Man Of Steel, Remakes, and The Downfall of Comic Book Movies

About a week ago, a sudden urge took over on my way back from taking a drive and I decided to rent Man of Steel. My wife and I both watched it. It was a good movie but had its flaws. Particularly, the score didn't resonate with me and there seemed to be a lack of joy in it. It's being presented as the darker side of Superman. I tweeted about it later on.

Man of Steel? It was good. A bit darker than I expected. I suspect they recycled some ideas from the Tim Burton script. 4/5 stars.
— Roberto Scarlato (@robertoscarlato) January 21, 2014

Then my wife and I started a conversation about comic book movies. I had mentioned that their making a Batman vs Superman movie. Eventually we both arrived to the conclusion that we are tired of super hero movies. To the point that we have established this ultimatum for Hollywood:

EITHER CREATE A BRAND NEW SUPER HERO OR BRING IN A SUPER HERO

WHO HAS NEVER GOTTEN HIS/HER SHOT ON THE BIG SCREEN

(Caution: Spoilers Ahead!!!)

Think about it. How many Spider-man movies are there? Doesn't that seem like a big number? A little excessive maybe.

Well, I've figured out why.

Superhero/comic book adaptations are a sure thing. They are the quintessential cash cow of Hollywood. How much did Iron Man make? How about The Dark Knight Trilogy? Were they good movies? Yes, but how long before they are rebooted, revamped, reshaped, remolded, or whatever the hell else they plan to do it?

You'd think we'd get tired of it. I know I am. But apparently Hollywood doesn't think so.

Comic Book Writer Grant Morrison said, according to Wikipedia, that "The Incredible Hulk Reboot was proof that the audience will forgive you if you reboot the franchise..."

Well, if that didn't open the flood gates, I don't know what did. These days I feel bombarded with superheros I am already familiar with, grew up with in fact, being re-casted or redone.

I feel like after Batman Begins, all the studios wanted to capitalize on rebooting a popular super hero franchise. 

Since we started with Superman, let's take a look at him first. I associate Superman with a pureness. A hero who is friendly, calm but also strong. A hero who stood for Truth, Justice and The American Way. And I feel like the person who embodied that the best was naturally, Christopher Reeve. Made 4 movies from 1978 to 1987. Yes, the last two movies were lacking in both budget, effects and story, but Reeve was a hundred percent committed to the character.

Superman had style, and he was funny and made you happy just watching him fly. But he could also be intense, filled with a righteous burden of holding the reigns of mankind. To keep things in balance and to watch over everyone. 

I mean, as far as acting goes, Christopher Reeve brought it. Remember this iconic scene?

But it was also remarkable to see him riff, pull out a one-liner of wit here and there? I was hoping for something to that effect in man of steel. I mean, all I would need is a little boy asking the last son of krypton, "Hey, Superman. How can I grow up to be big and strong like you?"

"DRINK MIIIIILLLLLK!!!!"

I mean the movie made you feel helpless. Yes, they raised the stakes from Superman Returns (which I think the grand plan was boiled down to krypton real estate wheras Man of Steel hiked it up to terraforming Earth for Krypton) but at least Superman Returns had some joy in it. Yes, it was long and in some spots boring, but how can ya beat that recognizable score. I know they wanted Man of Steel to be a separate movie but, can you imagine if it had John Williams included?

"By God...I'm on Mars."

But, in a way, Hollywood has tried with little success. You know how much Green Lantern made Worldwide? $219 Million...and it is considered a flop.

John Carter, a movie I actually like, made $284 Million and is considered a flop. But why. It's different, its fun and it has a little mystery and a lot of heart. It boggles my mind how movies that made so much can still flop.

And now I hear they are starting Ant-Man, which looks interesting and, mor importantly, different. But when are we gonna have The Flash? The Midnighter? Shazzam? The Phantom Stranger? Moon Knight? The Maxx?

When is Hollywood going to take a risk and be original?

(P.S. If you could have only one super power, what would it be?)

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Should a book have a soundtrack?

Among my favorite authors, there is only one Brad Melzter. Brad Meltzer is a man of many hats. But, more importantly, he is a man of many words. I first got comfortable with Brad's writing style when I discovered a novel called The Book Of Fate. It was a paperback.

There were so many things about Washington D.C. I never knew about until reading this book. The Protagonist was also easy to connect with because he has a scarred face from a terrible assassination attempt. I felt glued to that book. I'm not normally too big on political thrillers but this was something completely different. This was engaging, fluid, easy to understand.

After I was done, I was recommending it to everyone.

Two years later, Meltzer comes out with another novel called The Book of Lies. Now, before I even pick up the book, I was already thinking it was a sequel to The Book of Fate. But it wasn't. It was something brand new. With a plot that tied together the story of Cain and Abel with the story of how a young Jerry Siegel created the icon known as Superman, two seemingly unrelated stories mashed together, it was sure to be a perfect a mystery.

It's no surprise that I instantly enjoyed the book and started recommending that to everyone too. Brad has a unique style, believable characters and does a large amount of research. He's written nine books so far, which all became bestsellers. His love of conspiracy theories gets stuck on you, makes you a bit paranoid but keeps you curious and reading.

Right now I'm 277 pages into his first book, The Tenth Justice, about a supreme court clerk who accidentally leaks a bit of information to someone. Now this guy is blackmailing him for all he's worth. I also have a copy of The Millionaires, which actually sounds like a pretty good heist yarn. In time, I hope to read all of his books, including his recent ones which are The Inner Circle and Heroes for My Son.

But there's one very unique thing that Melzter has done. He brought about the question in my mind: Should a book have a soundtrack? It's true that some people like to listen to a little light music when they read, others envision their own soundtrack while reading and, in some cases, when they are writing as well. It's not such a bad idea. It may open up a new market for books. It's the first time I've ever heard of it and hope to see it again in the future. So, I leave the question up to you. What do you think?