I’ve said for awhile now that based on the trailers alone, this film looks far better to me than “the last one.” While Superman Returns has its place, I never cared for the costume or the weirdly-stylized “S.” And the film was long, kinda dragged, and seemed too much like it was trying too hard to BE the ’78 Donner film.
And this new film?
There’s plenty of homage; I thought of a bunch of other films at different points throughout watching this. I saw what I interpreted as a number of influences–from Alex Ross’ art to The Matrix to Star Wars and Gladiator…some things more subtle than others.
But mostly, I saw Superman. I didn’t see an actor molded to be as similar as possible to another actor playing Superman. And because of that (at least in part) I enjoyed the film a lot more.
There’s a lot of sci-fi to this film; more than I think I’ve ever seen in a live-action Superman film before. And a lot of it–especially early on–put me heavily in mind of Star Wars Episode III. Shortly after I was put in mind of moments from 2009’s Star Trek as well as (for what should be an obvious reason) Gladiator.
In large part due to the broad strokes of the conditions behind Superman’s reveal, I was put in mind of the Superman: Earth One graphic novel from a couple years back. As a fan of ’90s Superman, I certainly missed one character in particular…and yet, the way that gets handled by the end of the film leaves huge potential for the inevitable sequel, and I daresay I’d be highly interested in a comic series set in this film’s continuity.
After the film’s opening, I was a bit put off by what I imagined was the route the story was taking…and braced myself for a long off-putting film. This concern was quickly put aside as the story unfolded and things were presented contrary to my expectations.
I was honestly surprised by a couple of deaths in the film–though they certainly fit the story, and definitely leave things ripe for potential…and my own mental tying in of a digital prequel comic I read thanks to the Walmart Premiere Night ticket code makes me wonder at the possibility of even a loose adaptation of the first “current” Superman story I ever read (parts of) back in ’89.
You want out ‘n out spoilers? Plenty of those out there. And I’ll likely have other thoughts once I see the film at least one more time; to say nothing of how others’ thoughts will rub off on me and give me different perspectives to come at this with…as well as the simple passage of time. (I’ll be particularly looking forward to hearing what Michael Bailey and Raging Bullets have to say on the film!)
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Comic Reviews by Walt 