I just thought this was hilarious 😂
By now, I hope that most of you have already seen the greatest thing in theaters right now, James Gunn's Superman. If you haven't, please stop reading this and go see it post-haste! Not only is the new Superman movie a fantastic and beautiful film overall, and deserves to be seen by everyone, but today I want to discuss a specific aspect of the film that initially had me feeling uncertain. It all has to do with a minor yet undeniably essential aspect of Superman's lore and origin: his Kryptonian parents.
As the title of this blog entry suggests, I will be spoiling a significant aspect of the film. If you haven't seen it yet, I repeat my statement at the beginning of this entry. You have been warned!
SPOILERS
One of the fundamental aspects of Superman's origin is that his Kryptonian parents sent him to Earth as both a means of saving their child from their dying planet and as a guide for Earthlings to become better people. In all iterations of this character's history (up to now), the general theme has remained the same, best summarized by the famous line from Marlon Brando, who portrayed Jor-El (Superman's Kryptonian father) in the 1978 masterpiece, Superman: The Movie.
"They can be a great people, Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason, above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you; my only son."
Religious similarities aside, this has been a significant aspect of Superman's motivations as both a person and a hero. However, James Gunn decided to take a different approach toward Superman's Kryptonian parents.
In the film, the recorded message from Superman's parents was damaged, leaving only half of their message, which stated that they loved him and wanted him to be and do good in his new home. However, the villainous Lex Luthor finds this message and claims to have restored and translated (the message was in the Kryptonian language) the rest of the damaged message. Lex then displays what he claims to be the rest of the message and further claims that the reason for Jor-El sending Superman to Earth was not to lead by example, but by force, instructing Superman to rule the planet by any means necessary, including murder, since he would be, essentially, a God among mortals.
To be fair, as of this writing, this has not been confirmed or denied as absolute. Since it was Lex Luthor who presented this finding, and given his motivations (wanting to kill Superman), it stands to reason that the message was likely doctored by Lex as a means of smearing Superman's good name and intentions. Nothing Lex Luthor does or says can be trusted, so there is a good chance that message is not what he claims it was.
Even so, if this is the different direction that James Gunn genuinely wants to take, then I might be okay with it.
The impression I get from this change is that it is James Gunn's response to the "What if Superman was evil?" concept, which, as I have stated before, is my least favorite criticism/exploration of Superman as a character. By making his Kryptonian parents villains in their own misguided way (allegedly), it reinforces a more relevant and prominent aspect of Superman's character: his choices! Superman doesn't use his powers for good because someone told him to; he does it because he chooses to. He sees the good that resides in all people and wants to inspire it to come out into the world, to be seen by the light of the sun.
Essentially, the feeling I get from this creative choice is that it's James Gunn's way of saying, "Look, where we came from doesn't and shouldn't dictate who we choose to be now, and our inability to recognize and appreciate kindness by choice is the root of many problems we're all facing today!"
Whatever this creative choice becomes later on, it adds a new and interesting layer of depth and nuance to Superman's character (at least in this particular iteration), and I, for one, look forward to seeing where it goes from here.
Now, please go see the movie!
Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm; thank you all for reading.
I saw the movie and thought the direction James Gunn took was pretty cool. There are some nuances of the old Superman but at the same time a little about how Superman would fare today. I also like the return to the original costume and not the dark one that Henry Cavill wore although that was an interesting choice.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that the "Justice Gang", that will probably be known in the future as the ever famous "Justice League" was a nice touch. Although, I am a Green Lantern fan and absolutely "hate" the way he was represented. C'mon, okay, change his outfit that's okay, but the hairdo? Hal Jordan was not a wimp, and he was rightly so in this outfit and "bowl cut". Hawk girl and Mr. Terrific were both very cool and loved their personalities, but Green Lantern? Although I don't love Ryan Reynolds that interpretation was more spot on.
I also like Nicholas Hoult but didn't "love" him as Lex Luthor. One of my friends I saw the movie with said she thought he was "too young" to play him. I might agree with that, but I don't know, I think its' a decent change.
All in all it was a very interesting movie I would see again. Love David Corenswet (did I spell that right? ) and Rachel Brosnahan. They were perfect for their roles in comparison to Henry Cavill and Amy Adams. I didn't think Amy Adams was a Lois Lane, more a Lana Lang?
That''s my two cents. I'm glad James Gunn did the movie it was a refreshing take on Superman!