It’s not always easy being Superman, especially when it comes to film. Despite two strong efforts in Superman and Superman II, subsequent Superman films have had some difficulty getting off the ground. Superman III and IV were downright atrocious. Superman Returns received a less than perfect response from critics, and only grossed a modest $391 million dollars worldwide on a budget of $209 million, hardly the soaring success that was expected. But with the latest installment, Man of Steel, being released on June 14, 2013, here’s five reasons why the fans, finally, have a Superman film to look forward to.
5. It’s a new beginning
It may seem unheard of now, but before Batman Begins, the word “reboot” was rarely used in Hollywood. Now there is something of a reboot craze, with everything wanting to be a ‘dark and gritty origin story’. Michael Bay and Jonathan Liebsmann are doing this with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, of all things. Sheesh.
Unlike many of the other pointless reboots coming our way, however, Superman is one of the few characters who would actually benefit from a re-imagining. The first Superman film, directed by Richard Donner, was released in 1978 to huge critical and financial acclaim. The sequel, however, was less successful, suffering from having Donner, who was the original director, drop out partway into filming in favor of Richard Lester, who claimed never to have heard of Superman up until that point, and believe me, you could tell by watching the film. Donner released his own cut in 2006, which, despite using raw audition footage, is much better than Lester’s outing.
Most fans pretend that the second the third and fourth films never happened, and when Superman Returns was released in 2006, it was too late to carry on the already dead franchise. Brandon Routh bore a remarkable strong resemblance to Christopher Reeve, but simply did not have what it took to make both Superman and Clark Kent into believable characters. Likewise, Kevin Spacey seemed be unsure of whether or not Lex Luthor was intended to be a sinister villain or a campy cartoon bad guy. Similarly, much of the film’s ‘humour’ did not work, such as having Kal Penn play a bumbling, silent henchman who crashes toy trains into one another.
But Man of Steel (notice that like The Dark Knight, it does not feature the hero’s name in the title) will be a fresh new beginning which will keep everything fans love, such as the character’s origins and the action that you would expect to see in a Superman movie whilst at the same time being new, exciting and offering today’s generation a fresh introduction into the most well-known superhero of all time.
4. It has Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer on board
Need I say more? The fact that the duo responsible for arguably the greatest superhero film franchise in history are working on Man of Steel should have geeks all over wetting their pants.
This is also the first time that Nolan has produced a film that he did not direct (although he is also producing Transcendence, directed by his long-time collaborator Wally Pfister, so hopefully this is something he will continue to do). Working as producer will mean that his influence will be felt all over Man of Steel, and if that means that the film will be like The Dark Knight Trilogy, then Man of Steel could be the best blockbuster of the year (sorry, Iron Man 3).
Although people working on superhero films claim to be long-time comic book fans, Goyer is the real deal, having been a comic book writer long before he moved into the film business. Now he seems to be the go-to guy for comic book movies, and rightly so, as he wrote the screenplay for classics such as Blade, Blade 2, the mostly panned but hugely fun Ghost Rider movies, the bound to be brilliant Godzilla reboot and of course, The Dark Knight Trilogy. And although his talents at directing are questionable (cough, Blade: Trinity, cough, The Unborn) he understands superheroes in a way that very few others do.
Expect the duo to work wonders on Man of Steel.
3. Zack Snyder is directing
But the dynamic duo would not be able to work their magic without a director.
After talented directors such as Guillermo Del Toro, Duncan Jones, and Matt Reeves all negotiated to direct the film, Zack Synder was ultimately picked to bring Superman back to the big screen.
Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead remake, despite being a pointless remake that had fast zombies(!) was more than impressive for a directional debut. Later, 300, in addition to making Gerard Butler a star, showed the world how Snyder could handle adapting respected source material.
But it is Watchmen that is really Snyder’s masterpiece, brilliantly using superheroes to tell a dark and violent tale of politics and human morality. People who complain that Synder is obsessed with special effects and does not know how to tell a story have clearly never seen Watchmen.
Although it was widely panned and appeared on many worst of 2011 lists, Sucker Punch was a personal project that Snyder clearly felt passionate about, and showcased his unique, often in-your-face style of storytelling.
He is also one of the few directors, along with Wes Anderson, Gore Verbinski and Tim Burton, to have successfully moved from directing live action to directing animation, giving us the hugely entertaining Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole.
Having directed films about zombies, superheroes, mental asylums, historical epics and animation, Snyder knows how to create diverse and interesting movies. Man of Steel will be his second, but hopefully not his last, superhero film, and in his hands, it’s sure to be a doozy.
2. The Cast
As mentioned above, Brandon Routh simply was not a good choice to play Superman. Enter Henry Cavill, known for Immortals and The Cold Light of Day, as Superman. While he may not be a household name, Cavill was one of the best things in The Tudors (and that’s saying something because it was a great show), and memorable in supporting roles in the films Everything Works and Stardust.
Four time Oscar nominee Amy Adams delivered a defining performance in Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master last year, and it is very nice to see an older actress cast as the love interest in a Superhero movie, especially as Kate Bosworth was only 22 when Bryan Singer cast her as Lois Lane.
Casting Kevin Costner and Diane Lane, two hugely well-known and respected actors, as Clark’s adoptive parents will help the film to appeal to an older audience, whilst casting Oscar winner Russell Crowe as Jor-El gives the film additional star power. Respected actor Laurence Fishburne rounds out the cast as Clark Kent’s boss Perry White. The last superhero film Fishburne was in was Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, so it looks like he’s now starring in a superhero film that he can be proud of.
The diverse cast will all showcase their skills as well as bring some star bankability to the film .
1. It will be a path to the future
Legendary Pictures are known lately for their hugely successful marketing campaigns. Just look at The Dark Knight Trilogy, Pacific Rim, and The Hangover 3 to get an idea. Although, as previously mentioned, Man of Steel has a marketable cast, all the marketing so far has been focused on the character of Superman rather than the stars. But because of the sheer amount of marketing for the film, it is bound to be far more financially successful than Superman Returns.
Because Warner Bros. seems to be expecting the film to be a huge success, and if they are thinking of going down the Marvel route and creating a shared film universe, now is the time to do it.
Nolan’s Batman films were too realistic to introduce other superheroes or aliens etc. Bringing in such otherworldly concepts would have killed the strong sense of realism that they had created. And besides, before The Dark Knight Rises was released, it was confirmed that it would end the series and Christian Bale‘s incarnation of the character.
Green Lantern, despite desperately wanting to be the start of a new and successful franchise, wound up being a critical disaster, and only grossed $219 million worldwide on a $200 budget.
But Man of Steel will be an ideal opportunity to create a DC shared film universe, leading to crossovers with other film, and eventually, Justice League. In fact, Snyder himself has recently confirmed that if Man of Steel is a success, he will most likely take the helm for the Justice League film. And with all it has going for it, how could it possibly fail?