Superman: Exile
Genre: Action/Superhero/Sci-Fi
Director: Jeff Nichols
Writer: John Malone
Based on DC Comics characters
Cast: Aidan Turner, Dakota Johnson, Daniel Craig, Eric Bana, Chloe Grace Moretz, Frances McDormand, Bradley Whitford, Noel Fisher, Dichen Lachman, Irina Shayk, Duke Davis Roberts, Molly Gordon, Gary Sinise, Mia Kirshner, Tom Wright
Plot: The Planet Krypton. 35 Years Ago…
As earthquakes continually rattle the planet’s surface, renowned Kryptonian scientist Jor-El (Colin Firth) frantically readies a small interstellar rocket he is building. His wife Lara Lor-Van (Mia Kirshner) questions why he is rushing his work all of a sudden. Jor-El points out the windows toward the Apokoliptian warships hovering over the planet’s surface. Jor-El confesses to his wife that he tried to inform the Kryptonian Imperial Council that the planet is under attack and that the Darkseid’s army cannot be reasoned with, but they refused to heed his warnings and he accidentally let it slip that he had been developing a means to escape the planet. Jor-El asks his wife to bring him their infant son, Kal-El. Jor-El puts a crying Kal-El into the spacecraft’s passenger pod and tells Lara to get ready so they can all leave together. Suddenly their doors burst open in an explosion. Through the smoke, General Zod (Eric Bana) emerges, accompanied by robotic security drones on either side. Zod tells Jor-El that he is under arrest for conspiracy to violate the directives of the Imperial Council. Jor-El holds his arms in the air, not willing to fight against Zod and his drone soldiers. Jor-El tries to reason with Zod and explain that Darkseid is destroying the planet while the Council sits by idly allowing it to happen. Zod ignores Jor-El when notices the baby in the ship and takes a step forward to inspect. Worried for her baby’s safety, Lara lunges at Zod to shove him away. The drones follow their programming to protect Zod, and fire a laser beam, hitting Lara in the torso. Jor-El attacks Zod, but the drones grab him. Zod tells Jor-El that he doesn’t want to see him dead, he plans to force him to spend the rest of his life in the Phantom Zone prison. As Jor-El struggles against the drones, Lara drags herself across the floor, barely alive and presses the launch button for the ship. Zod is angered as the rocket takes off with the infant Kal-El aboard. Zod shoots Lara, finishing what the drones started. Zod demands to know where the ship is programmed to go, but Jor-El refuses to speak. Jor-El looks to the stars and wishes Kal-El a safe journey to his new home.
Jor-El is taken to the Phantom Zone, an off-planet prison that orbits one of Krypton’s moons. Zod personally oversees Jor-El’s intake along with two of his security officers, the cunning Faora (Irina Shayk) and the brute Non (Duke Davis Roberts). A flash of light comes through the windows of the prison, causing everyone to look outside as the planet Krypton explodes in a massive blast. The Apokoliptian warships fly away from the wreckage of Krypton. Jor-El says that he tried to warn everyone, but nobody listened and now everyone they know and love is dead as a result. Zod tells Jor-El that while he may mourn for Krypton, he is bound by the oath he took when he became general to follow the orders of the Imperial Council - no matter what. Jor-El yells that there no longer is a Council to give orders. This strikes a nerve with Zod. He leads Jor-El to a prison cell, commenting that it might look familiar since Jor-El is one of the prison’s designers.
35 Years Later…
Clark Kent (Aidan Turner) guides the same spacecraft that brought him to Earth as a child, following the coordinates he was given toward his father’s last known location. Clark is in awe of the cosmos he sees all around. It reminds him how small everyone is in the grand scheme of the universe.
Lex Luthor (Daniel Craig), with Superman seemingly off-planet, conducts private experiments with Kryptonite in the labs of LexCorp. Lex has already fashioned himself a dagger of Kryptonite that he keeps with him at all times. Lex has an idea to block Superman from returning to Earth by constructing some sort of Kryptonite barrier around Earth, possibly emitting Kryptonite-infused radio waves from their LexCorp satellites. Lex knows he will need federal approval for such a plan, so he tells his assistant Mercy Grave (Dichen Lachman) to give a call to Senator Schuster so he can cash in a favor to get the proposal fast-tracked.
At the Daily Planet, reporter Lois Lane (Dakota Johnson) is notified by her source at the US Capitol that Senator Schuster has added a meeting with Lex Luthor to his schedule. Lois is thankful for the tip and asks her boss, editor Perry White (Bradley Whitford), for permission to head to the Capitol and see if she can figure out what they are meeting about. Perry is wary of sending his best reporter away from Metropolis for a hypothetical story. After she argues with him, Perry finally agrees to give Lois exactly 24 hours to investigate the story. Lois thanks him for agreeing to the story, mentioning that she already booked her flight as she leaves Perry’s office. Before she leaves she stops by the desk of Jimmy Olsen (Noel Fisher). She asks if he has any equipment she can use to listen in on someone’s conversations. Jimmy opens up a drawer and gives her miniature listening device that she can plant on someone.
Clark makes it to the coordinates and can see the Phantom Zone prison floating in space, no longer orbiting Krypton’s moon as it was destroyed not long after Krypton itself. Clark enters the prison, where he is immediately attacked by some of Zod’s drones. Clark still has some of his powers left from Earth’s yellow sun and quickly tears the robots apart. The Phantom Zone has become derelict over the decades since Krypton’s destruction. Clark walks through a long corridor with empty prison cells on both sides. He finally comes to a cell containing one prisoner - his father Jor-El. The two can instantly sense who the other is. Clark tries to open the prison cell, but Jor-El says it is unbreakable. Clark smiles and rips the door out of the wall with ease. Clark wants to know what happened to him. Jor-El explains that he was imprisoned shortly before Krypton was destroyed by the tyrannical Darkseid, but that he sent Kal-El off to a planet that most closely matched the climate of Krypton. Clark offers to bring his father back to Earth with him to escape the prison. Jor-El weakly follows his son down the corridor, but are stopped by General Zod, Faora and Non. Clark uses his super breath to blow Faora and Non all the way down the long corridor. Zod pulls out a long sword and attacks Clark with it. Despite not being as strong as he is on Earth, Clark blocks the sword with his arm as it fails to break his skin. Jor-El, with decades of anger built up, lunges at Zod and begins beating him with punch after punch. Jor-El suddenly stops and falls off of Zod, revealing that he has been stabbed in the gut by Zod’s sword. Clark grabs Zod by the neck and throws him across the corridor, sending him crashing through a wall.
Clark helps his father into the spacecraft and directs it to head back to Earth. Clark tells Jor-El that Earth’s sun will give him the strength to heal from his wounds, if they can just get back into Earth’s solar system in time. Once Zod recovers from his tussle with Clark, he orders Faora and Non to get ready for a trip. Faora asks where they are going, and Zod tells them that he must retrieve Jor-El and his fugitive son and bring them back to the Phantom Zone if it’s the last thing he ever does. Clark can see Earth’s yellow sun in the far distance and tries to wake up his father, but finds that Jor-El has passed away on the trip. Clark wipes tears away from his eyes and continues on toward Earth.
Outside of the Capitol Building, Lois bumps into Senator Schuster, secretly planting a microphone on him. She then sees Lex Luthor and his assistant Mercy Graves approaching the building as well. She hides behind a pillar to avoid being seen. Lois listens as Lex sits down with Schuster and tells the senator about his plan to keep Superman away from Earth for good. Schuster is confused by the plan as Superman has saved Earth multiple times in the short few years he’s been active. Lex points out that those threats would have never made it to Earth if it weren’t for the alien fugitive Superman being here in the first place. Schuster tells Lex that he isn’t sure that will be enough justification for the committee to approve his plan, pointing out that there are some fans of Superman in the Senate. Lex tells Schuster that if that rational justification doesn’t work, then they will tell the people that the Kryptonite radio waves are to help combat negative climate change. Schuster agrees to run the proposal up the ladder and call for a hearing. Lois is alarmed by what she has overheard and hurries away from the Capitol. Lex Luthor spots her as she makes her retreat and is immediately suspicious.
Clark lands the spacecraft at his family’s farm in Smallville, Kansas. He is warmly greeted by his mother Martha Kent (Frances McDormand), who gives him a big hug. Clark isn’t as happy and lifts Jor-El’s body out of the pod. Martha can immediately sense who the deceased is. She tells Clark that his Kryptonian father should be buried next to his Earth father. Martha leads Clark to the Kent Family cemetery in a clearing in the corn stalks. Clark grabs a shovel and digs a hole next to the grave of Jonathan Kent, Martha’s deceased husband.
Lois has dinner with her father, General Sam Lane (Gary Sinise) and her sister Lucy (Molly Gordon), who has just graduated from Metropolis University. Sam asks how work is going for Lois, and she excitedly tells her father that she is working on a new story about Lex Luthor and some shady business he had at the Capitol. Sam nervously tells her that he doesn’t want to hear about any stories with the government as he may not be able to remain neutral due to his position with the Department of Extranormal Operations, which he already broke his confidentiality by telling them. To change the dinner conversation, Lucy asks Lois how things are going with Clark. Sam, curious, asks who Clark is. Before Lois can even answer, Lucy explains that Clark is another reporter that Lois has a crush on. Lois tells them that Clark had to go out of town to try to find his long lost father, but that they have a date planned when he returns to Metropolis.
General Zod regains consciousness and gathers Faora and Non. They get into a spaceship and follow the energy signature of Clark’s ship. Zod vows that he will see the entire House of El family rot in the Phantom Zone even if it is the last thing he ever accomplishes. Faora tells Zod that the energy signature has stopped on a planet third from a yellow sun. Zod enters the ship into hyper-speed to help make up time on the journey.
Clark and Martha hold a makeshift funeral for Jor-El that Clark’s Kryptonian cousin Kara (Chloe Grace Moretz) flies into Smallville for. Clark talks about how strange it is to be holding a funeral for the father he only just met. The Kent farm is suddenly rattled by a thunderous explosion from just outside of town. Clark and Kara zoom over to the site of the sound, as Superman and Supergirl, finding that a train carrying a shipment of chemicals from a LexCorp factory has derailed and spilled its hazardous cargo. One of the train cars catches fire. Superman lifts it into the air and flies it away from the city and to an old quarry. He throws the train car into the quarry just as it explodes. Meanwhile, Supergirl uses her super-breath to keep the other train cars from catching fire.
At the Daily Planet, Perry White tells Lois Lane to get to Smallville to cover a train derailment. Lois isn’t interested until Perry mentions that the train was coming from a LexCorp factory and was cleaned up by Superman himself. Lois hurries out of the Daily Planet building. Lois drives toward Smallville, getting a ride from her sister Lucy, with Jimmy Olsen tagging along to take pictures. Once they get close to Smallville, Lois directs Lucy to drive for the Kent farm rather than going to the site of the train incident. When they arrive Lois finds Clark. She hits him in the chest, angry that he didn’t tell her that he was back on Earth. Clark kisses Lois, apologizing and stating that it’s been a strange day. Lucy and Jimmy are taken aback as they both realize at the same moment that Clark Kent is Superman. Clark is nervous about this many people knowing his secret, but Martha tells Clark to be polite to their guests and introduces herself to Lucy and Jimmy.
Lex Luthor sees footage of Superman flying with a flaming LexCorp train car and throws the remote at the television, shattering it to pieces. Mercy Graves enters his office and sees the destruction. She calmly comments that she will order a new television for his office. Lex goes to the rooftop helipad and flies his personal helicopter to Smallville to get his face in front of the press in a positive light. As he comes closer to the Kansas town, he sees Zod’s ship crash-landing in a corn field. Lex pilots his helicopter down toward Zod’s ship. General Zod, Faora and Non stumble out of the wreckage, disoriented by Earth’s climate. Lex notices that the insignia on Zod’s armor looks similar to Superman’s symbol and asks if he is another Kryptonian. Zod doesn’t answer the question. Lex offers to work with Zod to rid Earth of Superman, but Zod isn’t interested in working with Lex. Zod instead demands that Kal-El is turned over to him or the planet will be forced to kneel before him. Lex angrily states that he will not kneel for any alien. Zod orders Non to arrest Lex, but as Non approaches, Lex pulls out a dagger made of Kryptonite and stabs Non in the side with it. Non collapses to the ground, dying from the wound. Zod’s eyes glow red with anger and fire a heat blast at Lex, hitting the helicopter instead, resulting in a large explosion. Lex ducks to the ground for cover. Zod and Faora begin to feel energized by the power being given to them by their presence on Earth. Zod walks toward Lex, but Lex holds the dagger out in front of him. Zod feels weakened by the Kryptonite and steps away. He tells Lex that he can’t hold onto his dagger forever.
Hearing the explosion outside of town, Clark looks at Lois. She knows that he needs to go. Clark and Kara both fly toward the explosion as Superman and Supergirl. Lois scrambles for her car. Martha asks her where she is going. Lois tells her that this story is bound to be bigger than any train accident. Lois speeds her car down the road toward the plume of smoke in the far-off distance with Lucy and Jimmy in tow. When Superman and Supergirl arrive at the site of the explosion, Superman is surprised to see Lex Luthor there, Kryptonite dagger in hand, in a standoff against General Zod and Faora. Superman is enraged to see Zod there and bolts at his father’s killer. Zod is ready for him though and braces for the impact. Superman and Zod beat each other as their bodies sail through the stalks of corn. Faora uses her heat vision to attack Supergirl, but she dodges the attack. Once their momentum has finally slowed, Superman and Zod each stand up and face off. Zod notices a nearby water tower. He lifts the tank off the top and hurls it off into the distance. Superman doesn’t react until he notices it going toward Lucy’s car on a distant road. Superman quickly flies into the path and catches the tank just before it lands on the car. Lucy frantically swerves the car out of the way, crashing into a telephone pole. Lois and Jimmy are fine, but Lucy’s body flies through the windshield of the car. Superman throws the water tank back toward Zod and catches Lucy’s body out of the air and sets her down on the ground. Lois rushes over to her sister’s side. Superman uses his super-hearing to learn that Lucy’s heart is no longer beating. Lois begins performing CPR on her sister. Just then Zod comes flying out of nowhere, tackling Superman out of the way. Lois keeps pushing on Lucy’s chest, sobbing uncontrollably. Jimmy goes over and pulls Lois away, calmly telling her that there is nothing left for her to do.
Supergirl and Faora fly above the fields, trying to hit each other with their heat vision at rapid speeds. Noticing that Superman and Supergirl are evenly matched physically against their Kryptonian opponents, Lex Luthor decides to help his sworn enemy against a common foe. Lex begins rummaging through the destruction of his helicopter until he finds a weapons container in the wreckage. He breaks open the case and pulls out a Kryptonite grenade. He tells Superman and Supergirl to bring their fight closer to the helicopter wreckage. Superman and Supergirl both fly toward the helicopter. Superman looks at Lex Luthor with distrust. Zod and Faora land on the ground opposite them. Faora picks one of the helicopter’s blades and swings at Supergirl. She uses her arm to snap the blade. Superman and Supergirl quickly fly away while Lex throws the Kryptonite grenade at Zod and Faora. Zod and Faora are mortally weakened. Lex tells Superman and Supergirl to finish them off before they recover. Superman thinks about it for a moment before saying that he cannot kill a defenseless opponent, no matter what they’ve done, but that he does have an idea of what to do with them.
General Zod and Faora are imprisoned in the Phantom Zone prison. They pound away at their cell doors, but their exposure to the Kryptonite weakened them back to their normal physiology. Zod angrily screams Jor-El’s name, blaming the House of El for his current predicament.
Lois goes to National City to visit her father with Clark. Lois breaks the news to General Sam Lane that Lucy died in the latest alien attack in Smallville while tagging along on her assignment. Sam breaks down crying. Lois comforts her father while Clark looks on, feeling responsible for Lucy’s death. Sam collects himself and says that he is glad to finally meet Clark, but that he wishes it were under better circumstances. After Clark and Lois leave Sam’s house, Lois can tell that Clark is beating himself up inside. She thanks him for trying to save Lucy’s life, it’s the effort that counts.
General Lane approaches Senator Schuster at the Capitol. He informs Senator Schuster that he knows about his talks with Lex Luthor. Schuster tries to deny everything, but is surprised when Lane says that he wants to help. Schuster isn’t sure what Lane means until he reminds him of Project 7734.
Lex Luthor sips a glass of scotch in his study while admiring the Mona Lisa painting hanging above the fireplace. Mercy Graves escorts General Sam Lane and Senator Schuster into the study. Schuster informs Luthor that the Senate denied his proposal to shield the planet with Kryptonite. Lex is quickly angered and steps toward Schuster, but Lane gets in his way. Lane informs Lex that after this latest alien attack, they instead have proposed that LexCorp will be awarded a generous government contract to help the DEO develop defensive, and offensive, technology to help combat future extraterrestrial attacks. Lex calms down and offers his guests a drink. Schuster notices the Mona Lisa and comments that he thought the painting was owned by the French government. Lex simply says that when he has his mind set on getting something, he doesn't let anything stand in the way.
Clark Kent is welcomed back at the Daily Planet by Perry White and the rest of the cast. Perry tells Clark that he hopes he found whatever clarity he was looking for as he doesn’t want to be out his second-best reporter for an extended period again, Lois Lane can only report so much herself after all. As soon as Clark sits down in his cubicle, Jimmy Olsen begins hounding him with questions about being Superman. Clark tells Jimmy to keep his volume down. Lois interrupts their conversation and asks Clark if he would like to finally cash in his rain check and take her out to lunch.
Post-Credits Scene:
Lex Luthor tours a secret DEO weapons facility. He makes a mental note of the various alien specimens that were recovered from the wreckage of Brainiac's spaceship, the Skalle. He passes a Kryptonite-lined containment cell labeled "Zor-El". Lex finally stops when he sees a robotic suit of armor. He muses that the warsuit would look good in green and purple.
No comments:
Post a Comment