Thursday, August 22, 2013

I Watch Superman Fly Away

*Warning: post does contain spoilers*
Let me start off by saying that Man of Steel was an okay film. Henry Cavil was pretty good, could've been a lot worse. Amy Adams did a surprisingly good job as Lois Lane (though I do wonder if a black wig was out of the budget or just made her look bad). All the rest of the roles were cast and played well too. Especially, Russel Crowe as Jor-El. I really liked how it showed the history of Krypton, and the scene with the bus was a really good way to introduce Supy's powers and his struggle to fit in.

However, I did have a huge problem with this film which is: the fight scene at the end of the movie. The entire scene dragged on and on and on and on. It wasn't even that exciting. You would think the huge showdown between Superman and General Zodd would be immensely thrilling, and possibly even the highlight of the film. Alas, it was the complete opposite. Perhaps it was the fact that the two individuals involved in the scene were just too powerful. Superman would punch Zodd, Zodd goes flying, Zodd hits a building. Then once he came to Zodd would punch Superman, Superman would go flying etc. This would repeat a couple of times to ensure maximum boredom until finally Zodd is defeated.

Despite the fact that I waited with Joe and Alissa in the theater for the world's longest credits, and no post credits scene, I was definitely excited for what would follow in Man of Steel 2. I figured they would bring in Lex Luthor (A. because he's Superman's greatest foe, and B. The Lexcorp truck that appeared in the midst of the treacherous fight scene). The villain is still unconfirmed at this point, though I am hoping for Bruce Willis as Lex Luthor (think of the awesomeness), but one thing has been confirmed: Batman.

Batman only left the big screen in 2012 with the Dark Knight Rises. A good, yet slightly flawed, conclusion to Christopher Nolan's hugely successful Batman trilogy. We saw the Caped Crusader fly off the big screen only last year and now he will be returning in the 2015 sequel to Man of Steel.

This upsets me deeply. I don't want to see Batman in a Superman movie. Just like I wouldn't want to see Superman in a Batman movie. First of all, they are two completely different characters. Batman has a lack of superpowers, while Superman practically has them all. They have two completely different rogue's galleries, with Batman's consisting mainly of psychologically damaged freaks and extremists, and Suprman's is full of mega-powered individuals, some from other dimensions. Almost all of his villains, like the Man of Steel himself, in fact do have powers, and strong ones at that! Their fighting styles also differ, Batman's staying in the realm of hand-to-hand combat and gadetry, and Superman well...uses his powers of strength, flight, heat vision, and basically everything else.

We've seen Batman. As a matter of fact we've seen a LOT of Batman. We live in a world where he is almost better known than Superman, which is honestly a shame. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge Batman fan. I grew up with the superb 90's animated series (still the best Batman incarnation to this day), and still watch it now. But Superman is the real deal. He inhibits all that is a true superhero. Sure, Batman has a tragic backstory, and cool gadgets, friends in low places, and some of the coolest villains in the business, but he really just doesn't belong in  movie with Superman, especially when this is only is second one in this new series.

Worst of all, the new Batman is going to be played by none other than Ben Affleck. You know the man that brought us Daredevil... I'm sure he will be simply awful. He'll be over-the-top douchey as Bruce Wayne, but  Affleck as Batman is where I am really scared. I can picture him being very rigid in the part. I'm sure he was either friends with someone high up, or chosen purely on his looks. Plus, isn't he just a tad bit old to play Batman? Just putting that out there.

I don't like it. I don't like how they are throwing aside all respect for the character of Superman, ruining his chance to shine, and the poor casting decision of Ben Affleck as ol Batty. For the first time in my life, I'm on team Superman.

No comments:

Post a Comment