Jesse Eisenberg’s New Movie Vivarium Confirms he Was The Best Ever Lex Luthor
Jesse Eisenberg Was The Best Lex Luthor:
We all hate Lex Luthor. But we still admit he is one of the rare gems and a sheer work of art in the literary universe of superheroes. Whenever Luthor comes on screen, the fans want him to be portrayed perfectly. Whether it is Michael Rosenbaum in Small Ville or Jon Cryer in Super Girl, we want the raw essence of Lex Luthor to be delivered just in the right amounts to the masses. Luthor is a businessman through and through but in his own twisted way, he believes that humanity does not need superheroes and the human spirit is more than enough to solve all the world’s problems if nudged in the right direction. For some, that message was not delivered by Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor in BVS. But after the actor starred in Vivarium, many might have to rethink their stance.
The Portrayal of Lex Luthor in the Big Screens has been done and out-done several times. Gene Hackman did it in the early Superman movies starring Christopher Reeves as the titular superhero. Kevin Spacey also did a splendid job in the Superman Returns movie, starring Brandon Routh as the eponymous Man of Steel. But we suggest someone other than these two who nailed the role of Lex Luthor. It is Jesse Eisenberg and after you read what we have to say about his role in Vivarium, you too will agree.
Jesse Eisenberg portrayed a pretty eccentric and crazy Lex Luthor in Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. He looked like he drank one too many Kool-Aids as a kid and now even though he is still a genius, the bird inside his brain keeps going cuckoo. The DC Fans wanted a Lex who was more sinister-looking and menacing, someone who could nail the ruthless business tycoon that Lex Luthor is known to be in the comic books. Unfortunately, Eisenberg’s Luthor was too caught up in his own act to care was what the fans described him to be. But Vivarium explains why Luthor was that way in BVS. It explains why Luthor was so fearful of alien children from outer space.
Vivarium takes Jesse Eisenberg’s character on an emotional roller coaster ride. Eisenberg plays Tom, a handyman who is trying to look for a new home with his wife Gemma (played by Imogen Poots). As they scout for a home in desperation to start a new family, they are then trapped in a neighborhood which is essentially the craziest part of the universe. There are time loops, weird machinery, and robots, as well as an alien child that they are forced to fend for on their own as a couple, in a town of an infinite number of houses. The only residents of the town are Gemma and Tom. Tom goes through a variety of emotions that slowly and steadily turn him into a monster akin to Jack Nicholson’s Jack Torrance in The Shining.
After finally snapping, Tom declares war on his own family. He tries to kill the alien child. When things go out of hand, he even tries to kill his wife. He later turns into a mad-man and comes up with an insane theory – the only way to escape the Vivarium is to restore order and the way to do it is by starting afresh. Tom becomes the Jack Torrance of Vivarium. He does action, comedy, suspense, drama, and horror all in equal amounts in his unhinged state.
Jesse Eisenberg delivers his career-best starring as the lead protagonist/antagonist in Vivarium. If only the DCEU could replicate Jesse’s acting prowess that he has already shown to possess in the superhero universe, things would run much more smoothly. Eisenberg has already expressed interest in coming back for another DCEU movie. If Warner Brothers Studio is reading this, we urge them to explore the full depths of Eisenberg and make him the Lex Luthor everyone deserves to know him as. Vivarium is a treat to watch. But so will Lex Luthor be if WB pays heed to these words of ours.