A Return to Blogging

Superman Returns?

After a few years without blogging on this page, I've decided to return. My intention is to put up links to articles, blog posts, and videos I find interesting. I'll also post my own thoughts on topics of interest from time to time. I'm planning to deal less with economics-related topics; I'll be leaning more heavily on topics like education, truth claims, mechanics and mystics, comic, and other fun tags from my new label cloud. (If you really want to hear my econ commentary, head over to my more academic blog, Subliminally Unemployed.)

As the first return post, I'll offer a movie review (poster provided) complete with spoilers below the jump break. But before I do, let me open this post with a request for requests: whether you're returning to this blog with me or starting it new, what would you like me to write about? Any articles you'd like me to comment on or share? Post your requests in the comments, and welcome to Metadoxy!


I'd like to comment on the new Superman movie that's been out for almost a month now, Man of Steel. It's a movie that has produced a lot of strong reactions, both for and against. I enjoyed it, and hope to see it again before it leaves theaters. The visuals were mesmerizing, the action was entertaining, the main characters were decently developed, and it established a world where people's reactions to the existence of aliens & superheroes made sense. Most importantly, I liked that they followed the approach of Batman Begins by making the movie about exploring an idea (for Batman Begins, the idea was Fear; for Man of Steel, the idea is Hope).

I have some complaints, like most people who saw it. I thought the action scenes, although visually interesting, were too long. After a point they all felt repetitive. [WARNING: Spoilers for the ending of Man of Steel] I thought the last fight was unnecessary; they could have weaved some of the one-on-one struggle into the previous fight, and dealt with Zod's death differently. If Zod, upon realizing he had no more sense of purpose, had killed himself instead of rampaging, we could have had a poignant moment where Kal-El becomes the last of his kind without having to deal with Superman killing him. [End spoilers] Overall, I think the movie could have been 15 to 20 minutes shorter without any real loss of narrative or spectacle. I also think the script could have used one more polish, both to make sure the theme of Hope was more consistently emphasized and to make the more interesting motivations of the villains a bit more transparent.

I'd give the movie a solid grade of B, which is not a bad grade from me. Lots of people have given it worse reviews. That's not interesting in itself, but the reasons people offer for the bad reviews are. People criticize Man of Steel for being too different from the Richard Donner / Christopher Reeves version, except for the people who think it's still too close. People are unhappy with the character development, except for the people who consider character development the highlight of the movie. People want less Christian imagery, except for the people who wish the Superman in this movie were more like Jesus. People wanted it to be both more and less like the Marvel movies.

In the end, although it's making tons more money than Bryan Singer's attempt at the character, people have complained about Man of Steel just as much as they complained about Superman Returns. It may not be possible to make a Superman movie that is well reviewed across the board. What people want out of this character is so diverse, and so deeply felt, that any attempt which cohesively fits one group's view of him will insult many others. Who knew that the most controversial comic book character in history was Superman himself?