Category Archives: Man of Steel

Movies I’m looking forward to in 2013

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iron man 3

2012 was a pretty good year for geek movies. I’m still boggled, sometimes, that so many comic book, science fiction and fantasy movies – not to mention big-budget, well-crafted ones – are released these days. We might be in a golden age for the genre.

Looking ahead to 2013, the calendar looks like just as much of a treat for fans.

“Iron Man 3.” After the superhero team-up that was “The Avengers,” why look forward to a solo superhero outing? Isn’t that a step back? Well, it would be but for a few reasons. I trust Robert Downey Jr. and director Shane Black. The preview looks dire and action-filled. And the movie kicks off Marvel’s Phase Two, which culminates in “The Avengers” sequel in 2015, so I’m pretty sure they’ll have some references to the big picture. May 3.

“Thor: The Dark World.” The first “Thor,” in some ways, held the promise (threat?) of being the weakest movie in the first phase of Marvel. Yet it was solid entertainment and laid the groundwork for much of the mythology that followed in “Captain America” and “The Avengers.” I feel very much at ease with this realm of big-screen Marvel. Nov. 8.

“Pacific Rim.” This story about giant robots created to fight giant, Godzilla-style monsters looks like something to appeal to all the 12 year olds within us. July 12.

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“Star Trek Into Darkness.” This J.J. Abrams sequel to the reboot looks awesome. Unleash the Cumberbatch! May 17.

“The Wolverine.” I am not the craziest of fans of Marvel’s snikt-happy mutant. But Hugh Jackman has been so good as the character I’m looking forward to this and his role, however big, in “Days of Future Past.” July 26.

“Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” The first movie was a pleasant surprise. The second book is the weakest of the series, but I’m hoping they pull it off. Nov. 22.

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“Oz the Great and Powerful.” This retooling of the classic story, a kind of prequel, could be really fun or really awful. March 8.

“The World’s End.” While we’re waiting for director Edgar Wright to make “Ant-Man,” how about this end of the world comedy starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Martin Freeman? Yes, please. Oct. 25.

Movies I’m almost dreading:

“Man of Steel.” We don’t need another origin story. We don’t need a “dark” Superman. We need a Superman who feels like the last of his kind but isn’t mopey about it. We don’t need a “Dark Knight” treatment, but I’m afraid that’s what we’re getting. June 14.

“World War Z.” I’ve said it before, but here it is again. The preview doesn’t look like the terrific Max Brooks book. June 21.

“The Lone Ranger.” A beloved childhood hero. I’m just not sure about the approach. Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp bring a lot of charisma to the proceedings, however. We’ll see. May 31.

‘Man of Steel’ trailer still a quandary

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man of steel poster

I want to believe a man can fly.

I want to believe in Superman.

In fact, I’m pretty sure I do.

It’s “Man of Steel” I’m not sure about.

man of steel trailer

The latest trailer for “Man of Steel,” producer Christopher Nolan and director Zack Snyder’s reboot of the Superman movies, hit the Interwebz yesterday. I’ve watched it a few times and I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about it.

Ambivalent, maybe. Here’s why:

We don’t need another origin story, even though we’re getting one. Yes, it’s been more than three decades since the last big-screen Superman origin. Yes, the lure of Krypton’s explosion and Jor-El and all that is too great to pass up. But I just feel like we don’t need another introduction to Superman the character, any more than I feel like we needed another introduction to Spider-Man last summer. Between the various and quite good animated versions and “Smallville,” I can’t imagine what another origin story will bring.

Superman is lonely but he isn’t brooding. He’s an alien, more or less the last surviving Kryptonian. Well, that’s proven false time and time again in the comics and movies. But you get the idea. So while I don’t want to see a happy, sunny Superman necessarily, I don’t feel like we need a Superman who’s just as likely to lie on his bed and eat Doritos all weekend as … well, must of his fans are.

On the other hand … Superman isn’t boring. He’s a complex, multi-faceted character, not a Boy Scout. So maybe some stark loneliness will play well.

If Pa Kent isn’t Clark’s dependable mentor and conscience and adviser, I’m not sure I want to see that movie. In the trailer, young Clark wonders if he should have let a school bus full of kids drown in a river rather than save them – especially if it means revealing his powers. Pa says, “Maybe.” No. Pa Kent would never say that. Wrong. Wrong.

We need some action. It kinda sorta looks like Brooding Boy pulls on his scaly blue tights and engages in some fisticuffs with Zod at some point. At least I hope so. “Superman Returns” was so slow.

The imagery is … problematic. The early poster (above), featuring Superman in handcuffs. Why would Warners want that image, curiosity-inspiring as it might be, to be the first image most people connect with the movie?

Did I say we don’t need another origin story? Oh yes, I guess I did.

 

 

‘Arrow’ offers good take on comics hero

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Yes, I rolled my eyes a bit when I heard that CW’s new series about the DC Comics character Green Arrow was called “Arrow.” It’s another instance of the “we’re ashamed this is based on a comic book” mentality, I thought.

“Smallville” instead of “Superboy,” “Mercy Reef” instead of “Aquaman,” and, frankly, the preponderance of “dark” in modern-day Batman movie titles. And yes, I know Batman’s called “The Dark Knight.” And Superman is “The Man of Steel.” I’m not going to be convinced that there isn’t some embarrassment at work there.

The producers constantly emphasizing that “Arrow” was a gritty, realistic world without superpowered heroes was another red flag, it seemed.

So I didn’t watch the first few weeks of “Arrow.”

But after catching up with it, I’m actually finding myself enjoying the series.

If you’re not familiar with Green Arrow the comic book character, he’s a mix of Batman and Robin Hood and he’s been a staple of the DC universe for decades. Oliver Queen is a billionaire orphan, like Bruce Wayne, who turns his thirst for revenge into nighttime vigilante work. He’s got a quiver of trick arrows that’s not unlike Batman’s utility belt and he prowls the dark alleys of Star City, protecting the innocent.

There have been two high-profile depictions of old Ollie in recent years. One was the sarcastic, liberal-leaning conscience of the “Justice League Unlimited” animated series.

The other was in live action. Justin Hartley played a good Oliver Queen/Green Arrow in “Smallville.” He was that show’s Batman substitute when Bruce Wayne couldn’t be deployed by the producers and Oliver became virtually the second lead of the show.

When the CW decided to follow “Smallville” with a Green Arrow series, a lot of people assumed the role would be filled by Hartley. But the network cast Stephen Arnell in the role and while he’s apparently become famous for his abs – he could bounce an arrow off his stomach for a three-corner trick shot – he’s actually pretty good in the role of a rich playboy/obsessed crimefighter.

The series follows Oliver Queen, back in Star (for some reason here called Starling) City after being shipwrecked for five years. In flashbacks – one of which intriguingly included a glimpse of the two-tone mask of DC villain Deathstroke – we see Oliver’s time on the island after his father, rich industrialist Robert Queen, killed another shipwreck survivor and himself so that callow young Oliver might live.

In modern-day scenes, Oliver has a list of bad guys who are taking a bite out of the city. In each episode, he confronts them, threatens them if they don’t change their ways and contribute to society, and then clashes with them when they ignore his warning.

Oliver, unlike Bruce Wayne, isn’t opposed to killing when forced to. It makes the edgy hero even edgier.

The show’s supporting cast does a good job of backing Arnell. Characters are a mix of those created for the show and others like Black Canary herself, Dinah Laurel Lance, GA’s longtime main squeeze. This Dinah is pretty quick with her fists and feet, but we’ve yet to see if she becomes the fishnets-wearing superhero.

They’re sprinkling the show with mystery and mythology and, best of all, other DC characters, including Deadshot the assassin and, in an upcoming episode, Huntress, the superhero previously seen in the “Birds of Prey” series. In that series she was the version of the character who was the daughter of Batman and Catwoman. The character here won’t have that genealogy, however.

I’ve watched the first three episodes of “Arrow” so far and I’m enjoying the show’s dark, gritty tone. Arnell is good, the other characters are at least not too annoying and the action scenes are fine.

I’ll stick with “Arrow,” even though he’s lost the colorful part of his name.

 

 

‘Justice League’ movie set for 2015: What we want to know

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DC Comics won a round – maybe the final round – in the long-running legal battle over rights to the Superman character just yesterday, and today’s L.A. Times says DC/Warner Bros. is planning to release a “Justice League” movie in 2015.

Interesting timing there, DC. It just so happens that the “Avengers” sequel comes out in the summer of 2015.

For years now, DC has been unable to get its rich comic book catalogue onto the big screen in any successful manner besides Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” movies. Although Nolan is overseeing “Man of Steel” for next summer, he and his grim and gritty Batman weren’t a likely fit for a “Justice League” movie.

In other words, it seemed like DC/Warners/Nolan were as ashamed of colorful characters and tights as 20th Century Fox was back when they put the “X-Men” in black leather rather than blue and yellow.

The Times article indicates that DC will not try to introduce its “Justice League” heroes in solo big-screen adventures before teaming them up.

Here are some questions we’ll be interested in seeing answered sometime:

Will Henry Cavill, set to star in “Man of Steel” next year, return as Superman in “Justice League?” Or is Cavill one and done before his movie even comes out?

Will Joseph Gordon-Levitt play Robin John Blake as Batman in “Justice League?” Or will DC ensure that Bruce Wayne is the Batman we’ll see in the team-up movie? And we know that won’t be Christian Bale.

Will they find a “realistic” actress to play Wonder Woman? Or will the Amazon Princess be played by a five-foot-tall, 100-pounder?

Will Ryan Reynolds return as Green Lantern? It seems unlikely. How about making GL the GL that kids know, John Stewart?

Which “other” Leaguers will make the cut? We have to have the Flash. How about Aquaman? One of the Hawks? Cyborg, who’s part of the current comic book lineup?

Will DC’s apparent intention to introduce the characters in the team-up movie – a probably necessary reversal of Marvel’s strategy of introducing the future “Avengers” in solo movies – work?

And can we please, please, please avoid mini-origin stories for each JL member?

 

 

New ‘Man of Steel’ trailer: Huh?

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My first reaction when I saw this weekend’s “Man of Steel” trailer for Zack Snyder’s revisiting of the Superman franchise was that it didn’t look like a trailer for a “Superman” film.

What is this, Zack Snyder and Chris Nolan’s big-screen version of “The Deadliest Catch?”

If you haven’t seen the trailer, the preview is filled with shots of foggy landscapes, a kid running around in the yard outside his house and a bearded guy hitchhiking and working on a fishing boat. (The bearded guy, of course, is Henry Cavill, the star.)

Only at the end, after the “Man of Steel” title, do we get a “Chronicle”-like glimpse of Superman streaking through the sky, breaking the sound barrier.

The trailer raises a lot of questions, most of them about the choices Warner Bros., Nolan and Snyder have made about the movie and how they’re going to market it.

Why, why, why another retelling of the story from the beginning? Are filmmakers unable to resist the mythology of the death of Krypton and Clark’s Smallville years? Haven’t we seen this already, more than enough times?

Are they playing the “Amazing Spider-Man” game? The makers of that recent movie tried hard to convince us there was an untold story to Peter Parker’s parents and his origin. There really wasn’t one. Is the point of this movie (and trailer) to create the impression that the few early scenes in which Clark struggles with the decision about what to do with his powers are as important as what he does later? Isn’t that a dangerous game considering we all KNOW what he does later? Wouldn’t that be like devoting half of a movie to Sherlock Holmes’ dithering about whether to become a detective or a blacksmith?

Who is Clark imitating? When Clark is running around his yard using a red towel for a cape, who is he imitating? Really? In Nolan’s one-superhero world, why would young Clark possibly be wearing a cape before he becomes Superman? And are we supposed to believe that the down-home Kansas Kents would have red bath towels?

Wait, Superman can fly? Really, the build-up in the trailer is to a shot of Superman flying? Is that considered the most impact-full image of Superman they can present? Or a feeble attempt to reassure us that, yes, all that pretty but meandering footage we’ve already shown you is from a Superman movie.

I’ll go see this next May, despite this seriously bungled early marketing attempt and my misgivings, previously noted, about the “edgy” tack they’re apparently taking.

But so far I don’t have a good feeling about “Man of Steel.”

New Comic Con images: ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’ ‘Man of Steel’

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The news was coming out of San Diego Comic Con faster than a speeding bullet tonight.

The Warner Bros. panel, according to online reports, included footage of Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel,” the latest Warners/DC reboot of Superman.

The company also released a new teaser poster showing Henry Cavill as Supes:

The Marvel Films panel had some interesting news, including some titles: “Thor: The Dark World” for November 2013; “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” for April 2014 and “Guardians of the Galaxy” for August 2014.

Those follow the previously announced “Iron Man 3” for May 2013.

The “Winter Soldier” portion of the next Cap title would lead fans to expect that Bucky, Cap’s sidekick who “died” in the first movie, will be back. That’s because in the comics, after an absence of several decades, Bucky returned as the Winter Soldier, an assassin trained and maintained in youthful form by the Soviets.

“Guardians of the Galaxy” is an even more interesting turn of events that has, so far this evening, split fan opinion online.

The movie has been predicted for a few weeks now since Thanos, Marvel’s cosmic villain, showed up at the end of “The Avengers.” The Guardians, who have been around in one form or another since the 1960s, are longtime enemies of Thanos.

As another superhero team for Marvel movie-making besides the Avengers, they make as much sense as anything and are a more likely group in some ways than the Inhumans (fan fave characters who might have too many ties to the Fantastic Four for Marvel’s film arm to have the rights to) or the Defenders (which has included, over the years, such off-limits characters as the Silver Surfer and already-familiar ones like the Hulk).

Yet “Guardians” feels like a risk because it is cosmic in scope – a concept that was tested in “The Avengers” but still feels pretty disconnected from the “reality” established in Marvel’s movies so far – and because the characters are an unusual bunch, including Rocket Raccoon.

It’ll be interesting to see who Marvel chooses to helm “Guardians” and what direction the movie takes.

 

‘Man of Steel:’ Is Superman ‘edgy?’ No. No. No.

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First of all, I guess we should remember that we’re talking about a stray comment from a teenage actor. But fan sites on the Internet today were ablaze with reaction to a quote from actor Dylan Sprayberry, who plays a younger version of Henry Cavill’s Clark Kent character in director Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel” movie:

“When Zack [Snyder] and I were talking about it the first time, he was saying how Superman, they want to give it a more edgy feel like ‘The Dark Knight’ but also make it more realistic and emotional so it’s not just the all-american superhero that saves everyone. He has dilemmas and love and struggles throughout the whole movie, especially when he’s a kid.”

Can you guess which word had fans worried?

If you guessed “edgy,” you’re right. Edgy like “The Dark Knight.”

There’s been an undercurrent of concern about the tone of the Superman movie, which comes out in 2013, since producer Chris Nolan — who with the “Dark Knight” movies made Batman a blockbuster character but has added new depths of darkness to the already dark hero — took over the efforts to bring Superman to the big screen.

Bryan Singer’s 2006 “Superman Returns” didn’t completely work, in part because of its slavish devotion to the Richard Donner classic but also in part because of its somber, even moping, tone.

I think we’ve seen that a downbeat Superman movie doesn’t work. The tone just doesn’t fit with the character.

It’s the success of Nolan’s Batman movies — the third of which comes out this summer — that has led us to the point that some people are expecting Snyder’s “Man of Steel” to be dark. And kind of dreading it.

Make no mistake, there’s some angst to the classic Superman character. He is — at least in many versions of his story, but not all — the only survivor of his planet. He is, literally, a stranger in a strange land. There’s a reason he separates himself from the rest of the planet either by going to the Fortress of Solitude or the depths of space. The guy is lonely.

It is the loneliness that we all feel, at one time or another, even in a crowd. Who hasn’t felt alone and unreachable, even by those around them?

In the current Cartoon Network series “Young Justice,” the Superboy character — the Superman clone from recent comics — is mostly alienated from his companions, is often hostile, and is shunned by Superman himself.

But Superman isn’t a dark character. Not even in the best interpretations, the “Superman” and “Justice League” animated series. In some episodes of those series, Superman is considered suspicious by the U.S. government, even a rogue.

But he’s still Superman. So much so that in “Justice League Unlimited,” Batman chides Superman, noting that the (literally) child-like Captain Marvel is replacing him as the happy-go-lucky member of the League.

“He’s … sunny,” Batman says, intimating that quality is exactly what other League members have always liked about Superman.

So today we have a random comment by a teen actor who’s certainly not setting the tone for “Man of Steel.” He didn’t write the script. He’s not behind the camera.

And we also have some anxiety by longtime Superman fans that their hero — who can, if not properly written and played, seem like a stick-up-his-butt do-gooder prone to noting that airplanes are still the safest way to travel — is being turned into an angst-filled mess, a version of Hamlet in spandex.

We’ve got a year to go until we see if Nolan and Snyder’s “Man of Steel” is dark and edgy.

Regardless of whether their version is or is not, the fact of the matter is that our version — the one we’ve known for three-quarters of a century — is not.

Not dark. Not edgy.