Friday nights are movie nights for us. It’s a holdover from our working days when Friday signaled the end of the work week.
The 2025 “Superman” was on our streaming service, so we settled in for a night of fun movie watching.
I grew up on Marvel and DC Comics and was a fan of Superman, Batman, and Spiderman. My brother took our grandson to see “Superman” over the summer, and they loved it.
A third of the way through, I wondered what I was watching. Was this a comedy? Action film? An attempt to reignite interest in Superman?
If so, they’ve made a huge mistake.
I kept hoping the movie would decide what direction it wanted to go. But after seeing some woman in the Daily Planet office whose only job was to look like a bimbo, I’d had enough.
What happened to the really good movies? The ones where you rooted for the heroes, booed the bad guys and, at the end, wished the movie would go on for another two hours.
Sadly, they’re in short supply.
I remember the first time I saw “Star Wars.” This was the only movie I’d seen that had nothing to do with Earth. The story line was filled with a variety of people struggling with decisions.
Luke wanting to strike out on his own, Princess Leis taking charge of saving the galaxy, and Obi Wan coming out of retirement to teach Luke the ways of “The Force.
I walked out of that movie with my head spinning.
It was the same with “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Great characters, a great script and action from beginning to end. The story line was easy to follow, and we rooted for Indiana Jones every second of the film.
When it came to comic book superheroes, the first “Batman” movie was a bit off the wall, but the story of The Joker and Batman was true to the comics.
Seeing Batman’s co-creator, Bob Kane, having a cameo was icing on the cake. Same goes for seeing Stan Lee in all the Marvel movies.
The first “Wonder Woman” movie was not only true to the story line in the comics but added depth and humanity to Diana. Seeing a strong woman on the screen made my heart soar.
But somewhere along the line, filmmakers got off track. They changed superhero story lines, and I’ve yet to figure out why they thought it was okay to alter a 50-year history to make major no-turning-back decisions.
They changed the fate of Captain America. They retired Batman, and killed Superman, Ironman, and Wolverine.
True Robert Downey Jr. and Hugh Jackman were perfect in their roles as Ironman and Wolverine, but the beauty of a well-written story is the characters live on no matter who’s saying the lines.
Sean Connery might be the ultimate James Bond, but Daniel Craig did a bang-up job carrying on the 007 dynasty.
For some reason, whether it’s to sell tickets, feed their own or the short-sighted belief that the stories have all been told is ridiculous.
There’s a reason Superman, Iron Man and Batman have survived over 50 years. They are troubled characters who strive to do the right thing even though they are in personal pain.
That makes them relatable and evergreen to humans.
In the end of the first Superman movie starring the late great Christopher Reeve, he flies off into space as the beautiful theme song written by John Williams plays.
Reeve looks straight at the camera and smiles. The first time I saw this movie, my young son turned to me and said excitedly, “Superman smiled at me!”
That’s the magic of movies. To make the audience believe.
Somewhere we lost that magic.
I hope we can get it back again.
This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.