I just saw "Man Of Steel", AKA the new Superman movie. I am not capable of providing a review full of movie-buff knowledge or cynicism; I'm just not that guy. My very being resonates with unalloyed Truth and Love; if you want to play my heart-strings, they are available. I make no bones about that. I'm sorry.
This movie lays the Christ-homage on thick, and I loved every second of it. Superman's real name is Kal-El, or "Kal, son of El," which means plainly, "son of God." Clark/Kal tells us he is 33 years old. Actually, the film reminds us of this more than once, in case we are dull. We get views of Kal's childhood, and his foster father's wise decision that Kal should keep his true identity secret "until the right time," more than vaguely reminiscent of St. Mark's "Messianic Secret." In fact, Kal's human parents are so saintly that if you don't think of Mary and Joseph, well, I know some good PSR/RCIA teachers you can talk to.
In fact, the only thing approaching a first millennium Christian heresy is the fact that Kal doesn't know his origin (nor does he die, but this is forgivable). The movie goes from allegory to outright visible depiction of Our Lord when Superman speaks to his father toward the climax. Jor-El says to his son, "You can save them all," and as he departs the vessel we see Superman's arms spread forth as in the Crucifixion. You would have to be Dawkins or a dullard to either miss it, or to fail to be thankful to God while watching it. More than this, in Jor-El's synopsis of the destruction of their planet Kypton, he says it was the result of "population-control efforts." An orthodox Catholic could hardly ask for a stronger rebuke of the Culture of Death. Good is good, Bad is bad. The morality play is straight-up; there are no blinkered heroes or sympathetic villains. We need stories like this right now. I noted with some dismay that all the previews involved apocalyptic scenarios; we are a troubled people, and our stories reflect that. I'm glad this film is here to give us hope. In fact, Kal tells us that the 'S' on his chest means "hope." It is very difficult not to be moved by this.
It was a very clean movie overall; very little foul language, and no sexual situations worth mentioning. Lois Lane and Superman kiss at the end, but it isn't gaudy or offensive. Whether you take your children is up to you. But I am thankful that this movie moves us in a direction where our hero stories are but echoes of the Hero Story to end them all. Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever! (And the movie really was awesome.)
This movie lays the Christ-homage on thick, and I loved every second of it. Superman's real name is Kal-El, or "Kal, son of El," which means plainly, "son of God." Clark/Kal tells us he is 33 years old. Actually, the film reminds us of this more than once, in case we are dull. We get views of Kal's childhood, and his foster father's wise decision that Kal should keep his true identity secret "until the right time," more than vaguely reminiscent of St. Mark's "Messianic Secret." In fact, Kal's human parents are so saintly that if you don't think of Mary and Joseph, well, I know some good PSR/RCIA teachers you can talk to.
In fact, the only thing approaching a first millennium Christian heresy is the fact that Kal doesn't know his origin (nor does he die, but this is forgivable). The movie goes from allegory to outright visible depiction of Our Lord when Superman speaks to his father toward the climax. Jor-El says to his son, "You can save them all," and as he departs the vessel we see Superman's arms spread forth as in the Crucifixion. You would have to be Dawkins or a dullard to either miss it, or to fail to be thankful to God while watching it. More than this, in Jor-El's synopsis of the destruction of their planet Kypton, he says it was the result of "population-control efforts." An orthodox Catholic could hardly ask for a stronger rebuke of the Culture of Death. Good is good, Bad is bad. The morality play is straight-up; there are no blinkered heroes or sympathetic villains. We need stories like this right now. I noted with some dismay that all the previews involved apocalyptic scenarios; we are a troubled people, and our stories reflect that. I'm glad this film is here to give us hope. In fact, Kal tells us that the 'S' on his chest means "hope." It is very difficult not to be moved by this.
It was a very clean movie overall; very little foul language, and no sexual situations worth mentioning. Lois Lane and Superman kiss at the end, but it isn't gaudy or offensive. Whether you take your children is up to you. But I am thankful that this movie moves us in a direction where our hero stories are but echoes of the Hero Story to end them all. Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever! (And the movie really was awesome.)
Comments