"Man of Steel" swoops into theaters on June 14th to continue the seemingly endless summer barrage of superhero movies. Director Zack Snyder and Henry Cavill are the latest guardians of Superman's storied legacy, but their film has more than just the memory of Christopher Reeve to contend with. Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man and the Marvel brigade keep setting the box office expectations impossibly high, so there's A LOT riding on "Man of Steel", as DC hopes to catch up to their relentless rivals and launch a heavily-rumored "Justice League" movie to counter that juggernaut known as "The Avengers". We'll have those answers soon enough, but first let's recap the silver screen history of the big blue legend thus far.
 |
| 1972's Best Actor. |
 |
| 1971's Best Actor. |
"Superman: The Movie"(1978)
Listen up, all you Marvel front-runners because THIS is where it all started. As hard as it is to believe now, there was a time when most of Hollywood thought that a quality comic book movie was impossible. That's why even Chris Nolan bows at the feet of Richard Donner, because the director of "The Omen" disagreed with that narrow viewpoint and set out to dress up his 'inconsequential B-movie' with some serious A-list class. Marlon Brando received top billing and $3.7 million for less than two weeks of work, but you couldn't put a price tag on the prestige and credibility that his presence immediately lent the production. It was enough to attract fellow Oscar winner Gene Hackman to the role of Superman's perennial arch-nemesis Lex Luthor. We all know who the real star is, though. Christopher Reeve, then a handsome 25 year old unknown, is perfection in the title role. Gone but never forgotten, his Superman is one of the most enduring pop culture images in the last quarter of the 20th century.
The transcendence is further heightened by John Williams' majestic score and a measured script supplied of Mario Puzo("The Godfather"). History was made in the biggest spectacle of this celluloid era not called "Star Wars", as the film topped the charts for a full four weeks, and the word 'impossible' was suddenly banished into the Phantom Zone by Tinsel-town execs.
The Man of Steel soars in this glorious sequel that builds on everything that was established the first time around(in a perfect world, that's what every follow-up would do, superhero or not). After a touching courtship, Kal-El gives up his powers to bed Lois Lane(Margot Kidder) while three super-villains from planet Krypton take over the Earth. Terence Stamp's General Zod is a villain performance for the ages, that surely made Michael Shannon think twice about following in his footsteps. The franchise arguably peaked with that epic battle above the skyscrapers of Metropolis. However, the conversation about "II" often gets bogged down in the Donner vs. Lester directorial debate.
It's common knowledge to most fans that Richard Donner was fired by producers Ilya and Alexander Salkind after one too many creative disputes, even though he had 75% of the film in the can. In a highly controversial move, Richard Lester("A Hard Night's Night") was brought in to finish the job, and he wound up re-shooting enough scenes to receive solo credit for it. The movie is super despite these major behind-the-scenes shakeups, but replacing Donner mid-flight turned out to be a decision that prevented Reeve's Superman from ever flying this high again.
"Superman III"(1983)
Long before Joel Schumacher got his hands on the Batman franchise, this was unquestionably the clearest cinematic example of the law of diminishing returns. With Donner totally out of the picture, Richard Lester directed ALL of this third installment, and from the moment the opening credits start to roll, we know something just isn't right. Margot Kidder's Lois Lane is reduced to a cameo, as we're introduced to Clark's first love Lana Lang(Annette O'Toole) on a return trip to Smallville. That was a nice idea, and so was Superman getting corrupted by some doctored kryptonite(that junkyard fight is the definite highlight). But Robert Vaughn's villainous CEO was a lame stand-in for Lex Luthor(Hackman reportedly refused to return over the Donner debacle) and Richard Pryor was cast for no other reason than he was really popular at this time. With all due respect to the late comic, his bumbling computer programmer added NOTHING to the proceedings, and he's in it almost as much as Reeve!
"Superman III" couldn't hope to steal summertime audiences away from "Return of the Jedi" with it's misguidedly comedic tone, and took in significantly less money than it's predecessors at the box office. Coupled with the failure of 1984's "Supergirl", the Salkinds were removed from the franchise, but all that meant was that they couldn't be blamed for what happened next.
"Superman IV: The Quest For Peace"(1987)
Two words- Nuclear Man. By all accounts, everyone went into the much-maligned fourth and final film with the best intentions- to bring the franchise back to it's former glory. It was not to be. "Batman & Robin" may have taken some of the heat off of this film ten summers later, but it's just as shockingly bad in it's own way. Even more perplexing is the fact that most of the original cast is present. Even Gene Hackman is powerless in the face of such outright mediocrity.
Director Sidney J Furie("The Entity") is at the helm, as Superman wants to rid the world of all it's nukes, but this attempt at real-world relevance was all for naught, with such obvious deficiencies in the screenwriting and special effects departments. A cheap look and overly cartoonish performances made this a depressing swan song for Christopher Reeve's once-great Man of Steel.
"Superman Returns"(2006)
After a nineteen-year sabbatical, that included a close-call in the mid-'90s with Tim Burton and Nicolas Cage, "X-Men" director Bryan Singer was ultimately deemed the safest choice to resurrect the DC icon on the silver screen. A self-professed huge fan of the 1978 original, Singer may have had TOO much reverence for Donner's celebrated interpretation, because he basically made a direct sequel to "Superman II", asking the public to forget about "III" and "IV"(which admittedly wasn't too much to ask). He hired Reeve lookalike Brandon Routh to fill those iconic tights, and even dusted off some Brando footage in the Fortress of Solitude. These aren't necessarily complaints, but Singer payed homage instead of leaving his own distinct mark on the mythology, and that may have kept his film from greatness.
But let's not pretend that "Returns" doesn't have a lot going for it- Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor and a showstopping plane rescue can't be dismissed. Nevertheless, WB executives were underwhelmed by the box office numbers(even though it made roughly the same amount of money as 2005's "Batman Begins"), and Singer was denied the opportunity to produce a sequel to his earnest effort that is every bit as love-starved as the Last Son of Krypton himself.
"Man of Steel"(2013)
Hollywood hits the reset button again, and hires musclebound Brit Henry Cavill to halt the momentum of Marvel's Avengers. "Watchman" director Zack Snyder acts as DC's would-be savior, and his Nolanesque approach to Smallville/Metropolis has divided the fan community(there's no pleasing some people). Nobody can accuse "MOS" of being too light on action and FX, as Snyder put every penny of that $225 million price tag(!) up on IMAX screens across the country. But all of that earth-shattering destruction coursing through the fifty-minute finale feels like a slight betrayal of the innocence and gentle spirit long associated with the world's first superhero. This is a clean break from yesteryear, and Superman's arrival on Earth is now akin to a nuclear bomb going off. No more saving kittens from trees, because even Krypton is a battlefield, in Snyder's summer box office quest.
We have to acknowledge the classy ensemble cast- Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Michael Shannon, Lawrence Fishburne. Snyder assembled one of the best groups of actors ever to grace the genre, and the result was $291 million domestically. Warner Bros. had to have been hoping for a higher total, though. "Iron Man 3" made $409 million, so there's a hierarchy here. Hey, no worries, we'll just add BATMAN to the mix next time, and everything will be great, right?
Updated Sept 2018
"Batman v Superman" and "Justice League", both helmed by Snyder, didn't cause Kevin Feige to lose much sleep. Cavill will NOT get a direct sequel to "Man of Steel". Is Superman dead?
No comments:
Post a Comment