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Originally Posted by sheldonlevene
Love this and agree.
Jonathan Kent's discussion with young Clark after he saves his classmates is one of the most earnest, emotionally honest scenes in any superhero movie and completely in line with the character. I love when people say Zack doesn't understand superman because that scene, and in truth the whole film, are poignant counterevidence.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TwoStep2888
Costner is an amazing Jonathan Kent in MoS and his monologue in BvS is a highlight of that movie too
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Long one up ahead. Just forewarning.
I love Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent. I've heard it argued that this iteration of Jonathan Kent is the opposite of how he should be portrayed given the source material. some felt that he's negative and offers no hopeful message or inspiration to his son. I weighed that argument against my opinion, but I decided that it's just another example of someone that is stuck in the old and didn't really think how interesting this new iteration is. Crack your jokes, but Man of Steel is the "thinking man's Superman".
Instead of the golden boy scouts that are portrayed in the original movie and comics we were given a look at a more human Jonathan and Clark Kent. While one character is dealing with the human side of, well, not being human, the other is dealing with how to be a father. This is just a regular hardworking man that just so happened to discover and adopt an all powerful being from another planet. Pretty heavy stuff right there. No, they didn't give us Pa Kent that says "Gee golly, son. You need to be the light and beacon of hope for all of humanity". Instead this adaptation portrays a much more real father/son relationship. Quite frankly Jonathan and Martha have no idea what to do, which in a way is just like any other new mother and father. Jon even says in the car before the tornado, "We're not your parents. but we've been doing the best we can, and we've been making this up as we go along..." That's about as real as it gets right there. They didn't just find some kid without a home and take him in. They adopted a boy that looks human but can lift a bus out of a river without any problem. There are real things to consider with a child like that. One of the biggest things being his safety and the safety of others. They want their son to have a good life and one devoid of government experiments and fear, but they also want to make sure he learns not to take advantage of his powers.
Clark: I wanted to hit that kid. I wanted to hit him so bad.
Jonathan Kent: I know you did. I mean, part of me even wanted you to, but then what? Make you feel any better?
You just have to decide what kind of a man you want to grow up to be, Clark; because whoever that man is, good character or bad, he's... He's gonna change the world.
What makes this iteration of Jonathan Kent so poignant is that, like a lot of fathers, he wants his son to become his own man. He guides him like a father but asks him to keep his powers a secret. Not just because he's afraid of the world's reaction, but because he wants his son to learn to be responsible. To think before acting. Are you using your powers for a purpose, or are you just using them because you can?
This character is real. He gives advice, but he doesn't always know the answer. Just like any real father.
Jonathan: Clark, you have to keep this side of yourself a secret.
Clark: What was I supposed to do? Just let them die?
Jonathan: Maybe; but there's more at stake here than our lives or the lives of those around us. When the world...
When the world finds out what you can do, it's gonna change everything; our...
our beliefs, our notions of what it means to be human... everything. You saw how Pete's mom reacted, right? She was scared, Clark.
Clark Kent: Why?
Jonathan: People are afraid of what they don't understand.
This character is not sugar coating anything, and that's what makes their relationship so interesting and different than other adaptations. He presents real life lessons to his son and gives him real circumstances too consider.
Jonathan Kent inspires his son to be his own man and in that he makes him just as human as anyone else. Which, in the end, gives him cause and purpose to stand up for humanity.
Jonathan Kent: I have to believe that you were... that you were sent here for a reason. All these changes that you're going through, one day... one day you're gonna think of them as a blessing; and when that day comes, you're gonna have to make a choice... a choice of whether to stand proud in front of the human race or not.