The Biggest Problem with ‘Man of Steel’

Luke Miksa's: The Negative Space Bar

As Zack Snyder‘s Man of Steel hit Australian home video this week, I got to reminiscing on how disappointed I was when I viewed it on its theatrical release.

I will gladly admit to being a tremendous Superman fan — possessive even — but I am generally not the kind of person to kick up a fuss when someone comes along and changes aspects to a long-standing character (especially a character with the 75-year legacy of Superman). Changes keep things fresh, and different artists are always going to have different perspectives and visions. I’m hip to this, and I enjoy seeing various interpretations.

I don’t need to warn you about MASSIVE SPOILERS from now on, do I?

The makers of Man of Steel made many changes: Perry White is black. Jimmy Olson is female. Lois Lane deciphers Clark Kent’s secret identity almost immediately. Superman is actually forced to kill as a last resort (which is kind of a big deal). All of these are fairly drastic changes, but I applaud them because they are either intriguing or they positively add to the narrative.

But there is still something that bugs me, and I’ve narrowed it down to this guy:

Herro

Oh, herro

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In Defence of: BAT-FLECK

Luke Miksa's: The Negative Space Bar

The biggest movie news story this past week — as well as perhaps the biggest casting news of the year — was  Warner Bros. deciding on their newest man to don Batman’s iconic cape and cowl in the sequel to this year’s Superman flick, Man of Steel. That man is of course Ben Affleck, and the casting became a huge talking point for anyone with an interest in the subject. By talking point, I am referring to the shockingly negative backlash from superhero fans, film fans, and the internet in general.

Within days — hours, even — of the news breaking, message boards and comment sections were overflowing with people spewing their hate-filled vitriol at the decision. Let me repeat: people were genuinely angry and upset at this decision. There was a lot of this:

If you don’t have the time to watch that video (you don’t), that is a TEN MINUTE rant over — and I can’t stress this enough — an actor simply being cast as a fictional character.

How is it possible to cast judgement over something that doesn’t even exist yet?

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Book Review: Superman vs. Hollywood by Jake Rossen

This article was published on the original Sorry I’m Late.com on 23/03/10.

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Deviating from the normal machinations of my regular writing topics, today I bring to you a look at a book that I found so engrossing that I just could not put it down. It certainly took up more of my free time lately then expected – I’m not saying that it’s the sole reason behind my recent tardiness in updating the website, but it is in fact the sole reason behind my recent tardiness in updating the website. That book is titled Superman vs. Hollywood: How Fiendish Producers, Devious Directors, and Warring Writers Grounded an American Icon by Jake Rossen.

I love Superman – this is no lie. From the toys and action figures, statues, comics, posters (cast signed, snoogans) and even the ‘S’ Shield ink that adorns my body – saying that I may have a man-crush on the fictional quasi-deity may be an understatement. So it was with great surprise and enthusiasm that upon reading Jake Rossen’s near 300 page ode to the Man of Tomorrow, I was surprised to see so much detail and – more importantly – so much information and stories that I didn’t know on a topic where I thought I knew it all (all with iron-clad references and quotations, as well as a surprising amount of first-hand interviews from some important players).

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