Welcome back to Your Opinion Is NOT Law, where we debunk and disprove people who are objectively wrong. Today's case is The Gold Man, a video essayist and critic who makes adequate at best videos. His review on Superman, though, is especially bad because it's full of misinformation about world building and DC Comics mythos. It's also the first video of his to get a significant amount of dislikes so it's clear even his fans think he dropped the ball on this one. Without further adieu, let's get into it.
2:51: He's not actually weak. He’s simply outmatched by people that are stronger and more skilled in combat than him. Even in Man Of Steel, he was outmatched by the other Krytonians, particularly Zod.
3:39: That's a lie! He subdues and incapacitates them, not kill. Those Raptors he used his heat vision against? They're shown on the grown in pain but otherwise alive. Ultraman getting sent to a black hole? Well, if he's as durable as Superman, he'll live but it'll be a long time before he comes back (*if* he comes back). Not sure where you got the idea that Superman kills people when that is objectively not the case.
5:06: Uh, no? It wasn't lazy. It was necessary for him to get it off his chest because he's been feeling down ever since the full message from his biological parents was revealed and despite all of it, he still does the right thing. It's Clark telling Lex, and in turn the audience, that yes, he gets hurt, he gets angry, he gets scared, but he still does what's right like a decent human being should. It's also the perfect response to Lex calling him an alien. You're not going to be taken seriously by calling the writer lazy.
5:14: I think we had a good amount of scenes that focus on Clark. Clark's not just the mild mannered journalist, he's also the guy who sips hot cocoa with his girlfriend and the farmboy from Kansas who loves his parents. Clark is so much more than his Superman persona, and that's what this film explores.
7:46: Lex doesn’t just want to kill Superman. He wants to kill Superman and be worshipped for it. Lex has always been a self-absorbed, egotistical, narcissistic maniac that wants people to kiss the ground he walks on. He views Superman as a threat because people love and respect Superman and Lex is fueled by jealousy (like he says in the movie). If Lex just killed Superman out of the blue, people would not praise or respect him for doing it. He needed the whole world to turn against Superman so that he can have legitimate cause to kill him and be seen as a hero. How did you miss that? They clearly explained it in the film.
8:18: I've seen the film twice and Krypto really only has a handful of scenes he's in. I don't know the exact number of minutes of screentime he has, but I guarantee you it not nearly enough to be distracting. And in just about every scene he's in, he's just acting like a dog. Granted, he's undisciplined and reckless, but at least he helps Clark when he needs him and he's pivotal in saving the day. So, he's not really annoying. It'd be annoying if he was in every scene barking his head off and Clark not being bothered to stop him.
8:37: Ridiculous? That's what dogs do! Chase balls and chew stuff up. You do know Krypto's design and personality in this film was based off of James Gunn's own dog, Ozu, right? Ozu tore up the furniture, ate a laptop, and nips James' feet when he wanted attention. Those traits were put onto Krypto. It's not ridiculous at all when you know what undisciplined dogs are like.
8:54: Krypto was not overused and I have a feeling he'll play a pivotal role in Supergirl's movie, considering he's her dog.
10:23: Comic booky? Huh, imagine that, a comic book movie is structured and has a tone like a comic book. This could be applied to every superhero movie. "Even-" Yes, even that one. There's a comic issue or run that's the main source of inspiration for every superhero movie. In this film's case, it's All Star Superman
10:45: Not an avid comic book reader here, I still love this movie. And I know I'm not the only one as many people have pointed out already. You don't need to be a diehard comic book reader to enjoy superhero media. This movie works just fine as it's own singular entity.
11:17: Yeah, it doesn't work like that. Superheroes are fantastical by nature, and grounding them in reality doesn't always work because you run the risk of them not being fun for everyone. Don't get me wrong, I like The Dark Knight Trilogy, Watchman, Daredevil, and Punisher as much as the next guy. That said, not every superhero needs the grounded in reality treatment. In fact, most of them can only work when they're NOT grounded in reality. Case in point, Superman. In reality, if someone had his powers and hetried to save people, people would still fear him or otherwise worship him as a god, like in Man Of Steel. And since you said yourself you don't like Man Of Steel, this whole critique of the film not being grounded in reality is rendered null and void.
11:37: Dude, no there shouldn't. You just said some suspension of disbelief is required when going into a comic book movie. This movie isn't required to hold the audience's hand and explain all the intricacies of this universe. The most you get is an opening crawl that goes in 3s (3 millennia ago, 3 centuries ago, etc.) and that's it. The rest of the world building comes naturally through visuals and organic character dialogue.
11:48: ...no? Like, yeah, there are super geniuses who can create advanced technologies in this world, but we have those in our world too, albiet to a lesser extent. What even is this point?
12:34: You severely underestimate just what Lex Luthor is capable of. We're talking about a guy who has an IQ of 225. And did you miss the opening crawl? Superman's been on the scene for 3 years, of course Lex would find one of his hair strands during one of his battles and clone him. This is not surprising for him, but it is for the audience yet it makes sense given Lex's previously established obsession with Clark.
12:42: Yeah? How is this a criticism? Given Lex's advance level intellect, of course he'd figure out how to make a pocket dimension. Again, you underestimate what Lex Luthor is capable of.
12:44: He can't make people stop believing in Superman, as evident by the people of Jarhanpur calling for him to save them. He also can't humble himself because humility requires him to admit that he was wrong, and know Lex that'll never happen.
13:15: A switch that is only accessible in Lex Luthor's headquarters, something they are interrupted from doing by Lex's goons. Actually pay attention to the movie, you're embarrassing yourself.
13:29: Rex Mason, aka Metamorpho, is not an alien. He’s a metahuman. Again, did you read the opening crawl? Metahumans have been a thing for 300 years.
13:41: Correction: Lex captured Rex and also kidnapped his son, Joey, to bribe him into making Kryptonite. You make it sound like Lex found Rex off the street.
13:48: No, its not. It's proper world building. Metahumans exists and Lex captured the one metahuman on Earth that could make Kryptonite to weaken Superman. This is fleshing out the world and expanding on the opening crawl of the movie.
13:58: Uh, dude, you contradicted yourself with that statement. Earlier, you said suspension of disbelief is requried when going into comic book stories. Now you're saying when anything could happen in this comic book story it's not grounded in reality. Which is it?! You can't have it both ways. You either have suspension of disbelief for this movie or you dont.
14:05: That's not how it works. A villain isn't going to be defeated by something pulled out of then air. No, they will be defeated by the hero thinking of something clever that the villain never saw coming due to their hubris.
14:19: Are you sure you've never read a comic book? Because that's exactly what Lex did in All Star Superman.
14:45: Yes, Superman is strong enough to escape a black hole. This doesn't mean there are no stakes, it means their will always be challenges for Superman to overcome.
15:28: The opening crawl established that there are metahumans and monsters living amongst the people of Earth. Why is it so hard for you to pay attention?
15:59: You say that like we don't have fires, earthquakes, floods, and terrorist attacks happen all the time in our world. Why would anyone live in Los Angeles? There's always earthquakes. Why would anyone live in Hawaii? There's always eruptions. Why would anyone live in New York City? There's always someone getting shot. There's always going to be natural disasters and crime in major urban settlements. And as such, there's always going to be heroes to save innocent lives. People live in Metropolis because superheroes are always save the day and as such they feel safe.
16:13: Oh really? It is? Because everytime this film actually puts in the effort to build its world organically, you whine about it like a wounded dog. Clearly world building is own important to you when it caters to your skewed definition of world building.
17:17: And that's a good thing he's not so hung up about losing his first fight. There's so much more important things he has to worry about, such as innocent lives being in jeopardy.
17:23: Nope, we did not need to build up to this particular story. Next, you'll say we needed to build up to the events of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. It's far more important to organically build your world during the narrative, and not have a narrative be entirely dedicated to world building.
God this review was so all over the place. You don't understand proper world building and you severely underestimated what Lex is capable of. Every else that praises the movie gets with the program. This film reintroduced these characters that have been around for over 80 years and bypassed the origin story to tell the far more important story of being kind and showing empathy for your fellow human. You also contradicted yourself on suspending disbelief and wanting things grounded in reality. I don't blame your former fans for no longer taking you seriously as a critic because this blatant hypocrisy makes you come off like a grifter who says contradictory and often times false statements just to get people to buy their brand or give them more clicks so that they can mooch off of ad revenue without putting in actual work. This is such a disservice to the movie and a disservice to your credibility. Like I always say: Your Opinion is NOT Law -.-