Review of Man of Steel (2013) by Psycros — 14 Jun 2013

(Has minor spoilers:) Zero emotion, no humor, no soul, you care about absolutely no one in this film except Clark as a boy that kid damn near carried the film. Cavill is totally unconvincing. Its a combo of maudlin flashbacks and boring effects sequences.

After you've seen 4 or 5 skyscrapers topple over (LOL, F science) you just don't care anymore. Every FX gimmick is stolen directly from an earlier film or video game. The Kryptonians apparently contracted a Reaver from Mass Effect, because they have one.

Jor-El the great scientist is somehow also a badass who can take on a platoon of soldiers singlehanded. The Kryptonians haven't discovered color TV yet they use low-res liquid metal for their communications.

The horrible "action news" cinematography has no place in a superhero film...or ANY film, honestly. While there were a few clever effects shots, mostly it was Michael Bay levels of CG for 3D's sake here.

So many things go unexplained that it feels like Dark Knight Rises all over again. When we DO get cause-and-effect, the story contradicts itself so many times that its obvious Snyder and Nolan had no idea which version they wanted to go with.

I heard so many "huhs??" from the audience at each new realtime reconning that it I couldn't help laughing at it after a while. The mood at credit role was somber. The loyalists in their capes walked out staring at the floor wondering the same as myself if we'll ever get another good DC superhero film, let alone a good Superman one.

Oh, and did I mention that there was a MAKING OF mini-documentary that ran right before the movie started?? I kid you not. At my Regal Cinema they also ran the Pacific Rim trailer *twice*. It was a painful experience that gave me a greater appreciation of Smallville.

Bottom line: everything this film contains you've seen before and done better. I truly hope this movie starts a backlash against gratuitous CG. Mark Hamill is right: its a big reason that Hollywood refuses to do anything original.