GURLIMANN FILM STORYBOARDS

ENCHANTED EVENING

The Doomsday Balloon

MAN OF STEEL, OR "A SOLDIER'S STORY"

They did something with Superman I wasn't prepared

to see them do, they made him reflect the current

cultural Zeitgeist.  He's nolonger valid, apparently

as a the big blue boyscout, a term that Batman often

called him with a wry sneer in the comics.  Superman has now

become a reluctant soldier faced with a threat that

causes him to call all of his pacifist beliefs into question.

Questions that I'm sure every veteran has asked

themselves during war time, but questions that,

up until now, on film, Superman has never faced. 

Questions like: 

What are you prepared to do to defend your beliefs? 

Are you willing to lay down you life for them? 

And, if you don't lay down your life, and you find yourself being the

only one uniquely suited to the task of utterly vanquishing a

threat in order for all that you hold dear to survive,

are you willing to face the consequences of violating

your personal philosophy?  Your personal integrity?

Of living with yourself and your decision afterwards?

Again, I was forced to accept this reimagined

Superman as a very human everyman faced with

life and death decisions, instead of the light-hearted

threats where the hero always wins his victories.  Cleanly

without sullying his hands or reputation. 

I'm talking clear victories, and not the Pyrrhic variety.

As much as it went against my own personal

beliefs, I was impressed that they took such a chance

with the character, and make it work as far as I'm

concerned.  Man Of Steel was really a pretty awesome,

darkly celestial action flick.

As for the fight scenes going on too long?  They had to,

I won't go into if you haven't seen it yet.  But the fight

had to go on as long as it did.  And the love story wasn't throw

away, it wasn't a love story set up in easy pat terms.  In

fast movie love time.  No one has professed their love

to each other yet.  The strong, and obvious attraction between

Clark and Lois is only in it's infancy and it will eventually

culminate into something more. 

Man of Steel was a surprisingly thought provoking flick!