The new Superman “Man Of Steel” trailer raises more questions than it provides answers.
Director Zack Snyder’s reboot of the Superman franchise has been long anticipated and much conjectured on. It’s not that the new trailer doesn’t reveal plenty, but much of what is seen is already known about the new film.
We know the new Clark Kent interpretation will be a more brooding Superman, one trying to find his place in this world. The voiceover even says as much.
We know the casting of Kevin Costner as Pa Kent and Diane Lane as Ma Kent bring some much needed acting weight to the parents of the superhero. Russell Crowe as Jor-El, the natural father of the alien orphan is more star power added to the fire.
Amy Adams as Lois Lane is a nice change of pace from the previous brunettes only versions and she’s an Oscar nominee as well as the others. Michael Shannon filling out the cast as General Zod adds yet another Oscar nominee to the cast.
OK. It’s got a phenomenal cast. Is that enough to raise this franchise from the ashes? It does put a little more star power than the 1997 Superman Returns which mainly boasted an over the top performance by Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey as everyone’s favorite Superman villain, Lex Luthor.
Most would argue that Kevin Spacey was the best thing about the last reboot attempt. This new version shows some promise by not leaning on the Lex Luthor crutch. General Zod and his fellow band of baddies from the Phantom Zone are a formidable foe, matching Superman in every physical way and outnumbering him. Harkening back to the days of the 70s Superman film franchise, these were the best bad guys to challenge Christopher Reeve’s superb rendition of the man of steel.
Even so, the Man Of Steel trailer has many tantalizing bits and shots of splendor that give hints to an interesting story, but will it answer the many questions people have about this franchise? Will it be a solid story or just a mash-up of special effects wizardry? A spaceship lands at what looks like the Kent farm – is this General Zod arriving, a different delivery method for the orphaned Kryptonian Clark Kent, or something else entering the fields of Kansas? We get glimpses of Clark’s childhood – will this take up a significant portion of the film? Do audiences want to see that rehashed yet again, even if it is a notably fresh take on Superman’s youth?
There are hints of hope in the new rendition. Christopher Nolan is producing the film and he breathed life back into the Batman franchise, pushing it to be the highest grossest set of dark knight based films yet for Warner Bros.
The tone set in the voiceover is darker, and more rooted in modern day questions of who the world thinks of as heroes and whether the modern day planet is ready for such an imposition. A Superman constantly questioning his place in our world may be just the tone needed to bring life back to this super hero franchise.
Even with more questions than answers, the new Man Of Steel trailer leaves many reviewers hopeful that this will be a better Superman reboot attempt than the 1997 incarnation. Even though the last one actually grossed $400 million worldwide, it was not considered a hit on the scale that modern day Hollywood has set the bar for a super hero film – roughly $1 billion worldwide receipts. The whole world will find out on the premiere date, June 14, 2013. For now, the trailer below will be the source of questions for months to come.
Do you think this latest effort to reboot Superman will be as successful as Christopher Nolan’s Batman films? Let us know in the comments below!
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