The Greatest Criminal Mind of Our Time: Nicholas Hoult IS Lex Luthor

[Deck Rickard]

I think Hoult’s Lex Luthor makes the case for the “pure evil” villain in superhero movies. Oftentimes, I see critics and fans deride villains who are vicious monsters, and sometimes for good reason; often villains are written poorly because their motivations aren’t well fleshed out or believable and everything they do can be boiled down to “oh, well… they’re evil.” But I think we often forget that even Shakespeare would incorporate pure evil characters into his stories (and they are often the most fun ones to watch or read). With Lex, we don’t need to sympathize with him or even fully understand his motivations any more than we understand real-life xenophobes or thin-skinned, crooked billionaires who somehow always feel that THEY are the real victims. We know what they are, we know they are beyond redemption, and that’s enough. I love the old Raimi Spider-Man movies (well, the first two anyway) and a lot of the MCU stuff, but I think the only villains they bothered to develop were the sympathetic ones. The reason why Hoult’s Luthor and Ledger’s Joker work are because they are allowed to be complex without being sympathetic. Sure, there was some obvious past trauma that happened to the Joker (maybe or maybe it’s not one of the origin stories he gives us) and maybe Lex felt he lived in the shadow of an abusive father and it drove him to become the most powerful man in the world and someone who will always be more powerful simply because of his physiology will forever drive him insane. But we don’t sympathize with it either of these (possible) origins because these men allowed their motivations to turn them into vicious monsters. And sometimes, that’s what makes a great villain.

 

[Sawyer]

This Luthor felt uniquely Hoult’s own in the same way that Ledger’s Joker felt uniquely his and Farrell’s Penguin felt uniquely his.

I don’t see Hackman there, or Clancy Brown. Definitely not Eisenberg or even Michael Rosenbaum, who I know Hoult has pointed to as a certain inspiration from watching Smallville growing up.

This felt like it was really his… and yet also the most comic-accurate live action take on the character as he has existed for the last 40 years. God willing, we see a lot more of Hoult in this role.

 

[Avenging Angel]

Hoult's Lex was based. He wasn't just brooding like the other past actors. What I liked most was that he was authentically evil with no remorse. Hoult is a fantastic actor.

 

[Silvermoth]

Yeah I like that too. Sometimes people try and tell me “oh lex is trying to encourage humanity to be independent and not reliant on Superman” and I’m always like, no he wants people reliant on himself. He might tell people that but he’s a bloody liar

 

[Deck Rickard]

Yeah I like that too. Sometimes people try and tell me “oh lex is trying to encourage humanity to be independent and not reliant on Superman” and I’m always like, no he wants people reliant on himself. He might tell people that but he’s a bloody liar

Yeah and the Musk comparisons are so on point. I remember when John Oliver did a deep dive on Musk and someone who knows him said something like “Elon wants to save the world, but only if HE is the one to do it.” That’s pretty much Lex in a nutshell. A man who will occasionally do things that could be viewed as beneficial for mankind but only if it directly benefits HIM to the point where he receives mass adulation and obedience. And if he doesn’t get that… well then, screw everyone. Let them die.

 

[Gu3ree]

As much as I enjoyed Hoult's performance, can't help but feel his arc was so rushed. Everything escalated so quickly. I have many good things to say about it but I want to start with one negative. It's more of a Gunn issue though and not a Hoult issue.

Why would Luthor admit to Superman that he is envious of him, and say that in front of his employees? I would think Luthor would be smarter, and use the "He's an alien/illegal immigrant" excuse to justify his actions for killing Superman. Essentially blame Superman for everything. Instead, he seems just acknowledges to being jealous, and seems to admit that he is evil.

But that story wrapped incredibly quickly. I wish we had more backstory for Lex.

 

[Primal Slayer]

How much (down)time did they spend filming in Svalbard that Nic could grow so much hair that quick

 

[The Guard]

As much as I enjoyed Hoult's performance, can't help but feel his arc was so rushed. Everything escalated so quickly. I have many good things to say about it but I want to start with one negative. It's more of a Gunn issue though and not a Hoult issue.

Why would Luthor admit to Superman that he is envious of him, and say that in front of his employees? I would think Luthor would be smarter, and use the "He's an alien/illegal immigrant" excuse to justify his actions for killing Superman. Essentially blame Superman for everything. Instead, he seems just acknowledges to being jealous, and seems to admit that he is evil.

But that story wrapped incredibly quickly. I wish we had more backstory for Lex.

I actually thought that was pretty realistic. The whole movie is basically him slowly unraveling, composing himself and trying to assert control, etc, but he's slowly unraveling the whole time. Narcissists, when they crack around other people, tend not to recognize what they're doing to themselves with their behavior. I thought it was interesting not that he's envious of Superman, but that he sees humanity as inherently weak.

 

[Dave McFly]

loved his cocky smug smile when Superman was getting beat up by Ultraman and Engineer in the ball park

 

[Deck Rickard]

Yeah it will be hard for me to tell if David will ever fully top Reeve as my all time favorite Superman simply because my fandom has been personally tied to Reeve for so long (he was literally the first actor whose name I actually knew and I was lucky enough to have seen him deliver a speech years after his accident). But when it comes to my favorite Lex, Hoult just has no competition. He’s perfect; exactly what I always wanted to see from Lex. I will always love Rosenbaum and the subtleties in his performance but that’s the kind of stuff you can only really do if you have years and years to go and you can hold off on unleashing the villainy of the character. Hoult had to unleash it all in one movie and nailed it. And he easily surpasses Hackman, Eisenberg (obviously lol), and the sex pest (ugh).

 

[Gu3ree]

I didn't want to see Lex go done so easily, because he's already going to Belle Reeve. Ideally I wanted to see him get of jail (not even by escaping) but by making some false claim about Superman, and somehow getting out of prison because there wasn't any actual evidence that could prove his crimes. But that can't happen now.

Personally I wanted Luthor to be more present, and see more of his backstory. I wanted him to play a longer role at Luthorcorp.

I thought Clancy Brown's version of Lex Luthor was able to hold himself together better. He remained calm. But Hoult's Luthor lost his $#%t by the end of the film.

I wanted to see a similar path in the Justice League animated series where Luthor gets out of prison, runs for president, gains the world's trust again before ultimately betraying the people's trust again. But in this series, it wouldn't seem realistic if Luthor got out of prison and gradually earned the people's trust again. I mean Lex didn't just try to kill Superman, but he kidnapped (how many people was it?) killed a man, created the war conflict, and tried splitting the earth apart.

Don't see Gunn going down that route. I really enjoyed Hoult's performance but still think he could have tried to hold himself together better.

 

[GreenKToo]

I liked him, alot, but I wanted lex to have a backup in case things went south and to see someone else take the fall...
He should have walked away free.

 

[chintai80]

I liked him, alot, but I wanted lex to have a backup in case things went south and to see someone else take the fall...
He should have walked away free.

they'll probably follow up on this in the sequels.
he's gotta have some kind of contingency plan.
dood definitely can hire the best lawyers as well.

 

[Gu3ree]

I still standby what I said about Luthor. I agree he should have had a backup plan. Again, I will say though that Hoult did a great job. You can see that he is a trained actor.

When I heard those lines in the trailer, which was edited without context, I was worried his performance might be cheesy. It's a little cheesy when a villain has a soliloquy, but he managed to deliver that soliloquy very well at the Fortress of Solitude.

I can't think of any examples where a villain soliloquy was bad, but maybe Doc Ock in a Spider-Man 2. "Nothing will stand in our way...nothing!" ...awkward. (I didn't really like Spider-Man 2 as much as most people did)

My favorite line was, "I can't stand the Metahumans, but he's so much worse. Super...'man'. He's not a man. He's an it. A thing with a cocky grin and a stupid outfit, that's somehow become the focal point of the entire world's conversation. Nothing's felt right since he showed up."

 

[Herolee10]

Hoult's Lex by far has the best theme when compared to his cinematic predecessors.

"SUPERMAN RETURNS" (Skip to the 2:00 Minute Mark)


"BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE"


"SUPERMAN"

 

[Deck Rickard]

I still standby what I said about Luthor. I agree he should have had a backup plan. Again, I will say though that Hoult did a great job. You can see that he is a trained actor.

When I heard those lines in the trailer, which was edited without context, I was worried his performance might be cheesy. It's a little cheesy when a villain has a soliloquy, but he managed to deliver that soliloquy very well at the Fortress of Solitude.

I can't think of any examples where a villain soliloquy was bad, but maybe Doc Ock in a Spider-Man 2. "Nothing will stand in our way...nothing!" ...awkward. (I didn't really like Spider-Man 2 as much as most people did)

My favorite line was, "I can't stand the Metahumans, but he's so much worse. Super...'man'. He's not a man. He's an it. A thing with a cocky grin and a stupid outfit, that's somehow become the focal point of the entire world's conversation. Nothing's felt right since he showed up."

Dissing Molina in Spider-Man 2! Sacrilege! But hey, I’m the one guy who thinks Dafoe’s Norman Osborn is a big old cheese ball in Spidey 1, so I can’t talk.

Anyway though, I agree with your thoughts on Hoult. I was worried too before the film that his rants might feel hokey but he nailed every one. This is the Lex I’ve always wanted to see.

 

[Sawyer]

What a wild backstory.

 

[chintai80]

i kept thinking he was some kind of pre-existing mutant or alien.

but i guess Lex is able to create artificial life?!

 

[Gamma Goliath]

I'm assuming he's failed clone of his own DNA. Maybe his first viable one.

 

[godisawesome]

i kept thinking he was some kind of pre-existing mutant or alien.

but i guess Lex is able to create artificial life?!

I’ve been wondering if it’s a reference to Lex’s Silver Age origin - trying to create artifical life out of a beaker that goes wrong, requires Superboy to put out a fire, and costs Lex his hair.

 

[Herolee10]

 

[GreenKToo]

Loved this Lex. Best big screen Lex ever.
He very much gave me SV and the animated series Lex vibes.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Loved this Lex. Best big screen Lex ever.
He very much gave me SV and the animated series Lex vibes.

Yeah, it very much felt like a merge of the two, along with Birthright Lex and the Byrne Lex of the 80s/90s. All the best versions.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Just had to pop in and praise this man one last time. Seeing it one more time last night made me feel the “1A!” scene more than I ever had before. Goddamn he was crazy intense in that moment. Wow. You can just feel every ounce of his hatred and malice.

 

[chintai80]

^ this was lex throughout the whole movie.