The latest Superman installment is directed by Zack Snyder and stars Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Laurence Fishburne, and Christopher Meloni. In this version, the alien identity of Clark Kent (Cavill) remains a secret until he his thirty-three years old, after his childhood in Kansas with Jonathan (Costner) and Martha (Lane) and a string of odd-jobs. One of these, as a cargo handler, leads him to a top Arctic expedition, where a group of scientists are investigating a strange formation buried under twenty-thousand year-old ice. There, he saves the life of trailblazing journalist Lois Lane (Adams) -- and learns the truth about his origins. He embraces his alter-ego to defeat General Zod (Shannon), the Kryptonian traitor who is hell-bent on recreating his lost planet on Earth, but with no room for sharing. Even though one goes into a superhero film expecting some plot to be sacrificed for CGI action, this film's problems run way deeper than that. Not only is the story itself utterly ridiculous, but the film's blatant pro-Christian message is disappointing and distasteful. When doing some research on the matter after returning from the theater, I discovered that the earliest Superman comics were very much influenced by Christianity (Clark Kent's parents were first named Mary and Joseph). A subtle religious undertone would have paid homage to the essence of the original comics, but it was too pronounced and overindulgent in this film. The special effects are very impressive, however, as one would expect. This aspect makes the film very entertaining, but films of this genre cannot only rely on effects if they do not have proper substance. Unfortunately, the film is a huge miss all around, and a waste of many great talents.
Should you see it: No
Grade: C
No comments:
Post a Comment