My Last Word on Man of Steel

This is old news, but here we go.

I've softened on the film after re-watching a couple of times. I think there are a lot of good ideas in the film, and I absolutely adore the Krypton they created. I think now, after hearing the rumblings about the sequel, I see the angle the team is taking, in terms of the entire franchise.

But....

That final sequence. It's still deeply problematic. If this was all planned, which I'm not overly convinced of, it makes sense. I can't help but feel like the plans for the sequel, and the world building, re-set when there was fan backlash against the rampant destruction of Man of Steel's third act. Still, OK, let's take Goyer and Snyder at their word...

It's still deeply problematic.

All that needed to happen is a "no, the people!" moment. A clear sense that Kal knew lives were being lost, and that trying to contain a being as powerful as Zod was not going to make it possible to contain the loss of life.

At that point....snap the neck. I think that's totally in character.

It all comes down to this...

It's that scene in Die Hard 2 when the plane is coming in thinking the ground is 20 feet lover than it actually is. When John McClane runs out there with two torches to try to wave them off...we KNOW it's futile. We know that, no matter how hard he pushes himself, the forces he's up against are just too strong, and too uncaring of innocent life, for him to succeed.

But we love that he tried. We see him as more of a hero because he tried.

The world of the film in Man of Steel doesn't have to know that Clark is benign, a hero, but the audience should. They should see the sacrifice and the effort, even if it fails, when the world of the film just sees buildings falling.

That is, literally, all it would've taken. The fact that Snyder and Goyer didn't consider that still bothers me.

I Don't Really Believe This Scoop.

That said, IF IT IS TRUE, I'd be very excited. Mainly because Christian Bale is Bruce Wayne, to me, and I think it's STUPID to try to launch a DC Universe on film with a Batman who's not Bruce Wayne. I don't care how popular Joseph Gordon-Leavitt is (and I'm a big fan), but I do not want to see "John Blake" Batman as a cornerstone of a film DCU. Which is also not to say I'm totally against re-casting. I'm not. It's a character thing, not an actor thing, but I am very, very fond of Bale as this character.

Now, that said...I don't see this happening. I don't see Nolan being interested. He was very specific about his Batman films being in a world with no other heroes, and, honestly, despite Marvel's success, I think that is the smartest course of action with this kind of material. Building a world specific to the character you're working on, and allowing that character to be special in that world. As much as I enjoy the Marvel Films productions, there is a generic feel to their world. I've said it often, Marvel Films is making very artful commerce.

Christopher Nolan made very commercial art. I think he said what he wanted to say about heroism and super-heroes in his three films. While I could imagine him finding some interest in telling a story about Superman, being such a diametrically opposed character, I think, based on his other films, shepherding a string of Green Lantern films, for example, isn't going to trip his trigger. Maybe the power running Warner Brothers DC franchise would give him, to do projects he feels more connected to, would. Who knows?

I honestly don't even think that Nolan is all that involved with Man of Steel. I think he lent his name to David Goyer to help move his script forward. Did he look at it and give notes? Sure, but I don't think he was as active a producer as many would like to believe.Will the final product have elements of Nolan's more "real world" Batman take? I would guess so, but I also think that has more to do with the fact that Nolan's Bat-saga was so popular. Not to mention that the same writer (Goyer) was responsible for the original scripts, in both cases.

So, I don't quite believe what El Mayimbe is selling...

But, lets say the WB is trying to circle the wagons, and get the people with a proven track record on board to try to expand the universe. I can't argue that it makes sense from a business perspective, and if Bale is willing to don the cowl again, I'd be happy to see it happen.

I will make this pitch, however...

Just do World's Finest, or Superman/Batman, or whatever you want to call it. I understand that Warners is very high on what Snyder has put together with Man of Steel, if it goes as well as people are apparently expecting, and you bring Bale back, the DC Universe on film is already established. Just by putting those two characters together, the two most universally recognized superheroes in the world (don't even argue - the only thing Marvel has that is close is Spider-Man), you have an epic, event film to rival The Avengers. You also have a cornerstone that you can build from, without eliminating options for the other characters.

IF, in fact, Nolan is actually contemplating jumping into this, I wouldn't be surprised if he was thinking the same thing.