Glad to hear your take on this. I agree that the movie (and Superman) could have been smarter. I kept waiting for him to outsmart Luthor, and that moment never came. I think the humility aspect that you point out - that Superman thinks of himself as just another guy - is key to this film. I would have liked for other people in the movie to have pointed out his uniqueness, even if he can't see it.
I agree; Superman says something like, "that's what you've always gotten wrong about me!..." but Superman and Luthor just met face-to-face for the first time when Supes busted into Luthor's office looking for his dog. He's right about Luthor's mis-reading of him, but Luthor has never SAID what he believes, either to Superman or on television. He's only said it to his henchmen. So how does Superman know what Luthor gets wrong about him? It needed a speech from Luthor before Superman's excellent monologue.
I think this is the most "compare the movie to specific comics" review this movie has. Thank you for your service. I really, really, did not expect something from the basically-never-adapted 70s/early 80s comics to show up in here.
I enjoyed Man of Steel more than most people did, but I'm very open to Gunn's take too.
It seems like a divisive movie, easy either to like or to dislike, depending what the viewer brings to it. I’m conflicted myself. I hope that comes across!
I’m hoping to see it this weekend (with my 18-year-old, who for the first time in years has asked to see a movie with us!), so thank you for a thoughtful review.
Having been in Manhattan on Sept. 11 I never liked the destructive urban battles trope (that’s one thing I appreciated about Man of Steel — if I’m remembering correctly, at least one battle took place on the plains), so I absolutely loved Dr. Strange’s deconstruction of that. Too bad this movie is more of the same on this.
(Also, as someone who used to represent insurance companies, I tend to get distracted by whether these battles are rendering the cities absolutely uninsurable. Who’s paying for the repairs? Stark Industries? Wayne Enterprises?)
The intelligence of Superman is the most consistently downplayed element in adaptations, especially those that involve crossover potential. For my money, it's probably because they want him to contrast Batman, and if you make Superman and Batman both intelligent, then what does Batman have? He's grim? I get that Bruce Wayne is a technocrat and a plutocrat all in one, and he has serious issues in some takes. And there's room in the page for both of them to be intelligent and have clear personalities. But for some reason, the grammar of movies and visual media tends to make it more difficult. Perhaps it's because you can't do internal monologues as easily. I'm thinking of Frank Miller whose Batman: Year One writes many intelligent characters, but also has many distinct thought boxes, allowing that much more space for characters to feel distinct even if they are both acting smartly.
But of course these are all just excuses. There are ways to make distinct but both intelligent characters have their conversations, just with other characters. It takes a lot more work. I would like Superman to be smarter, too. At least I can take consolation that he is at least a decent, corn-fed righteous hero, even if that makes him a bit more of a bruiser.
Glad to hear your take on this. I agree that the movie (and Superman) could have been smarter. I kept waiting for him to outsmart Luthor, and that moment never came. I think the humility aspect that you point out - that Superman thinks of himself as just another guy - is key to this film. I would have liked for other people in the movie to have pointed out his uniqueness, even if he can't see it.
I liked his speech to Luthor at the end. I would have liked it to land harder. More of a relationship between Superman and Luthor before the end.
I agree; Superman says something like, "that's what you've always gotten wrong about me!..." but Superman and Luthor just met face-to-face for the first time when Supes busted into Luthor's office looking for his dog. He's right about Luthor's mis-reading of him, but Luthor has never SAID what he believes, either to Superman or on television. He's only said it to his henchmen. So how does Superman know what Luthor gets wrong about him? It needed a speech from Luthor before Superman's excellent monologue.
I think this is the most "compare the movie to specific comics" review this movie has. Thank you for your service. I really, really, did not expect something from the basically-never-adapted 70s/early 80s comics to show up in here.
I enjoyed Man of Steel more than most people did, but I'm very open to Gunn's take too.
It may not be the best critical approach, but I honestly could not have reviewed it any other way!
Color me intrigued!
Also recalling how the first time I encountered the word "grimdark" I thought it was "gridmark."
It seems like a divisive movie, easy either to like or to dislike, depending what the viewer brings to it. I’m conflicted myself. I hope that comes across!
And what a funny misreading!
I’m hoping to see it this weekend (with my 18-year-old, who for the first time in years has asked to see a movie with us!), so thank you for a thoughtful review.
Having been in Manhattan on Sept. 11 I never liked the destructive urban battles trope (that’s one thing I appreciated about Man of Steel — if I’m remembering correctly, at least one battle took place on the plains), so I absolutely loved Dr. Strange’s deconstruction of that. Too bad this movie is more of the same on this.
(Also, as someone who used to represent insurance companies, I tend to get distracted by whether these battles are rendering the cities absolutely uninsurable. Who’s paying for the repairs? Stark Industries? Wayne Enterprises?)
As Nathan Fillion once sang, “It’s not enough to bash in heads, you’ve got to bash in minds.”
The intelligence of Superman is the most consistently downplayed element in adaptations, especially those that involve crossover potential. For my money, it's probably because they want him to contrast Batman, and if you make Superman and Batman both intelligent, then what does Batman have? He's grim? I get that Bruce Wayne is a technocrat and a plutocrat all in one, and he has serious issues in some takes. And there's room in the page for both of them to be intelligent and have clear personalities. But for some reason, the grammar of movies and visual media tends to make it more difficult. Perhaps it's because you can't do internal monologues as easily. I'm thinking of Frank Miller whose Batman: Year One writes many intelligent characters, but also has many distinct thought boxes, allowing that much more space for characters to feel distinct even if they are both acting smartly.
But of course these are all just excuses. There are ways to make distinct but both intelligent characters have their conversations, just with other characters. It takes a lot more work. I would like Superman to be smarter, too. At least I can take consolation that he is at least a decent, corn-fed righteous hero, even if that makes him a bit more of a bruiser.
Here's a link to my blog post on the immigrant metaphor in the Superman franchise. Could be an interesting read.
https://thomasyfuller.substack.com/p/superman-and-the-immigrant-metaphor