Why Sucker Punch Has Us Worried About Superman

Zack Snyder's fever dream Sucker Punch failed to knock out Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2 at the box office this past weekend and received mostly terrible reviews. But it's not Snyder's latest film we're concerned about, it's his next one: the Superman reboot. Even with Christopher Nolan overseeing the project, Snyder is still directing, and after seeing Sucker Punch, we're worried about what Snyder's clearly imaginative psyche will come up with for the Man of Steel. These are some of our red flags:

Style Over Substance
The characters in Sucker Punch were mostly two-dimensional pin-ups with little background to make us care about them or their action-packed missions, which are themselves glorified versions of fairly routine tasks. While Superman Returns was a dull emotions-fest about past loves and baby daddies, there must be a happy medium in which we can get to know a little about Superman even as he punches mountains and throws cars.

Is It Real, or Is It Bizarro World?
Layers of reality are apparently the new hot thing, as Sucker Punch follows Inception's lead by presenting most of the main action as a dream within a dream. While messing with Superman's perceptions is certainly a good way to keep the powerful hero off balance, there's no need to invent fantasy scenarios when your main character can fly and shoot laser beams out of his eyes. Let's keep this movie grounded, as much as a movie about a living god can be.

Slow-Motion Superman
Superman is fast -- real fast. Ask nerds whether he's as fast as The Flash, and a fight breaks out. And yet two thirds of Sucker Punch was filmed in slow-motion, a Zack Snyder trademark. Superman's speed has been shown in previous films, but this new movie is supposed to be a break from what's come before -- hopefully that doesn't mean there'll be a scene where Superman takes five minutes to dramatically walk across a room.

Lois Lane Upskirt
Despite some of her goofier portrayals, the comic book Lois Lane is a determined, dedicated reporter who could be a real role model for women who aspire to journalistic careers. But what kind of role model would she be if the whole world knew the color of her underwear because she's wearing a short skirt while walking past a camera Snyder has conveniently set up to shoot from the floor? We hope Amy Adams does not approve.

Read our review of Sucker Punch here, then let us know what your thoughts are, below!

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2 Comments

March 29, 2011 2:13 AM
KurtBklaine
Reply

The Style Over Substance & Slow-Motion Superman are what have me worried the most, since those seem to be Snyder's stock in trade the most. 1 or 2 brief slow-mo shots, if very brief, are ok, but that seems to be Snyder's only technical trick. I would love for Nolan to drop-kick him out of the director's chair and do it himself...

March 31, 2011 2:56 PM
Jim
Reply

The slo-mo could work if Supes is the only one who isn't slow, and might be a nifty way to show just how fast he actually is.

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