Clint Eastwood beats the comic-book superheroes...again

My Millennial sons wanted to see a movie about comic book superheroes – just about every one of them from the Marvel Universe. For the sake of precious family togetherness, I endured the excessive CGI special effects and overcooked, politically corrected, hackneyed plotlines. You probably know the one I refer to and you probably noticed the derivative elements of Armageddon, Ragnarök, and Rapture. I mentioned only the latter to Young Son (the ex-altar server) and he had noticed it as well. There is hope for the boy! For the sake of family peace, I did not mention the faint echoes of Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, et al. That kind of history is no longer available to today's college students and they put it down to senility when I mention such.

I don't recommend that movie. I don't even name it. I told you all that to tell you this: Clint Eastwood continues to astound me. My better third (by weight) insisted on an outing to catch the matinee showing of The Mule. I am ashamed to say I was not eager for this one – thinking perhaps Eastwood might have reached and passed his point of diminishing returns. But I went along to make her happy. I was wrong. The man who gave us Gran Torino and Unforgiven has once again handed us a real-world and thoughtful tale of suspense, humor, intrigue, emotion, and humanity – all with flawed human characters that find the audience's sympathy. No gratuitous sex, pandering caricatures, or mind-numbing pseudo-ultra-violence need apply. All you need to know is that this is Clint Eastwood at his finest. The Mule. Don't miss it. Steve Campbell is misplaced geophysicist. See his website and notice links to a cover letter and résumé. Image: Siebbi via Flickr.