Comment Re:Has Any Superman Movie Not Sucked? (Score 2, Insightful) 396
Smallville is a pretty mixed bag as TV goes. I watch it mostly because it's the only place I've yet seen bullet-time effects used that's not either The Matrix or a spoof of The Matrix. But offhand I can't think of another show that ranges from being so completely, unforgivably bad to moments of pure genius.
The writing is usually pretty awful (and the show's biggest weakness/problem IMHO), but on the other hand I think it's the first time the Superman story has ever been made interesting on a human level. It shows, for example, Clark's inner conflict created by the fact that every relationship he has (outside of his parents) has to be based on a lie, by necessity. It shows Clark going through what every adopted child eventually goes through, wanting to know where he comes from and not necessarily liking the answer. It draws a stark contrast between Clark and Lex. Both characters start off in the series in just about the same place - good people but not saints, nearly all-powerful (Clark has powers, Lex has unlimited money), and struggling to find answers. At least in the Smallville canon, the only real difference was their parents - the Kents vs. Lionel. The former drive Clark to become a superhero, and the latter a supervillain.
The trick with these things is it's still the human side of the story that makes it interesting , not the superpowers (something I think they've finally figured out, with X-Men, Spider-Man, Batman Begins, etc). It's the out-of-the-mask, non-combat scenes that make a superhero movie good (or not) - watching the hero deal with those ethical gray areas, balance their personal desires against greater responsibilities, etc. These are things that any of us can relate to. Superpowers, on the other hand, we can't.
The writing is usually pretty awful (and the show's biggest weakness/problem IMHO), but on the other hand I think it's the first time the Superman story has ever been made interesting on a human level. It shows, for example, Clark's inner conflict created by the fact that every relationship he has (outside of his parents) has to be based on a lie, by necessity. It shows Clark going through what every adopted child eventually goes through, wanting to know where he comes from and not necessarily liking the answer. It draws a stark contrast between Clark and Lex. Both characters start off in the series in just about the same place - good people but not saints, nearly all-powerful (Clark has powers, Lex has unlimited money), and struggling to find answers. At least in the Smallville canon, the only real difference was their parents - the Kents vs. Lionel. The former drive Clark to become a superhero, and the latter a supervillain.
The trick with these things is it's still the human side of the story that makes it interesting , not the superpowers (something I think they've finally figured out, with X-Men, Spider-Man, Batman Begins, etc). It's the out-of-the-mask, non-combat scenes that make a superhero movie good (or not) - watching the hero deal with those ethical gray areas, balance their personal desires against greater responsibilities, etc. These are things that any of us can relate to. Superpowers, on the other hand, we can't.
