On Father's Day, I took my husband to see Man of Steel, as it seemed like a safe bet for both adults, a kid and a tween to go see and enjoy. I like Superman, but I'm not like an aficionado or anything. I don't read comic books and I never watched Lois & Clark or Smallville. I didn't even see the last movie with Brandon Routh. I just saw the films with Christopher Reeves when I was a kid and I remember them fondly.
Now, $50 later, I feel sort of let down by Man of Steel and I keep wondering why. It could be that it was really violent. There is a huge amount of destruction and Superman plays a part in the wreckage. I'm sure people die in the film from all the buildings collapsing, but we're never shown it. We're just shown a very angry Superman taking out all his repressed aggression on General Zod and his female companion, Faora, who brags "You have a sense of morality and we do not. And that gives us an evolutionary advantage. And if there's one thing that history teaches us it's that evolution always wins." Well, we know that when someone makes a statement like that, they're going down. Call me old fashioned or something, but I just wish that Superman would have struggled a bit with hitting a woman, even if she was evil. I needed to see his humanity and it just wasn't there.
I could also blame the lack of FUN for not really liking this film. I think why I like the Spider Man franchise with Toby McGuire is because we get to watch his transformation into Spider Man and he LOVES it. He is amazed at his strength and ability and he gets how cool it is. He also knows the responsibility that comes with that power and therein lies the tension of the film. He wants to get the girl, but he knows if that happens, he puts her in grave danger. Superman in his latest reincarnation just didn't have any fun. I would have loved to see him as a kid doing something super, "Look Ma, no hands!"and having his parents totally freak out. But, no. Instead, we see him freak out in class and his mom consoles him. Much later, we got to see him fly around really fast and kind of dig that, but it was a little too late. Who wants a moody, sad Superman? Not me.
So, who is your favorite superhero? Why? Did you see Man of Steel? Thumbs up? Down?