Reboot This!

Reboots are symptomatic of the modern human: it's never good enough. Well, that's how I see it. Spiderman 3 (2007)... not good enough? Let's start all over again. Superman Returns (2006)... not good enough? Let's start all over again and pretend this never happened.

When I was a kid back in 1978, my grandfather Harry bought me a ticket for the world premiere of Richard Donner's Superman starring Chris Reeve. I had no idea what to expect—maybe a guy in tights that would jump off a springboard and call it flying, who knows—but when John Williams's mesmerizing score started, one that I will remember for the rest of my life, I knew instantly that I was in for a ride. And what a ride it was. An hour into the movie and I felt like I was floating on air myself. For I had never seen a man fly before—no one had—and now I was looking at one. Boy, I was so stupid I didn't even notice he was flying in New York. The ultimate case of suspension of disbelief. I remember saying, 'Grandpa, look! He's really flying!' but the old man was already fast asleep. Sure, I was disappointed I couldn't share this special moment with him, but I knew the only reason he was sitting in that chair snoring like a maniac was me.

The reason why I'm telling you this is that I know what I'll be doing on my birthday on June 14th. That is, unless I get hit by a bus or jumped at by a horde of wild women who want a piece of me. I'll be sitting in our local theater staring at my ticket, wondering where my heroes have gone.

Man of Steel... another world premiere.... another reboot. Here's to you, Chris. Here's to you, Grandpa. Let's keep those fingers crossed. Please don't make me say, 'Reboot THIS!' (I'm sticking up my favorite finger. How did you guess?)

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