The Lex Factor: Three possible bald men

The following article was written by Kate Knight.

Man of Steel spoilers below. Be warned.

So, the new Superman film is out.  I’ve seen it.  I loved it.  It had some flaws, but they’re forgivable.   It’s a film that I’d be happy to pay to see again and you’d better believe I’ll be getting it when it comes out on DVD.  

To me, it’s a given that we’ll get another slice of the Man of Steel pie in two or three years time.  My question is, who’ll be the baddy? 

General Zod was an excellent introductory villain, but he ain’t coming back is he?  To coin a phrase from Blackadder which I think appropriately sums up his situation, ‘if not very nearly dead, then very actually dead’.   And whilst there is certainly some ambiguity as to the fate of the minions of Zod at the end of MoS, to bring them back for the next film risks turning a sequel into a remake of the first. 

No, to my mind, the next film needs a new baddy.  A big, bald, baddy.  The next film needs Lex Luther.

Luther is a great Superhero villain that everyone knows.   He’s the manipulative, intelligent, psychopathic thorn in Superman’s side.   He’d be perfect for the next MoS film.  The great thing about Luther is that there is a depth of character there, which would allow any actor who played him to explore different facets of his personality and also gives room for several interpretations.  

I want to see Luther in the next film, but who will play him?  Who will join greats such as Gene Hackman and Kevin Spacey who’ve brought this villain to life? I even quite liked Michael Rosenbaum in Smallville, but we won’t go into that here)

Here are my top 3 picks for Luther:  

Matt Damon

Oscar winning actor, Matt Damon.   Team America may have rendered me unable to say his name without sounding slightly simple, but a bad actor he is not. 

I think Damon would be an excellent Luther.  Firstly, he’s about the right age for the role.  Luther is often portrayed as a peer of Superman in the comics and graphic novels (usually around 4-5 years older, but certainly a contemporary) so if we’re keeping Cavill we don’t want someone of Hackman or Spacey’s generation.  

I think back to Damon’s chilling performance in The Talented Mr Ripley and wonder, could he bring this to the Luther role too?  It’s cold and calculating.  Never quite what he seems.   I want a Luther, which explores different facets of his personality and is not one-dimensional.   We know that Damon brings a credibility and professionalism to the role.  I wonder though, would his performance be just a little sterile? 

If it’s going to be Damon, I want The Talented Mr Ripley Damon and not We Just Bought a Zoo Damon. 

Leonardo Di Caprio

He was my schoolgirl crush from when I was about 11 to 14.  When I hit 14 and he started to look like one of my uncles, the crush subsided, but my admiration for his acting ability continued. 

Di Caprio is one of those actors who has undertaken a breadth of work that is sometimes overlooked.  I mean, Man in the Iron Mask and Titanic aren’t great examples of his acting ability but certainly when you look at his performances in Blood Diamond and Django Unchained you see his ability to really bring a character to life. 

We’ve seen him do large scale, action films such as Titanic and Inception so we know he can take the pace and hold his own in those types of films.  We’ve also seen him take on mental illness and obsession in The Aviator and Shutter Island.   Luther is a sociopath and that needs to come across on screen too.

He’s my favourite American to play Luther.  I’d like to see him have a go at this one.  Question is, would he shave off that pretty head of hair?  Because if you want to be Luther the mantra is - it’s go bald or go home.

Benedict Cumberbatch  

This chap has got the potential to be one of greatest British Actors of our time.  That’s not overstating the case either.  I mean, seriously, did you see him in Into Darkness?  He acted the rest of the cast out of the room, and it wasn’t even a bad cast!

He’s relatively up and coming in the film world, having done quite a bit of television and mostly stage acting previously.  I haven’t yet been lucky enough to see him on stage, but I’m reliably informed that his performance as Frankenstein’s monster some years ago was incredible.   The first thing I ever saw him in was a one off TV programme called Hawking where he played Stephen Hawking back in 2004, and I remember thinking even then that he would be one to watch. 

The reason I like Cumberbatch for this role is that we know he is versatile and has the ability to pull out elements of a character’s personality that perhaps another actor may not have considered.  He makes the role his own and he is more than capable of holding his own against actors who are household names.   Just look at Tinker Tailor.  

Whilst Into Darkness is arguably his first mainstream film breakthrough, it won’t be his last.  I think he’s the type of actor that will seek out roles that challenge him physically and mentally – Luther would do that.  He’s not one-dimensional and there’s a history there that an actor of quality could sink their teeth into. 

Plus, I reckon he’d shave his head.

So those are my picks.  Hollywood very rarely listens to me when it comes to making films but who knows!   I’d say it was a fair bet we’ll see Luther in the next MoS film, but will see Damon, Di Caprio or Cumberbatch? – we shall have to wait and see! 

Star Trek Into Darkness

This review is a little late, but I’ve been a little busy in the last two weeks. I’ll keep this one brief, as Into Darkness has been out for over three weeks now, and its theatrical run will be coming to an end soon.

The first in JJ Abrams rebooted Star Trek  series did what not a lot of people thought you could do. Make a Trek film for this generation, but that also honoured the original series and its ideas, and breathed life into a franchise that had grown stale in the previous decade. The challenge with Into Darkness was to carry on this idea, but to go bigger (as all sequels tend to demand), with more spectacle and to continue to bring us more of the crew that was the undoubted strongest part of the first film.

The plot of Into Darkness, is a relatively straight forward one, as this review will be spoiler free I will keep it brief, a former Star Fleet officer John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) shows up and blows up a building, and generally causes a bit of havoc, which prompts Kirk (Chris Pine) to request to go after him, even though where he has fled to, is a planet they can’t go. See no spoilers.

There are a few twists and turns along way, probably less than in the first film, but this certainly helps the film as it allows us more time with our two leads, Kirk and Spock (Zachary Quinto) as well as giving Harrison a good amount of time to become a very credible threat.

The most interesting part of the film is the Kirk and Spock relationship, which manages to juggle brotherly aspects first, mixed with ethical and moral ideals unique to each character, all done with quick and snappy dialogue that doesn’t bog down or hold the pace of the film back.

The first act and last act are where this relationship is probably seen and emphasised the boast, as its where there individual morals and outlooks on life and their profession are in the spotlight the most, and offers up a few interesting questions about the way they act, and what the other one would have done in a similar situation. The opening rescue mission of the film offers the purest look at the characters views and behaviour patterns, that will go on to be so crucial in the finale.

The only section of the film that could have used some streamlining, was the early Star Fleet section, as regards to the captaincy of the Enterprise. It is convoluted and could have easily been simplified to instead focus on Kirk and his relationships with both Spock and Pike, who is somewhat of father figure to him.

One of the biggest mysteries of the film, prior to release, was who Benedict Cumberbatch would be playing, and I won’t give away anything other than what I already have. What wasn’t going to be a mystery was just how awesome he was going to be, he steals or owns, depending on how you look at it, each scene he is in. Worse than that, he makes it look effortless, knowing exactly when to go big and when to dial it down to a terrifying, single softly spoken word. Specifically referring to his first line to Kirk of “Captain?”. Into Darkness is worth the price of admission for Cumberbatch alone.

It’s a sad day when you realise that the dull and clunky Iron Man 3, has made much more than Into Darkness, and this is coming from someone who isn’t loyal to the Star Trek franchise. So I urge you all to go and change that.

Boldy go where you haven’t been before, basically the cinema to see Star Trek Into Darkness.