I've been listening to the 3-hr podcast from the
Thrilling Adventures of Superman, where a bunch of hard-core Superman fans* and bloggers (from Superman homepage, movies.com, GoldenAgeSuperman, New52Superman, SupermanForever.com, GreatKrypton.com, SupermanPodcastNetwork.com) and other websites / podcasts discuss Man of Steel from June 14th 2013, right after they all watch the Man of Steel for the first time. It's an interesting listen because they explain and discuss a bunch of things that happen in the film through the lens of someone who KNOWS basically everything from Superman TV shows, movies, and comics. Characters and plot devices we totally panned are explained as coming from this comic, the silver era, the golden era, or a reference to that, etc. It really makes me want to see the film again to see if having heard this discussion changes how I feel about some of the things that really bothered when I watched it originally. It's fun to hear hard-core Superman fans gush about how excited they were to see the film and their favorite bits.
They also discuss their ideas for what would be a good sequel. (Hey, look, Batman isn't even mentioned in this context. Hee-hee.) From Lex Luthor becoming president from his rebuilding of Metropolis after the invasion, to Lex Luthor going after Superman after he lost everything due to the invasion, to Lex Luthor going bald because of the invasion and blaming Superman.
While they aren't a big fan of Dean Cain's portrayal of Superman (they didn't knock his Clark, though), they do state (and I don't think it's sarcastic or tongue-in-cheek) that their favorite of all time Perry White is Lane Smith.
WARNING: They are big fans of Smallville, so they often make references to that show.
On a positive note, they all hate Superman Returns as much as I do, so that gives them a little more credence than if they had loved it.
They mentioned that there was a 3-hour director's cut of the film that the theatrical version was carved out of, which would be interesting to see. Has anyone see or heard about that version? Or seen it available? (Although, this type of thing usually isn't available so soon after the theatrical version is available and probably won't be released until MoS's 10th anniversary). It isn't the version on my "special edition" Man of Steel DVD, I know that much.
I know this discussion is longer than the actual film itself, but I broke up listening to it over several days, while making dinner, eating lunch, balancing the checkbook, etc. instead of listening to music.
Has time and distance changed your opinion of the film any? Have you been following the coverage of what's going on with the sequel or are you trying to avoid it (as I have)?
*The panel: Michael Bailey, Michael Bradley, Jeffrey Taylor, J. David Weter, and Jon M. Wilson
