Not a movie review, not a movie critic, not a spoiler (no spoilers here) so you can read on — this is a look at the themes, the intentions of writers, the statement that the filmmaker is making about our fundamental concepts and traditional worldview.
Superhero movies and big action movies always portray the protagonist as a saviour, a “messiah”, the one who will save the world and set us all free. Well, the writers of the new Superman movie broke all that: It defied, defined, and re-defined.
What i like about the new Superman movie is… the theme: Superman was always being saved — as much as in the end he had to stand at world’s end. Here is a “hero” who has to be literally saved literally half the time (i clocked it 💃). Inspiring concept, ingenious writing.
On the secondary theme: As one examines the “actions” of each and all of the protagonist-supporting-characters, each and all of them including the brave “Jarhanpurian ” people who had to fight invaders and marauders with sticks and stones and their bare hands: One could see that the writers showed in more than half the movie, and delivered entertainingly with comedic timing, that the everyday people one meets in offices, newsrooms, the streets, and the cohort of all kinds of creatures including the most endearing character, Krypto the playfully pouncing bug-chasing toy-chasing dog (who can fly), can be heroes.
(photo shows Kotton, the emotional support dog of the University of the Philippines Diliman, who is saving us all the time)
In the end, if you measure the impact of the “heroism” of each of the characters you would see that this movie would have to be re-titled: “Superman, Krypto, Lois, Mr. Terrific, Metamorpho, Jimmy Olsen, the Jarhanpurian people, and the Justice Gang”.
Gif shows Krypto the dog saving a bleeding Superman all the time
This is not a movie review — just a look at the themes and the writers’ intent :
The film succeeds in breaking the Superman mold and in giving us all the people and creatures in our lives who are the real heroes.
(At the U.P. Town Center, an entire cinema called Petcinema was opened where you can bring your pets inside the cinema and catch Superman and Krypto: I heard there was a roaring, barking ovation inside the Petcinema this afternoon)
