Review of Man of Steel (2013) by Henry P — 19 Mar 2016

3/19/16.

Good-bye Superman who could do anything. Our lack of interest in a superhero scared of little green rocks goes with you. Welcome to a new age of Superman on film: Man of Steel. We start (quite literally) with Kal-El's life on Krypton, as he is born to mother Lara (Ayelet Zurer) and Jor-El (Russell Crowe). After Kal-El is born, instead of what we Earthicans usually do after birth, Jor-El steals the DNA matrix for all of Krypton's future generations, not out of greed, but to give Krypton its last hope in its first naturally born citizen in memory. If you've seen Superman the Animated Series (Or just know Superman lore in general, understand the meaning of a planet having a red sun, or have seen any promotional material) you know what happens to Krypton, and what happens to Kal-El. From Kal-El's arrival on Earth, we hop around various points in the life of Clark Kent (Henry Cavill as adult, Cooper Timberline as 9-year-old, and Dylan Sprayberry as 13-year-old), which can be confusing if you don't pay attention, so instead of penalizing it as confusing, I just have this to say: Pay attention. Eventually, we get to Lois Lane (Amy Adams) journeying to a Canadian discovery as a press member, escorted by Clark Kent, and after foolishly investigating the find, she figures out that Clark (or whatever pseudonym he uses) isn't who he says he is, and he disappears. After Perry White (Laurence Fishburne) turns down the article for being too "unreliable," Lois lets a conspiracy site publish it. Meanwhile, Clark Kent meets his real father ('s preserved consciousness) and after Krypton's backstory, we see him become Superman, and what follows is a final act that has us see Superman unleashed. In case you've never seen this movie yet, I won't give details. I will say it feels slow, but as long as you focus, you'll enjoy it. In terms of character, Henry Cavill plays a good Superman, and Amy Adams plays an intelligent and unrelenting Lois Lane. On Laurence Fishburne's casting as Perry White: he captured the spirit of the character (from what I've seen in Superman: The Animated Series) as DC's mild-mannered version of J. Jonah Jameson. The picture is great. The CGI is vast, but I think it worked out. There are also a lot of references to other DC comics properties, but you'll have to search for those, since I only noticed two off the bat. Hans Zimmer provides a moving soundtrack, but never getting anywhere near the John Williams theme (Or the Superman: TAS theme). This is not the best depiction of Superman due to the darker tone, but it is more realistic, especially in how the theme of aliens-on-Earth-for-the-first-time is explored: gov't trying to cover it up at first, then the military response to the not-so-peaceful visitors from Krypton. Even the way Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner) advised Clark on use of his powers in a world where people are not aware of aliens existing seems like something that would happen if this happened for real. I'll give Zack Snyder that much credit, but Superman's a symbol of hope. When I first saw this in 2013, I didn't notice that, but after seeing Superman: TAS, I have to call that out. Man of Steel sets the tone for the future DC Cinematic Universe entries.

7/19/14.

Well done Zack Snyder. Superman now seems a little more mortal in this reboot, and you really capture how hard it can be to be different. It's great you made his weakness atmospheric change instead of green rocks, it seems less stupid now. The original Superman film was a 70s great, but some 70s camp makes that harder to swallow for today's youth, so reboot time. And Zack Snyder did it pretty well. While a little abstract between the Krypton opening and the rousing third act battle, it's worth it for the aforementioned battle. It moves rapidly at first, slows down, and stays like that for a while, until the third act battle. Thankfully, unlike Transformers, the camera stays steady, and the bad guys are clearly discernable from the good (And there are no cringeworthy moments). As I stated in my previous review, stunning effects. I almost believed they were real, and the battle scenes were just spectacular (But got a little show-offy in product placement). Hans Zimmer composed a compelling score for this Superman reboot, the main theme almost succeeding John Williams' theme. Stunning as the effects were, what was almost as stunning was the lack of humor. It shouldn't be all "jokes and happy" throughout, but it was just too dry like Rise of the Planet of the Apes (But both are spectacular in story and visuals), but unlike that film, this actually had some laughs, the rest was devoid of it. Warning to parents: If the marketing campaign got to your youngster, know there's no major swearing, but a very brief one. Ultimately, Superman for a new age brings us to the dawn of justice! (Get it?).

6/15/14.

Stunning. That's all I have to say. Stunning. Its visual effects are amazing. The sheer imensity of Man of Steel was a lot. I really enjoyed the way that Superman was brought to the big screen: Realistically showing what an alien on Earth might be like. The characters are usually enjoyable, but I found a lot of characters lacking depth, such asDaily Planet reporters. I know that this may have wasted time, but come on, there should have been a little more to some of the characters. Aside from the visuals, I can say that Hans Zimmer's soundtrack is probably the most emotionally pulling one I've heard in a movie, and works perfectly with the scenes (though I will miss John Williams' score) and did its job. Best of all, it showed the best of humanity in today's world in Clark Kent/Superman. While Superman is no Batman, I'm hoping that a Man of Steel Sequel can be The Dark Knight of Superman.