If new ‘Superman' movie feels like an attack, you have a guilty conscience
Superman has always been more than just a comic book character. He's an idea and an ideal, an avatar for truth and justice — and the American way, a patriotic 1942 wartime addendum to his famous radio serial motto.
I'm not a comic book guy, and I've also always found the Man of Steel a little boring — too powerful, too generic. While we've seen a couple decent live-action versions of the character (TV's Tom Welling and Tyler Hoechlin, in particular), the two most classic portrayals aren't so super to me: George Reeves was way too old for the role, and Christopher Reeve was a total stiff.
But actor David Corenswet and director James Gunn have finally gotten it right. This is a Superman we care about, mostly because he cares so dang much about us. Even though he comes from outer space, there's no question Clark Kent's home is Kansas — the state we love for its all-American wholesomeness. Everything Superman does in the new movie is about protecting the people of his adopted planet. Time and again, he moves heaven and Earth to make sure the bad guys cause as little death and destruction as possible — even swooping in to save a sweet little squirrel in one particularly memorable moment.
The last silver-screen Supes, Henry Cavill, certainly looked the part. But although he's a tremendous actor, his director Zack Snyder had no idea what the character is supposed to be about, framing him as a dour, aloof, Ayn Randian Ubermensch who fails to prevent uncountable human deaths in his wildly violent battles. That's not the Superman I know.
However, Ubermensch is exactly how his arch nemesis Lex Luthor sees himself — and the new movie is the first time the character is legitimately scary. Michael Rosenbaum created a marvelously complex version of Luthor in the series 'Smallville,' but since we see him grow up over time, we come to understand how he gets so twisted — he's as much antihero as he is villain.
Nicholas Hoult's Luthor is nothing but a screaming void of egotism, reeking of impotence and self-doubt despite his vast wealth. He's transparently a stand-in for Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, creating a literal army of 'rage monkeys' to ruin Superman's reputation in social media.
And despite the fact that this movie was in the works long before Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis teamed up to throw immigrants who don't even face any criminal charges into a swamp detention camp with its own comic book name, it isn't difficult to draw a parallel from that obscenity to Luthor disappearing the politically inconvenient to tiny cells in an inaccessible pocket dimension.
Hollywood and the American way
So, sure, the new 'Superman' is about politics — and not terribly subtle about it. It's no surprise, either, that agitators throughout the MAGA ecosystem are freaking out over it. Even though Trump and Musk's bromance came to the ugly end we all knew was inevitable, and maniverse stars such as Joe Rogan and Andrew Schulz are experiencing acute buyer's remorse over Trump 2.0's cruelty and ineptitude, some right-wing influencers are still losing their minds that the movie puts the black hat on a billionaire using his lucre to imprison his enemies and flood Americans' media networks with disinformation.
I don't think the new film is a triumph for the ages. There is zero place for profanity in a Superman movie. And I actually agree with far-right professional complainer Ben Shapiro that it's overstuffed, more carnival ride than movie. However, Shapiro predictably went off the deep end when he whined about that old conservative bugaboo of the entertainment industry: 'Hollywood cannot say 'the American way' because they don't believe in the American way,' he said in his slam review. 'They don't believe that America is unique. They don't believe in these American basic values and principles and rights.'
I don't know what movie he saw, but Gunn's 'Superman' champions American-style truth and justice for all — including for Luthor, whom our hero rightly turns over to the law instead of going vigilante on him. It reminds us constantly that we are defined by our choices, not by our DNA or where we come from. The movie's most touching scene takes place at the Kents' modest Kansas country home, where his parents emanate love for their adopted son — their son — and the values he embodies.
Truth and justice should be for each and every human being — not just the ultrawealthy, or just those well-off enough to be able to afford health care. So if you see a murderous, lying oligarch getting his comeuppance for wreaking havoc on the rest of the world as 'woke' — well, I'd suggest you reconsider your personal concept of the American way.
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New York Post
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is a born-and-raised New Yorker who is an editor for Eater's Northeast region and Eater New York, was the former Eater Austin editor for 10 years, and often writes about food and pop culture. One of restaurateur Cody Pruitt's favorite dishes is duck a l'orange, the French dish that, in his opinion, isn't seen enough nowadays. But that's precisely why he knew he had to serve it at his new restaurant, Chateau Royale, where Pruitt and the team elegantly highlight the past and present of glorious New York French restaurants. Don't call this duck a l'orange's comeback; instead, call it a reenvisioning of a classic French dish brought into today's world. Chateau's version ($54) goes from retro to modern, where the sliced, crispy-skinned duck breast filet is served drenched in a citrusy sauce made of calamansi, bergamot, and blood orange. It's a bright, rich, and decadent filet that is meant to taste like elegance and comfort. 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Evan Sung/Chateau Royale Evan Sung/Chateau Royale Evan Sung/Chateau Royale All of those layers work together to build Chateau Royale. Pruitt went looking for dishes that he felt weren't properly represented on New York or American menus anymore, but are staples of longtime bistros and restaurants in France. This meant the aforementioned duck a l'orange, as well as lobster thermidor ($72) and chicken cordon bleu ($39) (the latter, a dish that also recently made a reappearance elsewhere in the West Village at Fedora). 'Some of these dishes were on these menus for that long for a reason, and these restaurants existed for just as long for the same reason,' he explains. One such dish is Beggar's Purses ($39), an ode to Quilted Giraffe (executive chef Brian Young had worked at the NYC French restaurant years prior; more recently, though, he had been the chef de cuisine at Le Bernardin). The purselike crepes are filled with caviar and creme fraiche and tied with chives. The Thompson address is a two-floor carriage house, which formerly housed Mexican restaurants, but was redesigned by Pruitt. The 30-bar space is on the first floor, with the dining room on the second (tall people, watch your heads when you're walking up the stairs). The 50-seat dining room is anchored with a skylight perfect for natural light during daytime hours. The first-floor bar's food and drink menu takes its cues from iconic bars in Paris, like Harry's New York and the Ritz. Drinks include the house martini, with gin or vodka, dirty or classic; Kir Royales; Bee's Knees Milk Punch; and the Between the Sheets, made with the restaurant's house rum blend. To eat, there's the Chien Chaud ($20), a hot dog in honor of Harry's with a sunchoke and celeriac relish, summer truffle aioli, and crispy artichokes; and the burger ($27) with Fourme d'Ambert cheese. 'Jake and I are both New Yorkers and, for us, finding not only these forgotten and undersung classic timeless dishes was really important to us,' Pruitt says, 'but also finding commonality in a very lateral way between these concentric circles between French restaurants and French cuisine and New York cuisine was important.' Preparing a martini at Chateau Royale. Evan Sung/Chateau Royale The sidecar cocktail at Chateau Royale. Evan Sung/Chateau Royale The dining room doesn't have a bar, so instead, Pruitt employs some theatrics. Pre-batched, pre-diluted cocktails are pulled from freezers hidden in the walls and then carted over to dining tables for assembling. 'I'm a sucker for tableside service,' Pruitt says. Per Pruitt's strong wine background, the list is all French at Chateau. He aimed to focus on natural wines as well as classic regions, and is particularly happy with the Burgundies. However, there are some sakes on offer, too. Even in its higher prices, Chateau is meant to feel unpretentious. 'So many restaurants in general, whether they're new or not, casual fine-dining or stuffy fine-dining, I feel there's a certain convivial elegance that is sorely lacking in dining, and I want to bring that back,' Pruitt says. 'Familiarity just with a little bit more of a tuxedo on it.'
