Superman has always been a
difficult comic book character to write for because he is impervious to
everything. To hurt Kal-El (Superman's kryptonian name) you needed a plot device like Kryptonite a rock that could kill him or a threat to someone he loves to heighten the drama. When I
first heard Zach Snider was directing the next cinematic outing for
Kal-El I was ecstatic I suffered
through allot of lackluster films.
Snider is a director who seemingly came from nowhere. His wife is a famous producer which helps in the business but he really is a good director. He takes on risky projects and makes them incredibly entertaining and profitable at the box office. This is the director of Watchmen a graphic novel adaptation and 300 another graphic novel written by Frank Miller. He doesn't necessarily have a visual style but all of his films feature some type of action element with an incredible amount of computer graphics.
So his role as director of Man of Steel had me pumped and reminiscing on the previous films. Anyone remember Superman 3 co-starring Richard Pryor where we literally see a
drunken superman? Followed up by that god-awful Supergirl movie and my least favorite Quest for Peace with Nuclear Man. Superman Returns directed by Bryan Singer was a missed opportunity to take the story in new direction. Instead what we got was
a continuation of the Donnor films with a hint of dead beat father thrown into
the mix.
In Man of Steel we get an
origin story focusing on Clark Kent learning who he really is and
where he came from. He learns to accept his role as the symbol for hope. Its interesting that he doesn't actually
call himself Superman in the movie. I loved this because what we get is more like a
Superman Begins movie. The script was penned by Michigan native
David Goyer who gives us a story that explores the pivotal moment where
Clark Kent accepts his unique abilities and assumes his role as protector of
humanity.
Krypton plays a significant
role in Man of Steel, heavily inspired by the matrix. Apparently on this world
people are bio engineered to fulfil a specific societal need. Kal-El's birth is significant
because he was naturally conceived and given the choice to grow up and be who he
wants to be. The enivitable
destruction of Krypton is realized through cutting edge computer graphics
however the movie ventures into sensory overload because most of the violence
has little consequence.
I have a
problem with endless punching between two super powered beings with no
indication of fatigue. The
antagonist Zod is a good villain but I would have preferred someone who hasn't been in a Superman movie before… Lobo… Darkseid maybe? This movie grade is a solid B- because the final battle reminded me
of that battle from Matrix revolutions which was way too long. And I did not like Superman’s lack of concern for human life. Why didn’t he take the battle to the
moon away from populated cities?
It is good to see the S on the big screen again but I think they should
find a way to show us Superman’s physical limitations to make the conflict mean
something.
3 comments:
well said. I agree. Definitely will be a sequel after justice league movie. Hope the movies continue to get better.
*Darkseid. Your review is a tired rehash of half baked complaints leveled by reviewers who refused to take the time to truly contemplate the film.
I won't eat the entirety of your lunch here, but I will rebut a few of the more egregious complaints you have with the film. A. the Matrix does not have a monopoly on despotic futurescapes; if you are referring to the look of krypton then that argument carries even less water. B. Zod is the perfect initial villain, there is no better place to start. He is the perfect foil for Clark to overcome. His twisted notions of duty and he unerring commitment to cause is a glimpse of what Clark could become should he not remember the lesson well taught to him by his father. C. either the action was your thing or it wasn't, particularly the final conflict. Two gods pummeling each other is an incredible spectacle to behold and to compare it to the failure that was the final fight in Revelations does it a great disservice. Also they showed no fatigue because there was no fatigue to show, it's Superman and Zod, don't be needlessly derp. Also the scene with the world engine did well in showing Clark's vulnerability and that he was ultimately a man willing to sacrifice whether he was indestructible or not. D. finally the claim that Clark shared no regard for human life is a gross misrepresentation of what actually happened during that fight. In addition, the notion that he had enough of an advantage in that fight to determine where it played out is naive. Zod's ultimate goal was not to defeat Clark, it was to destroy mankind. Clark could only engage Zod, if he tried to leave the city Zod would have stayed and laid waste to Metropolis. Also when Clark tried to take it out of the city Zod threw a fucking satellite at him and the fight invariably returned to the city.
I'm not saying the movie was perfect, but it was great. Your opinion is yours, too bad it reads more like a pastiche of everyone else.
Nice review Rob. Can’t go wrong with a superhero movie in the summer, especially one with everybody’s favorite. Or at least the most definitive.
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