Superman Let-Down

Ever since I can remember I have been head-over-heels in love with Superman.  Quite literally.  From birthday parties, to Christmas ornaments, to random items found at the store...I was drawn to him like a bird to the sky.  I watched the movie continuously and fantasized of it even more often.  When I say I have an emotional relationship with the man, I am not kidding.

With that in mind, I had no idea what to expect when Superman Returns and now Man of Steel were announced.  I loved my Christopher Reeve version, but I was excited to have something new to connect with.  However, on both accounts I was tremendously disappointed.

While in Superman Returns his entire essence of character was destroyed, in Man of Steel he simply wasn't given any.  And neither was anyone else for that matter.  Man of Steel was basically a comic book come to life.  All action and nothing else.  There was nothing of substance to connect with on an emotional level.  The plot was weak and the characters even weaker.  There were some big names starring in the film who are capable of so much more than they were given to work with.  And that is just sad.  


I wanted a story.  I wanted to feel something.  Instead, all I was able to do was hold my breath in suspense as I watched 2 1/2 hours of flying figures knocking each other through buildings and causing mass destruction.

This started me thinking about all the other let-downs I have been experiencing year after year with growing frequency.  I feel that more often than not movies and books are getting through to the public with no real development of plot or character.  What has the world of story telling come to?  How can so many just ignore the elements that make a story come to life?  Is our society so focused on death and destruction that we don't even care to be fed anything else?  If that is the case, I fear what we may come to.  If a being is not fed anything of substance, no growth can take place.  Instead, we all may wither away into the growing unrest of a world focused on violence, deceit, and shallow intentions.