Yes.. !!! I am a 21-year old "adult". Yes, i watched the superman movie for the first time. Yes, my mind has over-grown with batmans & Iron man's. Yes, my mind is used to the Avatars & the Minority Reports than star wars & space odessey's in terms of visual effects. BUT ...
I was an 8-year old kid once. I was that kid who used to watch justice league cartoons on power-zone, Cartoon Network. I was that kid who followed newspaper's comic strips regularly and tried to replicate those pictures by hand. I was that kid who was so curious about what happens in the next strip, just like my mom was curious about the next episode of a Saas-Bahu serial. I still remember sketching Superman without missing the excruciating details of his dress colour, his muscles, especially his bieceps and shoulders. I used to color his blue-red body with such a care and conviction. Oh, and i always added a six-pack though he never had one. My drawing of superman was a Salman-khaned version with the Christopher reeve's rectagular face. Awesome body with a charming face, may be that was something my 8-year brain envisioned for myself when i grow up .. !!!
And this superman movie took me back to those days. . Had my childish brain been wise enough to maintain a proper drawing book for all my drawings, it would been such a sweet nostalgic feeling to see them after watching this movie. And things that re-evoke your memories really move you. And this Superman movie has done exactly that. I knew this story of superman's origins. I have seen it already in those Cartoons. And seeing those Cartoons come to life in a movie is another experience entirely. I have seen novels come to life, Short stories come to life, real stories come to life but never cartoons. I would really love to see the entire power zone come to life.
But there's one thing i could say about this movie. Had i seen this movie when i was 8-year old, i would have gone crazy about superman beyond doubt. Batman & Ironman would have never mattered to me. I mean, which kid wouldn't want to just fly away aroud the world like superman. Flying like a bird has always been a man's fantasy & i think the creators of superman Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster, captalized on that fact. That is the point of super-hero genre, to amaze & amuse the people. Make them drop their jaws & get them fantasizing about the un-doable. Had i been 8-years old, I would have definitely tucked a red towel behind my neck & atleast try to jump a few feet to see that towel fly around. Such is the power of this cultural Icon. It's no surprise that Till today, the most popular raging style is the superman's under-wear-on-pants style. I wonder how many times i would have imagined doing things like superman when i was a kid, how many times i would dress like super and strech my hands in excitement.
And of course, the Rock-star of all of this is the one only CHRISTOPHER REEVE. Only If you could cut a picture of either super-man or clark kent from a comic book & place beside a photo of Chris Reeve, you would understand how he fit the bill. Christopher Reeve is the superman and no body else. May be Jerry siegel & Joe Shuster created superman's face seeing accidentally seeing Chris reeve. Christopher Reeve brings Charm to superman & Innocence to Clark Kent. Lets not forget that he shared that screen space with legends Marlon Brando & Gene hackman. But never in the movie, was he over shadowed by their presence. Because Chris Reeve gets you to root for his Clark Kent & cheer for his superman. Christopher Reeve is that charming superman every girl will dream to fly away with, he is that kind superman every kid would love to befriend with & he is that powerfull superman every countryman would want to be protected with. Chris Reeve was the solution for the producers whose problem as described in Tom Mankiewicz's (writer) words "We found guys with fabulous physique who couldn't act or wonderful actors who did not look remotely like Superman". Christopher Reeve is indeed the Superman.
Movie itself is spectacular. These old movies may have outdated Visual effects, but they convey a lot of effort & money put behind them in those "Non-digital" days. The various cranes, greens screens & mattes have done a fine job to make our hero's flight look nearly seamless. I could imagine how Those scenes of those huge Crystalline set pieces blown apart, krypton destruction, hoover dam collapse & the helicopter scene would blown the audience's minds apart back in 1978. It's like our 2012 & pacific Rim. I was really delighted to see the comic feel retained within the movie and it's characters. The subtle wit in dialogues make scenes like the Lois's romantic interview with superman absolutely enjoyable. To put that in Roger Ebert's words, "Superman is a pure delight, a wondrous combination of all the old-fashioned things we never really get tired of: adventure and romance, heroes and villains, earthshaking special effects and wit ". Yes it has all those elements. And the unforgettable music by John Williams will make you stand & whistle in ecstasy like a Tamil fan Whistling for Rajnikanth
As we head towards the release of MAN OF STEEL, am curious, nervous and Excited. Am Curious about how would a re-boot of a movie based on Cartoon would turn out to be, Am curious about Zack Snyder's taking who gave use the Watchmen & 300. Am nervous about how much of comic charm & wit it would ignore & Excited off-course because the DARK KNIGHT team ( Chris Nolan, Hans zimmer, David.S Goyer) is involved with this. It would be an insult on my part if i dont catch MAN OF STEEL on first day first show. Have you seen it's Thrid trailer yet ... ?
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