While, I realize it's a very fanboy-ish thing to do -- especially on the basis of one picture -- there's no way I can not comment on how horrible this picture is.
Warner Brothers released the first photo today from 2012's Man of Steel and i just hate it.
The hair, the scales on the costume, the sweat, the scowl -- this ain't Superman!
Christopher Nolan successfully revived the Batman franchise with Batman Begins (2005), and then took the character to new heights of pretension with the wildly overrated The Dark Knight (2008), and now he is producing this new Superman film.
Because director Zach Snyder doesn't inspire confidence in a viewer -- especially not after Sucker Punch (2011) -- I lay the fault of this at the feet of Man of Steel (2012) producer Christopher Nolan.
Judging from what I've read so far, and this picture, Nolan and Snyder seem to think that Superman deserves to get all dark like Batman.
Newsflash: Not all comics characters need to be brooding vigilantes hovering over noir-ish cityscapes.
Somehow, that approach equals serious to a lot of 19-year-old nerd-brats, never mind that other comic book films, like 2008's Iron Man and 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger, were both fun and thought-provoking. And neither film sacrificed the moments of seriousness that defined the respective characters; the films, even with their moments of levity, succeeded on the strength of the human moments, and not on this sort of oppressive mood that hangs over the Batman films, and now looks set to hang over the Superman film like a noose.
I admired the first two Nolan Batman films without enjoying either one very much, if you catch my meaning.
Well, I guess in 2012, Superman will be the next victim of this unnecessary complicating of a beloved character.
Superman is a fun character. And it's unlikely that anyone -- let alone Nolan and Snyder -- can improve upon the Donner/Reeve combination from 1978.
I applaud taking risks with established properties.
But who wants to see an emo Kal-El?