I went to see “Superman Returns” on iMAX 3D yesterday (only 20 min of the movie are in 3D), and was somewhat disappointed by the movie. It has less action and more melodrama than I expected. And I am puzzled why on earth would Superman work a day job at the newspaper. Shouldn’t he be “save the world” fulltime, 24-7?
Popular blogger, Jeff Jarvis (buzzmachine.com), asked us “who is Superman?” I think the question should be – “what is Superman?” Superman represents many things on many levels. Is he the comic book version of Jesus, the son of a superior being, send to earth to save us? Is he the manifestation of American ideologies, albeit a little “played out” in the post-9/11 era? Or, since Superman saves people all over the world, not just Americans, is he a reflection of our point-of-view on American Globalization?
Like many other comic book superheroes, Superman fights for “truth and justice”. But he's also different from...let say, Batman, who “gets things done” his way, and often terrorizes his foes. Superman is too “good-hearted” in comparison. Also, unlike Spiderman, who can be easily distracted by too many personal issues, Superman is more focused when it comes to “save the world.”
So, is Superman the perfect superhero, and do we need Superman? Why is Lois Lane’s Pulitzer winning editorial (in the movie) called “Why we don’t need Superman anymore”? I think the world today is far too complicated for a “perfect” superhero like Superman to handle.
Back to the movie, I think the screenwriters didn’t get “Superman.” When it comes to a “perfect” superhero like Superman, people don’t want to see him get tangled-up in a love triangle, and (here is a spoiler) has to deal with an illegitimate child. We just want to see Superman battle villains, save people, and all that stuff. This explains why the movie only grossed $74 million over the weekend (not counting the 4th of July holiday).
posted by Chenster @ 3:19 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home