never been filmed before.  So there are no 'kisses to the past' in terms of previous films, but I'm assured that there are plenty to the mythology of the comics. And with that, I'll move on as I've probably written quite enough about this year's film in these last two posts.

I think I’m a Superman fan for two reasons, apart from three very good films.  Like Kal-El, I’m adopted and although my own special powers seem limited to emulating the creature this blog is named after, the concept of being raised by parents who didn’t bring you into this world but love you all the more for it strikes a chord with me.  Trying to adapt to a strange new environment at a very young age, as I did when we immigrated, also has resonance.
And secondly, despite my unspectacular personal record, I think it’s important to constantly strive to be better than we are. To hold yourself back from simply responding in kind to unthinking aggression and prejudice, to help others whenever you can and never give in if you believe your cause is a just one.  Man of Tomorrow is an apt name for this ‘strange visitor from another planet’ because I also believe that if we strive to live up the same ideals, we can all be super men one day.
 

The above images of  George Reeves, Christopher Reeve and Henry Cavill are taken from Zack Snyder's
wonderful 75th anniversary animated short - enjoy it here:

And here is my own 75th anniversary tribute (magnify to read):

Steel Works

Superman returned to the screen again this year, and this time he flew.

In the middle of this year, Man of Steel, despite some shortcomings and the perceived under-performance of Superman's previous cinematic outing, exceeded the stellar expectations of the studios and in many cases fans and critics too. 

Kevin Costner, Russell Crowe and Director Zack Snyder, who detractors had already condemned before a single frame of this film was ever shot, bring their absolute best games to this film.  In my opinion Costner actually gives his most moving performance ever, knocking it out of the ball park better than he ever did in Field of Dreams. The catch in his voice when he reassures the frightened young Clark with the words “you are my son” is perfectly pitched and his final scene could well be Costner’s finest moment on screen.

But as always, responsibility for the film’s ability to soar lay upon the ludicrously-broad shoulders of its lead actor. Christopher Reeve will probably always be the definitive screen Superman for me, but Henry Cavill is now a very close second.

Particularly before the explosive final act, he seems to have an ability to convey precise thoughts and emotions with the barest minimum of expression and body language, (the same understated approach, incidentally, which Christopher Reeve took with his own portrayal).  What some have critics mistakenly called ‘wooden’ is actually the conveying of a larger than life icon with skilfully judged subtlety and restraint.

When I heard that the film’s mission was to make Superman more relatable, I shuddered, with visions of a quipping, smirking Dean Cain passing before my eyes.  But Man of Steel does succeed in giving us a title character who we can, and want, to get behind. We are able to engage with an alienated refugee who gradually discovers that his ‘curse’ might also be our blessing and by the end of the film rejoice as he symbolically claims a new persona, complete with friends and a sense of purpose, which is more important than the simple ‘secret identity’ of old.

With Christopher Nolan’s close involvement, many also predicted that this would be a ‘Superman Begins’ and in many ways it is, but not in the grimy, gravely-voiced, winged-rodent sort of way which they meant.

In 1978 Christopher Reeve’s Superman flew out of his Fortress of Solitude, fully-formed after a decade of intensive tuition from a hologram of Marlon Brando, on how to be the world’s greatest hero.

In Man of Steel, Cavill is shown the suit, and then turned loose to make his own mistakes.  This includes a spectacular sequence which begins like a scene from ‘80s comedy series The Greatest American Hero - something I hoped to never see in a Superman film, but it kind of works.  On persevering: a hurtling, cape-fluttering world tour encourages us to share his new-found exhilaration – this is a very human Superman, learning on the job.

This fresh and welcome approach does unfortunately have the side effect of there being no ‘big reveal’ for our title character – there is no equivalent of the  “You’ve got me, who’s got you?” scene from Superman the Movie.  Take a couple of minutes to watch it now, and if you aren’t grinning by the end, then your brain might just have become disconnected from your heart.

Unlike Bryan Singer’s well-intentioned but misjudged 2006 effort, Superman Returns, Man of Steel sets out to tell an all-too-familiar story, a true modern myth, but in a fresh new way.  If the beautifully realised and exciting Krypton ‘prologue’ doesn’t already signal this approach, the sudden cut from young Kal’s ship entering our atmosphere to the adult Clark working on a present day shipping boat does.  We all know the Moses-inspired legend by heart, but this film wisely breaks up the linear narrative and explores ‘corners’ in the story we haven’t seen before.

 

Despite being a new interpretation, Man of Steel contains many nods to the past.

With the arrival of Zod and his army the film then appears hell-bent in ensuring that the criticism of ‘not enough action’ levelled at Bryan Singer’s film, can never be applied here.

The ear-drum shredding, wildly-kinetic mayhem which fills the second half and literally levels an entire city is a guilty pleasure.  It feels a little like a venerable ‘gentleman prize fighter’ of yester-year stepping into the ring and comprehensively wiping the floor with the current bunch of cinematic caped-wannabees.  It’s chaos on a scale not seen before, a true ‘clash of the gods’, but the apparent disregard for we poor mortals left to flee between the toppling buildings does leave a slight hint of sourness.  In 1980’s Superman II, (the direct inspiration for this colossal confrontation), Reeve’s Superman quits the big fight when he realises that he can’t protect hundreds of innocent bystanders from collateral damage, and draws the Kryptonian super-villains away from Metropolis.

Similarly, Man of Steel’s final resolution of Zod’s threat is undeniably shocking, although I’m not going to give it away here.  It is a good thing that we are shocked and the toll it takes on our hero shows that it almost costs him his soul.

Both these points have been addressed by scriptwriter David Goyer, and his answer is also what makes this film so unique and engaging.  This is a newly-minted hero, (the name Superman is only heard three times in the entire film) and he still has much to learn.  He doesn’t always know what to do, doesn’t have the decades of experience and wisdom we associate with the character yet.  And this in itself makes his cinematic future fascinating to contemplate.

But I do have a slight niggle that the only successful on-screen Superman stories to date: the first two Reeve films, have both been used up by Man of Steel. And I also feel some disappointment that the next film will see him share the screen, grudgingly, with a new Batman. 

I’ll talk more about this in a future post, but for now I’m thrilled to have seen my favourite superhero return to the screen for his 75^th anniversary, and make us all believe a man can fly once again.

Next: Hip to be Square – a self indulgent look at Superman through my ages…