It's about time they start making superhero films into adult films. Enough with the cheesy dialogue, the unrealistic events they portray, it's time to start making films like TDK and MOS. Superman should definitely start killing people in the name of justice.
This whole concept of 'this film's for adults' is so alien to me. Sure, there's films that are not designed to play for kids, like Fight Club or anything Aaron Sorkin writes.
But if someone told the six year old version of me that I couldn't watch a Superman film because it wasn't made for kids, I'd go on a ****ing rampage. Superman is an icon for EVERYONE. Pigeon holing him into a film only for adults is as criminal as making Batman & Robin only for kids.
You absolutely do not get how important these character are to people of all ages. Yes, Christopher Nolan's Batman was mature, but you bet your ass that it played for people of all ages regardless of how vicious the villains were. Children get that.
They're not idiots who think 'ah well that enemy's on the same level as someone from Scooby Doo so he'll be harmless'. They get that the Joker's evil and it only elevates Batman to an even higher level of being hero as it were. Ditto for any rendition of Superman.
The issue with Man of Steel's finale or treatment of the action in general wasn't that it was made for 'adults'. The issue with the action is that it was bland. Regardless of how bland a life I may lead I don't want to go to the cinema and watching boring action set pieces and then get told I must enjoy it because I'm an adult. That's bonkers.
Or maybe it should be done. That's what made Nolan's Batman trilogy such a spectacle. That's what had everyone anticipating this superman movie all because of the more mature tone.
I mean if you're doing a movie about Shazam! or plastic man then yeah the cheesiness is a must. But if it's a big name like Superman, you have to take a little more serious approach to make it appealing to everyone, not only kids.
Not so long before this post you were harping on about films needing to play for adults, now you want it to play not just for kids. You really don't get it. The best films in the world are those that don't pigeon hole themselves into playing for a certain audience.
Sure, the Godfather isn't meant for kids, but that doesn't mean it's targeting a certain demographic. It's just that the subject matter wouldn't appeal to children unless they're really into discovering the true meaning behind family and loyalty. But hey, that's not the point.
Superman, Batman and countless other characters are meant for all appropriate audiences. Piegon-holing them isn't a financial mistake as much as a cultural mistake. They'd lock out an entire generation in order to please people who want exclusive access to a misguided version of a global icon.
Granted, they haven't done that in Man of Steel but that's not to say they haven't delivered a skewed representation of what it means to be a hero. But that's a different point to the non-point you're attempting to make.