Back in 2017, Wonder Woman was going so well.

Remember? Wonder Woman killed that World War I general she assumed was Ares, the god of war. But the war didn’t stop and the idealistic Diana Prince was devastated to discover that it’s not a god which causes war, it’s humanity itself that’s flawed. It was a genuinely moving moment. Then DC Films mucked it all up. Because Ares shows up after all — as a big, dumb CG fire monster. Wonder Woman fights him — smash, boom, crash. Fans said the movie was great — until then.

Now consider James Gunn’s Superman (no actual spoilers). The film was going so well. The movie is warm, witty and fun; David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan are terrific. And then the third act becomes a CG-mayhem battle complete with Superman being endlessly punched in the face, skyscrapers being toppled (everybody was evacuated? Sure) and characters getting flung around and smashed through things. Plus, there’s the obligatory planet-threatening inter-dimensional portal which must be closed. Some critics say the movie is great — until then. 

Look, Marvel/DC movies really are cartoons. And it’s fine to end a cartoon with a blazing CG smash battle. The problem isn’t that this is done. The problem is it feels like this is the only thing that’s ever done. It’s been over-over-over done. This is more Marvel’s fault than DC’s given the number of times Feige and Co. have scraped that well dry, but still: Once Avengers: Endgame staged an epic version of this with dozens of heroes facing thousands of CG enemies and making us sob for Tony Stark, one might think everyone would collectively go, “Okay, let’s figure something else out.” 

Let me ask superhero filmmakers, all of you, a question, and I’m going to use a certain word for emphasis that you don’t hear in these PG-13 films: Do any of you … ANY of you … have any other ideas…about how to end one of these fucking movies? 

Filmmakers have actually known about this gripe for years. The point of this essay isn’t remotely original. Some filmmakers have even noted it themselves. Take this savvy director from a couple of years back: “People have gotten really lazy with their superhero stories,” he said. “There’s a lot of biff‑pow‑bam stuff happening. I’m watching third acts of superhero films where I really just don’t feel like there’s a rhyme or reason to what’s happening.”

You know who said that? James Gunn, who just jammed the third act of Superman with biff‑pow‑bam stuff.

You can practically hear the debate happening behind the scenes: “Yeah, we know it’s a huge cliche. But if we don’t end the film with a portal that needs to be closed and a massive CG battle that throws physics into a Vitamix and feels a bit like a kid mashing his action figures together for 20 minutes while we pump up the score and sound effects and pray that 900 pixel jockeys in a UK effects house save our third act … if we don’t do that like nearly ever other superhero movie which made a billion dollars has … will our movie still feel big and spectacular enough? (And, more importantly, will it also make a billion dollars?). Will be people be disappointed if there aren’t end-of-the-world stakes and the battle big enough to engulf a city?”

Here’s the thing: You don’t need it. Want proof?

Remember The Empire Strikes Back? The best Star Wars movie, right? Yet it didn’t need a Death Star like the other two original trilogy films because it had an epic lightsaber fight and a helluva twist. Remember Casino Royale? The best modern James Bond movie! The climax was the film’s weakest action set piece, but it still worked because your focus was on Bond’s heart being broken and losing Vesper. Remember The Dark Knight? The best superhero movie! Yet it didn’t need a Gotham City-wide battle like Christopher Nolan’s other two Batman films, just the Caped Crusader tussling with the Joker while two groups of Gotham citizens were presented with a moral test (that there were two ferries loaded with explosives and the film’s climax did not include an explosion — no “jump off the ferry, it’s going to blow anyway!” boom shot to spice up the trailer — was a miracle of restraint).

Or, for that matter, take Richard Donner’s beloved 1978 film Superman: The Movie, which didn’t need the Man of Steel undertaking a giant smash-battle because it had Lois Lane being buried alive with dirt pouring into her screaming mouth as she choked to death and died which was utterly traumatizing for an entire generation watching this PG-rated “family film.” If a movie staged that scene now, the director would probably use CG dirt so they can show so much more dirt, and maybe even have a monster made of dirt (which, come to think of it, is what Spider-Man 3 did and, actually, the new Superman does something like this too).

The point is: No one ever gripes about the ending of these movies, and they’re all considered wildly successful best-in-class fantasy action masterpieces.

While Superman getting punched in the face, or repeatedly knocked through a wall or a floor, is the least interesting thing you can do to him. We know it doesn’t hurt! It makes no difference to the character or the story. Why not make a movie where almost everything matters, rather than showing so much that doesn’t matter?

This isn’t to say Superman moviegoers would have been satisfied with an ending where Clark and Lex wrestle in the back of a cab or something. Yes, of course, you want some action and spectacle in the climax of your Superman movie. When your characters have superpowers, you better show us superpowers. And movie fight scenes always have some degree of characters being knocked about without consequence and getting back up again. This isn’t about advocating strict abstinence from these tropes, it’s about pushing back against numbing overkill.

To be fair, the CG smash battle in Superman‘s third act isn’t as frustrating as some other examples. Gunn tries to thread some story and character through his action to help ground it, unlike some superhero movies where everything turns to blurry mayhem for an exhausting period of time (Justice League remains the all-time king of this). But the moment the effects battle seems to yank away control of the film, and you’re sitting there thinking, “okay, wow, this is still going and now there’s other random things he needs to fight too?” the spell breaks. Whereas the film’s best scene — by far, and this is a testament to Gunn’s talent as a writer — is Clark and Lois simply having a conversation for several minutes in her apartment.

So if you’re a filmmaker, the next time you’re plotting the end of one of these things, take a moment. Look in the mirror. Look deep. Stare into your soul. And say this, over and over, until it sinks in: “I. Don’t. Need. To. Go. As. Big. As. CG. Will. Let. Me. Go.”