There’s something inherently epic about this greatest of showdowns, between an alien creature with superhuman powers and a man so full of rage that he pushes himself to the very limit of physical endurance, then adds innovative technologies to make him superhuman. Each has his origin story, with Batman being born out of the horror and pain of a young Bruce Wayne seeing his parents gunned down by a street thug in Gotham City, and Superman traveling…Read More
Review: The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
I have fond memories of the 1960’s TV series “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”, with Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) and Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum) as secret agents for the United Nations Command for Law Enforcement. They were like the Impossible Mission Force, but with a Cold War twist as befit the era and global tensions that still defined much of 60’s politics and culture. Could über-hip director Guy Ritchie do the story justice? I was eager – and…Read More
Review: Man Of Steel
A superhero that’s a product of his era, Superman showed up in the common culture back in 1938. It was World War II that highlighted the tension inherent in his super-human character, as Nazi Germany proclaimed the superiority of its own super-human race, Aryans. An über-patriotic American who even dressed in red, white and blue, Superman and his alter-ego Clark Kent was an idealized American in an era where it was becoming hard to identify…Read More