Martin Deer looks forward to the return of Superman as the first teaser trailer arrives for Man of Steel…
Think. Think about what you felt when you watched the Man of Steel trailer. What emotions ran through you?
Last week we were treated to the first poster from the film, which I loved. I’d seen it reported on other sites and throughout the Twittersphere that Superman (Henry Cavill) looked: “moody”, “depressed” and even “emo”. Emo? These people were completely missing the point of the poster. The poster is dark and moody. It looks bleak. However, there is a light source which shines bright onto Superman’s chest, on to the S/ crest which will become the symbol of hope for the world. Superman isn’t dark or brooding, but the world around him is whilst he shines as the beacon of hope. Which if you remember the official synopsis is exactly the wonderful phrasing that was used.
So on to the trailer, which also fits this theme. There’s two trailers available, both with the same images but different voice overs; one is Jor-El (Russell Crowe), Clark’s paternal father and the other, Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner), Clark’s adoptive father.
Jor-El talks Clark through his fate – leading the people of Earth to a brighter future, giving them hope: “You will give the people an ideal to strive towards, they will race behind you. They will stumble. They will fall. But in time they will join you in the sun. In time you will help them accomplish wonders.”.
Jor-El presumes a pre-destination for his son, that Kal-El/Clark is bound to greatness, whereas his adoptive parents are more cautious. They know character must be built, that a man is made as he grows and is shaped by the choices he makes, as Jonathan Kent tells him: “You’re not just anyone. One day you’re going to have to make a choice. You have to decide what kind of man you want to grow up to be, whoever that man is good character or bad, he’s going to change the world”.
On first viewing of the teaser I was a bit underwhelmed. Then I watched the Jonathan Kent voice-over and that’s when it hit me. I love the relationship between Clark and Pa Kent, and that relationship was the best thing about the TV series Smallville, of which I was fan during its early years, as it was executed perfectly, and so the Kent voice-over really resonated with me. This wasn’t the teaser I was expecting; with production wrapped for some months now I was expecting the first trailer, despite being just a teaser, to include far more footage of the film. I also expected it to be more action orientated – especially after having heard about the footage shown at Comic-Con – and to leave a different impression on the viewer that set a different tone to the sombre Superman Returns.
This perhaps created that lack of excitement on first viewing, but this teaser is actually quite incredible. The voice-overs give us a great insight in to the man that is Clark Kent, especially for those who know of Superman but don’t know Superman. The voice-overs talk of leading the people, of making choices of your own to decide your own fate, finding out how you want to live your life, talk of inspiring and changing the world. We see images of Clark working hard (okay, that’ll be extremely easy for him) on a fishing trawler, incredibly isolated from the world as he tries to figure out who he is and what his purpose is.
This looks very much ‘Superman Begins’, giving us the origin of this great legend. People have complained we don’t need the origin story, that we alreadyknow it. Yes, us fans know it, and if you ask any stranger in the street where Superman is from 99% of people will give you the right answer. But none of that is reason enough not to re-tell the origin – the only time it’s been seen on screen is in Superman: The Movie thirty-four years ago. Audiences need to reconnect with the character and that looks exactly like what we’ll be getting. We need to invest in this version of the character. Look at how Batman Begins made us care so deeply for this interpretation of Bruce Wayne by telling his origin and look at how that has now come to have such an impact as the final chapter of that trilogy comes to a close. Make us care for Clark Kent, make audiences care for his fate, and you will have a great movie on your hands that people want to go and see and come back for more.
The footage was dark in tone, as I expect the film to be, but I do not expect Superman to be, as I have already mentioned. There’s a realism in the look they have gone for which is only a good thing. What Christopher Nolan has shown the world is that comic book characters have such deep and rich stories to tell, lessons to teach us and inspiration to instil in us. They are not just mere popcorn fluff and I love the feeling this trailer gives me that the story will delve deep in to the psyche of Clark Kent, and make us believe in him.
The footage of Superman flying looked incredible, and seeing this on the big screen and hearing the sonic boom sent chills down my spine. There is some debate over just who the child is running around in a red towel. In my own opinion that is not a young Clark. It would seem a little heavy handed to have him running around like that and then for him to end up wearing a red cape when he becomes Superman. No, I think that the young boy we see is a child who lives in a world where Superman exists, where a hero like him lives and breathes and makes the people of the world race behind him and the children of the world want to be him. To be this great hero.
One thing is certain and that is Superman is back, and it looks like we could be getting the Superman we’ve been waiting a very long time for. The Superman we deserve. The Superman the world needs.
Martin Deer
