I typically enjoy Nolan’s films (and Terrence Malick’s films, too) and yet that trailer did nothing for me. In fact, it realised my worst fears.
Donner’s Superman was note-perfect, as was Burton’s Batman. Tom Mankiewicz mentions on the commentary of one of the Superman movies that you need different approaches for the two characters, and Donner and Burton were right in their respective roles.
Nolan’s Batman films work because that character is somewhat of an anti-hero, and the grittiness of Nolan’s approach fits that nicely. Superman, OTOH, is a hero is the truest sense of the word; his humanity comes from the tension between being both man and “god” and having to serve a higher purpose despite having human emotions. Everything is in broad, archetypal strokes: Smallville is small town middle America; Metropolis is a glistening, bustling hub. Superman should be bright, bold, four-colour action with a soulful core, not gloomy introspection.
Also, the “Clark Kent with a beard” sequence looked too much like Bruce Wayne’s spiritual trek in Batman Begins.
Yes, but he’s producing, co-writing the story and acting as “godfather”–he was put in charge by WB in order to make his version of Superman via a surrogate director. It seems to me that Nolan is making Man of Steel in the same way Lucas made Return of the Jedi.
Zack “Watchmen” Snyder? I’m in. Watchmen was far, far better than I thought it would be - and with Nolan involved, that just sweetens the pot. It could miss the mark, it could be lame, it could be BAD, but they’ve earned my confidence.
The trailers were not so great, but they’re teasers, and I’ll wait before I worry.
It looks to me like they took some inspiration from Kurt Busiek’s Superman: Secret Identity in which, if I recall, Clark spends time trying out different careers while trying to figure out his place in the world. He doesn’t just take a bus to the Daily Planet, J-degree in hand.
It’s a very promising move in my view. It is interesting to see a comic book character outside of the confines of the Saturday morning cartoon world. The most epic movie parts of the recent Batman movies where when Bruce was traveling abroad, fighting in a Chinese prison, and fighting on frozen lakes and glaciers. It opens up the world so much, and I hope they’re in no particular rush to get him in his familiar bubble.
Clark’s world travels were canonical well before Buseik wrote Secret Identity, which is non-canon, and based on Superboy-Prime (before he was brought back as a mad man-child). I’m pretty sure it goes back to the 80s reboot.
(It doesn’t seem to have survived into the current relaunch, where a young Clark seems to have come straight to Metropolis, with the intent of making it a better place.)
Wow, those things were a total buzzkill. Another superhero-as-lonely-ordinary-guy movie, whoopee. Thank goodness they figured out no one wants to see super action in a superhero movie.
DC is going to continue to be pounded by Marvel’s movies.
“No. [chuckles] Not that. The other thing. Come on, I know it’s dangling on the tip of your tongue. Let me hear it just once, please?”
“Superman will never-” “WRONG!”
