man of steel – Cinematic Slant

Up, up and away in spirit and in body.

Compare and contrast the following two images:

First, we have Henry Cavill in a still from 2013’s Man of Steel.

Second, we have Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch in a promotional image from the newly-announced “Superman and Lois” TV show.

Can you spot the difference?

I’ll give you a hint: It involves hope.

A couple months ago Variety published an extensive profile of the future of DC Films, the division of Warner Bros. setup to manage and produce movies based on characters originating in the pages of DC Comics. That feature included updates on projects involving Batman, Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn, Green Lantern and others, all of which are apparently being viewed with renewed optimism given the success of other recent films like Aquaman, Shazam and Joker.

[Standard disclosure: I managed the social media marketing program for DC Entertainment from July, 2011 to December, 2015, including promoting the movies, shows, games and other media that came out in that period. Nothing that’s come out since then has featured my involvement.]

Part of that profile was devoted to Superman, the original super hero but one which the studio doesn’t currently have concrete plans for, at least on the big screen. Cavill’s future portraying the character is subsequently uncertain and he’s made a handful of vague comments about what he knows of the situation.

Meanwhile, Hoechlin’s take on Superman has graduated from a one-off appearance on “Supergirl” to more frequent guest spots and now his own headlining series. And Brandon Routh, who starred in 2006’s Superman Returns, donned the tights and cape again as an older version of Superman (based on the character’s appearance in the “Kingdom Come” comics series) for The CW’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover event.

The Variety story reveals that part of the studio’s position on Superman is that it’s yet to find a filmmaker who can adequately make the hero “relevant to modern audiences.”

I’m by no stretch of the imagination the first or only person to say this, but the last thing we need right now is a Superman that’s “relevant.”

That seemed to be exactly the approach taken with Man of Steel and in the subsequent movies – Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League – with Cavill’s Superman. MoS in particular wanted so much to make the character relatable by giving him a bullying problem at school, making it clear he was an outsider among the other kids, having him bear the responsibility for his father dying and more. Director Zack Snyder went overboard with the Christ metaphors and daddy issues.

More broadly, the movie didn’t seem to like Superman very much. The story did everything it could to make him feel bad about himself and have others feel the same. Indeed the dislike of Superman is what fueled Batman’s quest to bring him down in BvS. Then, to prove what a shoddy storyteller Snyder truly is, JL had Batman seeking to bring him back from the dead for no earned reason but just because the plot needed for that to happen.

Even the title Man of Steel shows a desire by the filmmakers and studio to put some distance between themselves and the “Superman” brand, something that was especially odd given the movie came out in the midst of DC’s celebration of the character’s 75th anniversary. That desire seemed to become even more apparent when the planned sequel morphed into BvS, which ended with him dying, and then his almost complete absence from JL.

For the last seven years we’ve had (off and on) a theatrical Superman that has striven to be relevant. What the world needs isn’t a Superman that’s relatable but one that’s hopeful and inspirational.

It’s that Superman that’s been on display on TV and in many of the comics over the years, especially those from writers like Geoff Johns, Dan Jurgens, Greg Pak and others. It’s that Superman that was on the big screen in Richard Donner’s movies starring Christopher Reeve.

Yes, he can be serious. Yes, he can go through some tough times. Yes, he can make mistakes and struggle with doubting himself. But in the end, the best Superman stories are those where he’s held up as a shining example of the best humanity can be. He inspires people to rise to his level and feels that, as an immigrant with god-like powers, it’s his responsibility to protect those who can’t protect themselves.

If WB wants to make Superman work in theaters in the 21st century, it should make us believe a man can fly again, not make us feel anguish over all the tough decisions he has to make about whether to save a city full of people or not. Anyone with any knowledge of Superman knows that’s a decision he would never hesitate to make, and it’s that Superman we need to see again.

Later this week the entertainment press and countless fans will descend upon the San Diego Convention Center for this year’s installment of San Diego Comic-Con. Yesterday we looked at which movies went on to success or failure after using Comic-Con as a big promotional platform, so today we’re going to finish revisiting the decade by analyzing 2012 through 2016.

2012 – No One Wins, No One Loses

Hard to pick in either category for this year since most of the notable movies appearing this year went on to decent box-office and various levels of positive critical reception. Wreck-It Ralph was quickly hailed as a modern classic. Man of Steel did well – and started the new DC Cinematic Universe – but wasn’t loved by critics. Looper wasn’t a big success but did keep Rian Johnson making interesting movies. Pacific Rim is loved by many but barely cracked $1m in ticket sales. This is the most mixed bag of the last 10 years.

2013 – The Winner

If you have to pick one winner here it seems like it should be The LEGO Movie, which surprised everyone with its emotional story and quirky sense of humor. San Diego was where audiences got their first look at the future animated hit and started a cycle of buzz that resulted in it becoming such a hit the LEGO series is now a franchise of its own.

2013 – The Disappointment

Safe to put Kick-Ass 2 in this bucket. While the 2010 original was fresh and funny with its shocking realistic violence, it couldn’t continue that momentum three years later. Everything that was original in the first movie felt forced and warmed over in the sequel.

2014 – The Winner

I’ll admit to having been among the skeptical regarding Mad Max: Fury Road. Not because the story was going to be focusing on a woman but because was this franchise still relevant at all. As always, I was wrong and the movie was one of the biggest successes of 2015, both with critics and fans. That was at least in part due to the look given to those in San Diego, a look that won them over with incredible visuals and a unique take on the idea.

2014 – The Disappointment

Similar to other points made above, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For may have seemed like it was perfect for the Comic-Con crowd to go on to champion. That didn’t happen, though, as the clunky story dragged down the comic-inspired visuals despite the attachment of creator Frank Miller.

2015 – The Winner

Let’s go ahead and disqualify Star Wars: The Force Awakens from consideration, shall we? It was always going to be a massive hit and succeeded in not turning off audiences, so mission accomplished. With that off to the side, let’s award the prize to Suicide Squad, which got everyone’s attention with an incredible sizzle reel/teaser trailer that had everyone talking. While critics hated the movie with a passion, it went on to do over $325m at the U.S. box office, so it clearly qualifies as a hit. All of that buzz started in San Diego.

2015 – The Disappointment

Again, there’s a caveat to the movie appearing here, Warcraft. While San Diego promotion didn’t do anything to help it at theaters – it grossed less than $50m in the U.S. – it’s done massive business overseas. So it worked, just not exactly like Universal may have had in mind.

2016 – The Winner

The winner is Wonder Woman. The winner is always Wonder Woman. The first look at Gal Gadot as the Amazon princess came in 2014 as part of the early promotion for Batman v Superman. It was in 2016, though, that the marketing for her solo movie really kicked into gear. It’s now the highest-grossing movie directed by a woman, the second-highest grossing DCCU movie and is just generally awesome. Another clear indicator that it’s not just adolescent (physically, mentally or both) males that pay attention to SDCC buzz.

2016 – The Disappointment

Prior to San Diego Comic-Con last year, horror fans seemed to be moderately interested in The Woods, a new movie from director Adam Wingard. Just before a scheduled screening of the movie it was revealed it was actually a sequel to The Blair Witch Project. That was meant to make the movie a must-see among not just horror aficionados but also the general public. While its eventual box-office take of $45m is nothing to sneeze at, it’s nowhere near what had to be expected based on the secrecy and big reveal.