I have had a love/hate relationship with 'Smallville' for most of it's run. I cannot, however, fault how much effort and love went into telling this story of the years before Clarke Kent became Superman. It may have taken it's time unfolding it's mythology, but when it did, 'Smallville' produced some of the best Superman stories around.
I remember the mantra the creators had when they started this project - 'no costume, no flying'. They relaxed the 'no flying' part of that pledge in the later seasons but as far as the iconic Superman costume was concerned, it made no appearance until the series finale. The creators were wise to only show Superman in his costume from a distance. We got some shots of Tom Welling's face with part of the cape billowing behind him but no close-ups of him in the actual costume. I enjoyed how that preserved the moment by keeping the whole 'flying in costume thing' from looking silly. Instead the sequences looked magical.
Of course the whole thing had to end with Clark ripping open his shirt to reveal the 'S' logo underneath his clothing. I would have felt let down if they didn't end things that way. I knew that scene was coming but it still was as big a thrill as it always is.
This episode didn't try to re-invent the wheel. At the end we were left with a feeling of closure and that is surprisingly rare for series finales these days. Sure the solution to the 'Apocalypse' problem got solved in about 3 seconds (and that was weak), but the last fifteen minutes redeem the whole episode and possibly the whole series. I had a huge smile on my face as I was reminded once again why Superman is such a great character.
I also have to sent out props to the long time actors, especially Tom Welling as Clarke Kent. For a decade he did his job and put his own powerful individual stamp on the character. This show will age well and will be more enjoyable as time passes because of his portrayal.
I tried to find a clip to show of the last 15 mintues. They are available but the embeded files are all disabled. Here is the link. Stupid CW network. Making things difficult for themselves again.
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5 comments:
Kal you keep it coming thick and fast. I realise how much I missed you while you were away for those two worrisome weeks. Great content. I'd comment on everything but that would be overkill so I'll just say - top work fella.
My brother cried when this show ended i think because he enjoyed it so much and didn't want it to end. Sort of like a ride at Disney Land lol.
Coming from such a fine gentleman and magnificent bastards as yourself, Nick, that is high praise indeed.
I remember being surprised how good this series was when I first watched it. The stories were great and I loved the actors.
never been a fan of Smallville ( did like the JSA episode ), but I watched the last one because I wanted to see how they'd do it. and I think they did a good job. the last shot was exactly the last shot that I was expecing it to be, and I think that they handled the whole birth of Superman thing really cleverly. I can't speak for the rest of the series', but they went out with what would appear to be appropriate elan.
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