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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 9,509
Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 9,509 |
Mouserocks, I hope you completely wrong about the direction they're planning on taking the DC heroes in the future films. I personally wouldn't want it to go there.
VirginiaR.
"On the long road, take small steps." -- Jor-el, "The Foundling"
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"clearly there is a lack of understanding between those two... he speaks Lunkheadanian and she Stubbornanian" -- chelo.
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Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 1,114
Top Banana
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Top Banana
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 1,114 |
I saw the movie a second time yesterday. I noticed a few things I hadn't seen the first time, such as: 1. Jenny doing a double take when Perry is chewing Clark out about his interest in Batman and telling him that no one cares about Clark Kent vs. Batman. I think Jenny knows that CK=SM.
2. The dirt on Clark's coffin starting to levitate. Those of us familiar with the Death of Superman storyline know what the outcome is, but it's a clue for those who aren't familiar with the story. A couple of students were discussing the movie this morning. The boy said he'd heard it was bad, and he didn't plan on seeing it. The girl thought it was awesome, and went "See?!" when I agreed with her. She also said she cried at the end, so I'm thinking she's not familiar with the original storyline. Something tells me I need to add the collected editions of The Death of Superman to the library collection. One thing that I find odd is that there doesn't seem to be any novelization of the film -- not an adult novel, not a junior novel, and not a comic book adaptation. I checked Amazon, but there just doesn't seem to be one.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 9,509
Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 9,509 |
One thing that I find odd is that there doesn't seem to be any novelization of the film -- not an adult novel, not a junior novel, and not a comic book adaptation. I checked Amazon, but there just doesn't seem to be one. They're usually so horrible that this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Strangely, the people one would expect to be crying at the end of this film (Superman fans) are the ones who aren't, because they've either read or know about the comic history. Today's teens were how old, when they killed off Superman? Wait, 90s, so not even alive yet. They might not be familiar with the history. Explains how he was able to get away with it. Also (a TOTAL aside), what a cool librarian you are, Annie. My kids have checked out every graphic novel at the local library, I had to show them where the adult section was (and why they couldn't rent Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, and some other titles, they're not old enough to read). My high school library would never have had graphic novels. Then again, the more I'm learning about other schools, the more I'm realizing how bad mine actually was. Sigh. Live and learn.
VirginiaR.
"On the long road, take small steps." -- Jor-el, "The Foundling"
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"clearly there is a lack of understanding between those two... he speaks Lunkheadanian and she Stubbornanian" -- chelo.
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Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 4,430 Likes: 6
Pulitzer
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OP
Pulitzer
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 4,430 Likes: 6 |
Thanks again to all who provided answers to my initial post. I have now finally seen the theatrical release of the movie. Although I did enjoy it, I'm glad I waited until my summer vacation to see it. I thought it much better than MoS overall; it had far more plot to it and although I think they could have done without some of the fighting, at least they didn't have a stretch that was so long I kept looking at my watch to see when it would end. (Yes, MoS, I'm looking at you.) I think everything else I wanted to add is in the realm of spoilers, so... I've a variety of stray thoughts, in no particular order: - I'm glad we saw some Clark Kent as well as Superman
- Although they kept Clark mostly in character, there were a few things that didn't ring true to me; the one that stands out in my mind most was his statement to Lois that (paraphrasing), "I am going to talk with Batman and try to convince him to help me. If he doesn't I'll have to kill him." Although Superman has admittedly deliberately killed before, it has almost always been under circumstances in which he believed that doing so was the only way to save pretty much all of humanity. (At least, this is true of Superman in modern times. I realize that Golden Age Superman killed the bad guys -- or at least let them die when he could have prevented their deaths -- on a regular basis.) I'll admit that Lex had put him in a difficult situation, and if it were pretty much any other superhero, his response might have been in character. But I can't see a modern Superman taking one person's life to save one other person's; he'd manage to find a way to save his mother without killing Batman. But I am glad that his actions, if not his words, were true to character...
- ... unlike Martha. How did this Clark get to be so good given the parents who raised him? Their counsel to him in both movies should have done very little to guide him in the path he took.
- I had problems with Clark doubting his actions, but it took me a while to figure out why. I didn't mind his questioning whether he should be Superman, but what bothered me was the reasons for his questioning. To borrow a phrase I heard from a podcast, Superman always tries to do the right thing because it's the right thing to do. To me, it's entirely in character for Clark to second-guess whether a particular course of actions is the right one (for the greater good), but it is not in character for him to waiver about whether he should even bother doing what he believes to be right. (Then again, given the parental advice this particular Clark had received throughout his life, it does seem in character for *this* Clark. I guess this criticism could therefore be seen as an elaboration of my problems with Jonathan and Martha's portrayals.
- I liked that Lois and Clark were together. (Of course!)
- Although I understand Lois's very human reaction when Clark is telling her goodbye, I think it would have been better with, at most, a single, "Don't do this, Clark," followed by an "I love you. Do what you have to do, but try to come home to me."
- I liked the way they introduced the other meta-humans. Although this was obviously done with the intent of teasing the upcoming Justice League films, it didn't seem like it was just grafted into the story.
- I didn't catch how either Bruce or Lex figured out that CK=S. Was I just unobservant (and, if so, how did they do it?) or did the film not go into it? Are we just to assume that since Bruce and Lex are both intelligent, resourceful individuals with huge grudges against Superman, that they would each have simply figured it out from whatever clues their research revealed? Was Flash's warning what tipped Bruce off?
- I thought the reason that Bruce didn't kill Clark when he had a chance (that Clark happened to mention the name, "Martha") was a bit glib. I do realize that there was a bit more to it than that, but I had the impression that that was what it had boiled down to. I had the distinct impression that if Clark's mother had had a different name, or if he had just plead for the life of "my mother," Batman wouldn't have spared him.
- I didn't like Lois kissing Clark in public while he was dressed as Superman. Not exactly the best way to keep the secret. Even if it was an emotional situation, even if it was dark and seemingly deserted, there could always have been security cameras or simply a late worker that happened to be looking out an office window. If she behaves like this, maybe it's no surprise after all that Bruce and Lex both figured out Superman's secret identity.
- I have not yet decided what I think of Jesse Eisenberg's Lex. I will grant that he had an interpretation that was at once novel and yet in keeping with the core of the character: a shrew individual whose public persona is such that most people would not suspect him of being nefarious; modern Lex is someone who can be quite personable but who is also utterly ruthless and who has no compunction about sacrificing human lives to advance his ends. If Eisenberg's acting weren't quite so over the top, I would definitely say he was well cast. As it was, I'll want to think a bit more before I render a verdict.
- I liked the use of Christopher Wren's epitaph; it seemed very fitting.
- I loved the fraction-of-a-second, so-fast-it-would-have-been-easy-to-miss, rising of the soil on Clark's casket at the very end of the movie. My enjoyment of it, though, was marred by how unrealistic the setup was. Lois was the only person to throw a handful of soil on the casket. Really? There was a mid-sized funeral procession, and no one else honored him in this manner? Not even Martha?
There's a lot more I could say, and I realize that most of my comments were negative. (I won't even get into the fact that I wish the camera would stay still longer in most shots, and I wished there were more slow moments in the film so we would have time to fully digest the quicker ones -- I have this criticism of the few new movies I've seen in recent years, and I realize that it may have more to do with my getting older than with the film itself.) But overall, I would give the movie a seven out of ten. Definitely better than MoS.
I know that no stand-alone Superman movies have been announced yet; I'm hoping that there really is at least one more that is being planned, but that it is being kept hush-hush so as not to spoil the "surprise" comeback of Clark. Yeah, I realize that this is a long shot, given how difficult it is to maintain secrecy in Hollywood these days, but a gal can hope. 
I could probably say a lot more, but these were my initial reactions. I'll probably see the Ultimate/Extended edition next week. It will be interesting both to see the earlier scenes from the theatrical cut again, in light of what I now know about the later scenes, and to see the extra footage. Has anyone seen the ultimate edition version yet? if so, what did you think? Joy, Lynn p.s., It will be good to be able to listen to podcasts again without having to worry about whether I'll have to stop them to avoid spoilers.
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