Zack Snyder? Is that you??
Superman
- Thread starter urbandefault
- Start date
So I rewatched Man of Steel the other night, and found myself liking it more than I feel like I ever have before. Not sure why.
Maybe because I was experiencing the actual movie for the first time in several years, rather than reacting to the idea of it. Or maybe because I watched it on its own terms, without all the fannish noise that surrounds it.
Some of the movie's fans do it no favors with their obsessive fervor, particularly the tendency to denigrate other versions of the character -- and fans of those versions -- in order to herald their preferred take. (There's one prolific poster hereabouts who's especially guilty of this.) After a while, it becomes difficult to separate the film from its fandom.
OTOH, some of that rabid fervor comes from defensiveness, a feeling that Cavill's Superman, and themselves as fans, are constantly under unfair attack. Having delivered plenty of those attacks myself in the past, I get that the blame is by no means all on one side.
In the end, the movie is the movie, neither perfect nor pernicious. It's too bad that it's become so divisive, creating a culture in the fandom that seems to demand you're either for MoS, or you're against it. After my most recent viewing, I'm more inclined than ever to consider it just one more take on Superman among many -- which is all its less toxic fans have been saying all along.
While it’s my favorite Superman movie, there are several things I would change in it. It’s definitely flawed, but it has some great moments and I liked the “if Superman were real” aspect. If rumors of Cavils return are true, I hope they give him a film to really shine in…..one that isn’t decisive.
I didn't like MoS much when I first saw it, but came to accept it after a reviewing or six. I was looking forward to the follow-up "learning from the mistakes of the first movie" ...and then BvS happened. It's hard sometimes not to paint both movies with the same brush.
BvS really does not feel like a follow on from this at all..... To me both movies feel like exact opposites
I'm at the tail end of an epic live-action Super-stuff rewatch, and it's been interesting how my opinions of some shows and movies have changed. Compared to my previous impressions, I enjoyed Superman Returns less than I remembered, and Man of Steel more. I found that Smallville became a bit of a slog this second time through -- though only after its excellent first three seasons, probably the only chunk I would see myself watching again anytime soon. Adventures of Superman, the Reeve film cycle (including Supergirl '84), and the Superboy TV series stayed about the same -- i.e., I love them. And I'm currently about halfway through the first season of Supergirl, and being vividly reminded with every episode why I fell head-over-heels for the show the first time 'round.
You are a brave man to sit though Smallville.
Many love to dump on the Slater Supergirl movie, but I thought Slater was one of the best examples of superhero casting in film history. When she was "on" she was completely believable as Supergirl. The plot is another matter.
Many love to dump on the Slater Supergirl movie, but I thought Slater was one of the best examples of superhero casting in film history. When she was "on" she was completely believable as Supergirl. The plot is another matter.
I like the 1984 Supergirl movie a lot..... Faye Dunaway was a great villain. Helen Slater was good and she's great as Eliza in the CW series.
So I rewatched Man of Steel the other night, and found myself liking it more than I feel like I ever have before. Not sure why.
Maybe because I was experiencing the actual movie for the first time in several years, rather than reacting to the idea of it. Or maybe because I watched it on its own terms, without all the fannish noise that surrounds it.
Some of the movie's fans do it no favors with their obsessive fervor, particularly the tendency to denigrate other versions of the character -- and fans of those versions -- in order to herald their preferred take. (There's one prolific poster hereabouts who's especially guilty of this.) After a while, it becomes difficult to separate the film from its fandom.
OTOH, some of that rabid fervor comes from defensiveness, a feeling that Cavill's Superman, and themselves as fans, are constantly under unfair attack. Having delivered plenty of those attacks myself in the past, I get that the blame is by no means all on one side.
In the end, the movie is the movie, neither perfect nor pernicious. It's too bad that it's become so divisive, creating a culture in the fandom that seems to demand you're either for MoS, or you're against it. After my most recent viewing, I'm more inclined than ever to consider it just one more take on Superman among many -- which is all its less toxic fans have been saying all along.
I didn't like the movie originally, but I downloaded a fan-edit that lightened the color scheme and added the John Williams score, and man, did it make SUCH A HUGE DIFFERENCE.
No Lois and Clark?
Supergirl Season 1 was definitely a different animal than the rest of its run.
A few years ago, I started Smallville when the Arrowverse was still in its heyday, and I got partway into season 4 before I got distracted by other stuff. It was too weird seeing Dean Winchester ahah. But its funny that you said that, does the show really decline that much during/after season 4? I've heard a lot of buzz that it should have ended after 5 and that it could have been a great send off.
I only watched the first 2 seasons of Smallville and didn't think what I watched was that bad.
The first two seasons of Smallville are Riverdale.
The hero can't make his mind up whether he wants the blonde or the brunette.
There's a holding pattern bordering on infantalization and arrested development.
There's glacial growth.
Lois, graduation, The Daily Planet, Supergirl, Green Arrow and the Justice League, but at a snails pace, until the very end, 10 years later, and we still don't see him in tights, flying "clearly".
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L&C was part of the rewatch, too. I would say it's another case where my opinion didn't change a lot -- i.e., the first season was the best, followed by a gradual decline, though certainly it retained enjoyable elements and episodes all the way to the end -- but its previous status as my least favorite Super-series overall has probably been supplanted by Smallville.
True, for a variety of reasons (mostly CBS budget vs. CW budget and L.A. vs. Vancouver), but watching it as it aired, I loved it all the way through season four, after which I thought the quality plummeted drastically. We'll see if anything changes on this rewatch.
Season four is definitely when the falloff began for me. There were highs and lows after that, but it never regained the heights of the first three seasons, which I enjoyed enormously. And it made for kind of rough going sometimes when the compromised-quality version went on for seven more seasons.
Wasn't there some kind of copyright/trademark issue regarding Smallville, such that Clark could never, ever refer to himself as Superman, nor could he be seen wearing the costume?
I mean, I can of course understand why the show's makers might choose not to have Clark do those things, but I swear I heard that the Fucking Lawyers(tm) wouldn't even allow it...
I mean, I can of course understand why the show's makers might choose not to have Clark do those things, but I swear I heard that the Fucking Lawyers(tm) wouldn't even allow it...
Other way around.
The Superman and the Legion of Superheroes cartoon from 2007, was not allowed to call a 14 year old Clark Kent "Superboy".
They may have lost the rights to Superman too, since Little Clark went home and he was replaced by a clone called Superman X.
I think the first 7 season were great, when Rosenbaum left it went slowly downhill. But Cassidy Freeman did a good job replacing him
I did like Freeman a lot, as well as Durance. It's not that there was nothing to enjoy as the show continued along, but I felt that the writing became more arbitrary and nonsensical, the characters less consistent and believable, and the narrative more confusing and cluttered.
For me, the show was at its best as originally conceived: the high school years of Clark Kent and his friends and family in Smallville. The more the show moved away from its original structure and setting, the less satisfying I found it.
For me, the show was at its best as originally conceived: the high school years of Clark Kent and his friends and family in Smallville. The more the show moved away from its original structure and setting, the less satisfying I found it.
Oh man, I'm the total opposite. Seasons 6 and 7 felt like a stagnant low point for Smallville. I loved how season 8 finally had Clark taking a proactive approach to saving people vs only helping his friends when they're in danger, working at the Daily Planet, and starting to figure out a dual identity. I guess I liked that it wasn't a clear-cut approach to Clark donning the red and blue suit and flying. High school wasn't the only trial for him.
Also, the fact Clark finally put pining over Lana after seven years on the shelf (literally, he put her picture in a book and shelved it) was just icing on the cake.
Also, the fact Clark finally put pining over Lana after seven years on the shelf (literally, he put her picture in a book and shelved it) was just icing on the cake.
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