Wow.
That is, of course, the exact word that Warner Bros. wants to hear in response to their new trailer for “Man Of Steel,” and while I guess I thought we’d be seeing more action, what with Zack Snyder describing the trailer as “crazy” a few weeks ago.
What we see here instead explains a lot about the approach that the film is taking, and it uses much of the footage we saw at last year’s Comic-Con, but with new footage as well. There’s an early beat where we see Clark fleeing from a classroom, upset, and Ma Kent (Diane Lane) has to talk him down, asking him to focus on her voice like it’s an island. Is this where he first gets his super-hearing and he is suddenly overwhelmed by voices around the world? We also see that he is haunted by an early incident in his life where he saves a bus full of kids from drowning, and that he seems to be running from who he is.
Honestly, until I saw this trailer, I’ve never seen a Superman movie or cartoon that fully justified the Fortress of Solitude. Even the name has always struck me as sort of a dick move as far as naming someone’s home. But it looks like Snyder’s film really taps into the notion that Clark is an alien hiding in plain sight, right down to the end of the trailer posing the question of whether or not the world is ready for him. I like that.
I also like the glimpses we get here of big crazy action, and I’m excited to see what sort of massive fights they stage between Superman and General Zod. For the first time, we’re going to see Superman off the leash, able to throw as big a punch as he can. Even in “Superman II,” the fights feel like they’re in slow motion, very obviously people on wires gently tossing each other around a soundstage. Snyder loves kinetic motion, loves capturing the brute force impact of violence, and I can’t think of many directors who are better suited to staging this sort of mayhem.
I have no idea if there will be another trailer between now and the film’s release, but I would imagine Warner Bros. will be pulling out the stops to try and make sure “Man Of Steel” emerges as one of 2013’s biggest films.
Tell me… do you believe a man can fly?
“Man Of Steel” opens June 14, 2013.