You meet Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne and Diana of Themyscira. But does the name of John Henry Irons? Like the previous ones, it is about the civilian identity of a DC Comics superhero. And not just anyone, for the record: like Steel, was one of the four candidates to take over as Superman after his announced death at the hands of Doomsday. But now comes the most unexpected twist: it turns out that Acero not only has his own movie, but he is played by the basketball player Shaquille O’Neal. Well, let’s leave it at that he did what he could.
Released in 1997 as Steel, a steel hero (or simply Steel in the United States) the reason why this superhero ended up hitting the big screen the same year as George Clooney’s Batman and when Nicolas Cage tried on the canceled tights Superman of Tim Burton comes down to a single person: Quincy Jones, who produced records for Michael Jackson and Frank Sinatra.
Needless to say, at this point, things get complicated. But before we disperse, we will solve your doubt: Acero’s film is bad. Very bad. It’s more, There is no where to take it.
Written and directed by Kenneth Johnson, the other person responsible for this nonsense along with Quincy Jones himself, Steel It comes down to stitching together the lowest common denominators of superhero movies from 30 years ago: John Henry Irons is a genius at inventing weapons and armor for the United States Army, so he creates his own to fight crime and, for that matter, Lots of matching toys.
The movie is not getting any better, let it be known. It is an accumulation of bad dialogue, excessively stereotyped characters, nods to the DC universe tied so short that they must be explained (Susan Sparks, played by Annabeth Gish, was supposed to be the equivalent of Oracle) and embarrassing situations in which nor the hero’s nemesis played by Judd Nelson (Bender in The club of five) manages to save the furniture. However, as we will see, the idea was not entirely bad. Rather, she became twisted little by little.
Steel, a hero of steel… for what?
On paper, Quincy Jones’ idea was to create a new Batman-like icon capable of inspiring youth at a time when the so-called Generation X of the time was disengaged with life. According to Jones, not only African-American children but to young people around the world who were experiencing the rise of superhero cinema.
“I have seven children and, as a father, I am very aware of the lack of role models for children today. It has really left a void in the world, and I am not just talking about black children. Their perspective on the future has changed for the worse and I hate seeing young people who don’t believe in the future. Acero (and I don’t want to use that word “superhero”, because he doesn’t fly or anything) represents a role model. Let’s just call him a “super human being”.
Which brings us directly to the other question you may be asking yourself: why Shaquille O’Neal? Director Kenneth Johnson wanted to sign a Wesley Snipes on a roll who not long after will play Blade for Marvel, but the idea of betting on a professional basketball player came from the tandem of Quincy Jones and his partner David Salzman. What’s more, they originally proposed to O’Neal’s agent adapt another DC character: Curt Metcalf aka Hardware.
O’Neal had the last word, since according to him, he felt a special connection with the character of Acero. For his part, it took twenty years for Johnson to confess That was a bad idea. And not just because of Shaq’s acting talent.
All production of Steel It accommodated the schedule of its superstar, who combined the performance with his calendar divided between training for the Los Angeles Lakers and his commitment to the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. So his entire part had to be done in five weeks and with a added factor: since no 2.16 meter stuntman could be found, Shaq had to do all of Acero’s action scenes.
It is worth remembering that, although films like Jurassic Park They had shown the world what could be achieved with digital technology, unlike today using this was an exception (very expensive) and not the rule. However, Steel’s big problem is not reduced to one factor, or a specific actor, but to the fact that there is nothing that can save her.
The worst DC superhero movie… to date
To be fair, the entire production of Steel It was focused on reaching the target audience. Basically, those young people that Quincy Jones wanted to target, whether with Hardware or Acero. What’s more, the director showed copies of the script to young people in Los Angeles to ensure that the tone of the film was interesting to them and the slang used by the protagonists felt genuine. But there are things that work on paper and when they reach the screen they end up being a dilemma.
Nor can it be blamed for the fact that Acero’s character did not have a hook. The truth is that he had appeared in the comics only a few years before (in June 1993) already in the wake of one of the most important moments in comics history: the death of superman
For reference, just a few weeks before it was released Spawn, another hero based on a comic. And although both characters have a lot in common and were born at the same time, one continues to be more or less referred to today (even in Mortal Kombat 11) and the other continues to go unnoticed. Regarding its box office, it is said that Steel, a steel hero During its entire run in theaters, it grossed the same as Batman y Robin during its opening week. Spawn had nothing to do with it.
In all fairness, Shaquille O’Neal put his all into it. Not only did he perform and act as his own double, but he even participated in a soundtrack of the film in which artists of the stature of KRS-One, Ice Cube, B-Real and Peter Gunz added talent to the song. Men of Steel. All under the Quincy Jones record label, by the way.
However, despite its unnecessary but almost obligatory references to Shaq’s basketball career (including a kind of free throw from a grenade during the climax) the reasons for Shaq’s failure Steel, a steel hero They boil down to something as simple as being such a disastrous movie that it can’t even be funny because it’s bad.
In superhero movies there are only extremes: either they are very good, or they are completely bad, or they are excessively expendable, and we are not very clear in which of the last two drawers to keep Steel, a steel hero. Surely in the same Catwoman by Halle Berry. If possible, below the latter.
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