Review of Man of Steel (2013) by Neil R — 31 Mar 2016

I can appreciate the need to refresh Superman's brand, honestly. The character has been stuck in the '50s since, well, the '50s and the world's gone through a few cultural shifts in that time so an update is overdue.

His core principles remain essential, though, and in visiting such dark territory, Zack Snyder's iteration completely whiffs on that. There's a complete lack of joy, or even optimism, in this grim, sepia-swathed world, least of all in its noble hero.

Saddled with guilt by his adoptive father, who adamantly stresses (even to his dying breath) the dangers of revealing his powers to the public, Superman seems defeated even before he takes flight. His biological dad, visited briefly in holographic form, merely points him like a weapon at the bad guys and evaporates.

His relationship with Lois Lane is happenstance and hollow, more rendezvous than relationship, with a lack of mystery and next-to-no emotion. It's a drain to watch, a dysfunctional mess just to think about.

The film is technically impressive, though, with a strong talent for emphasizing the magnitude in both the scenery and the inevitable superhuman brawls. I enjoyed the imagination on display during its brief Kryptonian prologue, too, and would welcome a little further exploration on that front, minus the austere gravitas of its impending demise.

So the effects work is top-notch, if occasionally shaded by the nagging indulgences that continue to plague CG sporgasbords. Sadly, that's one well it visits too often, and by the climactic closing battle my eyes had glossed over.

Troublesome and messy, this is a grand mismatch. Superman isn't just Batman with heat vision; he's a symbol of hope, of the power of positive thought. A counterpoint to Bruce Wayne's cold, isolated self-reliance.

Lacking those nuances, the character is nothing more than a hammer with a red cape. Smotheringly bleak and stressful, I feel like I suffered mild PTSD from this experience.