Man of Steel- Review

"You can save them all..."

Having taken some time to ponder over the latest Superman film, I can't help but feel conflicted. I wanted to love this movie, I really did, but the particulars of Man of Steel prevented me from being able to do so.

Let me get it out of the way right now, this was indeed an entertaining movie. In fact, taken on its own merits, it was actually pretty good. The special effects were topnotch, the actors fitted their roles, and the action scenes nailed what a super powered fight should look like. It had all the chemistry necessary in order to make a good summer blockbuster.

The Superman fan in me though felt that the creators almost completely missed the point of the character. When the credits rolled, I didn't leave the theater with the sensation that I just watched Superman save the day. What I saw was a sci-fi movie that happened to have a somewhat Superman-like character in it.

Don't get me wrong, I fully understand that this was meant as a new interpretation of the Superman character for a new era of movie goers. I totally get it that Man of Steel's job was to make the Superman name and franchise relevant again in the eyes of modern audiences. Every ounce of me comprehends what this film was meant for and what it tried to do. In all of those regards it succeeded. Man of Steel has been financially successful, and was immediately optioned for a sequel. I can honestly say that the mission was accomplished.

Sadly, it seems like I'm going to have to keep waiting for that definitive Superman film. I'll admit that I did have very high hopes for Man of Steel, especially after seeing all of those excellent trailers leading up to the release. It seemed like the film makers were finally going to give viewers the proper portrayal that the last son of krypton always deserved. Seeing how audiences reacted to those trailers showed to me that we were ready for that portrayal too. I knew going in that one of my favorite Superman stories ever (Superman: Birthright) was being used as the inspiration for Man of Steel's script. I've considered it entirely possible that maybe perhaps, my personal opinion of the character (and what he has always represented to me) blocked my ability to fully enjoy this movie. In order for me to explain why I've taken such issue with Man of Steel, I will go into some MAJORLY GRIEVOUS SPOILERS, so if you have yet to see the flick, you've been warned.

In true Superman fashion, Man of Steel opened up with the iconic destruction of Krypton. Even though this was something we all knew was going to happen (because who doesn't know Superman's origin story by now?) we haven't really seen it done like this. As far as I'm concerned, this was perhaps one of the best done versions of Krypton's demise. Instead of just giving the audience a brief glimpse of Krypton (as has been done countless times in the past) here we really got to experience what Krypton was like. Seeing such things as the flora and fauna, the technology they used, and even the intricacies of their societal network, Krypton felt like an actual place. When the inevitable time came for the hammer to drop, I actually felt sad to see Krypton go. Thanks to the close to twenty five minutes the movie spent on Krypton, I felt that I had developed a legitimate connection to the world. In the last moments when Kal-El was sent off to Earth, it really did feel like an entire planet's hopes and dreams rested on this one child making it to another world safely. In my opinion this was one of the best parts to Man of Steel. Within a reasonable amount of time we were introduced to the core conflict, what was at stake, and even some of the over arching themes that would hopefully give the narrative a good degree of substance.

The good didn't stop there either. Man of Steel also did an excellent job in the first two acts of presenting Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman as a more human character. A common criticism of Superman has always been that he was impossible to relate to, that his powers made him have no human element. As far as the films go, this was perhaps one of the most humane and vulnerable images of the character presented yet. The sense of the incredibly lonely existence someone like Superman would have to endure on a day to day basis was done very well. Relationships that were built up through flashbacks between Clark and his adopted parents gave a great deal of insight to the kind of upbringing he had, and the kind of man he would eventually become. By the middle I got a feel for the idea Man of Steel wanted Clark's character to be. It seemed like it was a good vision that felt true to the original, while being a fresh interpretation on the classic formula.

Henry Cavil's Clark/Superman was an overall okay performance for the most part. I can't really blame his acting though for the fact that he didn't have that same charisma we've all known and loved from the likes of the legendary Christopher Reeves. The inevitable comparisons of Cavil's Superman to Reeves' I think have been a bit unfair, but I can understand why fans have done it. This Superman didn't really have much in the way of a sense of humor, or charm. Only during a handful of sequences did we ever see him smile, and frankly those moments were some of my favorite for the character. For all the work that the creators had put in on making Superman feel more human, they seemed to have completely forgotten that the character did have a charm to him that made people like him. I saw glimpses of it come through during the movie, but they were just that, glimpses. In Man of Steel, our favorite kryptonian didn't come off as being the symbol of hope and inspiration for all of mankind as he should have. I think this was due in part that the script writers just didn't write the character correctly, nothing more, nothing less. For all of the movie's talk of having Clark be the representation of hope, I never got that sensation even once, and frankly by the film's end I felt that it had been completely dashed. I'll get to that in a moment though.

Amy Adam's performance as Lois Lane was great, with this version having taken a top spot among my favorite depictions of the character. She was shown to be very proactive, and someone who managed to piece together the mystery that surrounded Clark in a very believable manner. Some of the best one-liner quotes came from Lois, and her snark really made up for the lacking humor with Superman. I am a little sad to see that they dropped her iconic black hair for Man of Steel, but she still worked out great all the same.  

Faora: Most badass female villain ever!

Russel Crow's Jor-El was superb, coming off as both wise, and undoubtedly badass. The way the film worked in seeing more of him was clever, and provided a lot of fun when they really started to explore the possibilities of having such a character on hand. Kevin Costner's Johnathan Kent didn't get much play, but felt impacting every time he showed up. In fact, the scenes with Pa Kent were also some of the best scenes in the movie as far as I was concerned. Diane Lane's Martha Kent had a lot of the same impact, but also provided a good deal of levity herself. Lawrence Fishburne was spot on as Perry White, with him nailing the attitude of the character down within seconds of coming on to the screen.

Micheal Shannon's Zod was appropriately ruthless, but also had just enough humanity to him that he didn't seem like a complete monster. Sadly, I don't think Shannon really owned the role like Terence Stamp did in Superman II, but for the kind of movie that Man of Steel was he did just fine. The fact that they even used General Zod as this movie's villain impressed me. It was nice seeing Superman go up against an opponent who could actually take him on physically, instead of just going for the usual "Lex Luthor used kryptonite on him" schtick.

Antje Traue stole the show for me though with her performance as Faora. There has always been a place in my heart for kickass warrior women, and this woman took that character trope up to eleven! Every time she spoke, or got into a fight, you knew things were about to get real. In some ways I actually felt that the character of Faora was more intimidating than Zod, due to the shear cold hearted precision she had with everything she did. Some of the best action sequences involved her character coming in and just wrecking the place. By the time this movie was over, I knew that a trained and militant kryptonian was not to be messed with in the slightest. They will f@c!n' kill you dead!

Costuming was sublime, with all the kryptonian characters having appropriately alien looking attire that still felt and looked cool. Superman's iconic outfit was given a little more credence this time around, with the red and blue duds being more in line with general kryptonian fashion as opposed to being an outfit that Clark's mom put together. The idea of taking the iconic red S and making it a family symbol for "hope" and the house of El was a great call, and gave a fitting reason for Superman to look the way he did. Special mention must go to the armor designs for Zod's army, as they all looked insanely badass whenever they came strutting out for combat. Man of Steel also featured some of the very best (of what I like to call) cape porn in cinema history. This movie seriously made me want to have a long flowing cape so bad that you can't even imagine it.

The cinematography was tragically a bit of a hit and miss scenario. During the first two acts, shaky cam was used fairly consistently, and I can't stand that kind of camera work. Thankfully they never got the camera too close when using it, but they picked some of the most awkward moments to use it. Characters wouldn't even be moving and the camera would start bobbing all over the place. At numerous points I found myself muttering "Can you please hold the damn camera still?" It was made worse knowing that Zack Snyder was the director for this film, seeing how his camera work has been considered by many to be some of the best in the business. To see Mr. Snyder fall into using such lazy camera techniques was a little saddening to say the least.

Hans Zimmer's score was also somewhat slightly lacking. While the music served all of the scenes well, none of it really had that iconic Superman feel. At no point did I get the sensation of triumph I've felt a Superman movie should have. Thankfully it did use orchestral swells appropriately, and I did think that the music for the climax was probably where the score was at its best.

Now, onto the those MAJORLY GRIEVOUS SPOILERS. Again, if you haven't seen the film yet, this is going to spoil the ending big time. Normally I don't like putting spoilers into my reviews, but in order for me to explain why I've taken issue with Man of Steel, sadly some things need to be revealed. I won't try to go into too much detail (as that could take a while for me to detail all my issues) but the major moments will be talked about. With that out of the way, on with the review!

Remember, the "S" stands for "Hope."

Despite all that Man of Steel had managed to do right in the first two acts, it was the final act where I had a fundamental problem, and where everything essentially came crumbling down. Even with my love for action sequences, this movie simply turned into one gigantic fight scene that was just too domineering. Tons of scenes featuring wanton destruction were seeming implemented just for the sake of showing huge amounts of collateral damage. While the work on the special effects was immaculate, few films have ever efficiently pulled off the forty minute fight scene, and Man of Steel wasn't one of them. The action just went on and on, with seemingly no end. There was no sense of pace to the action beats, or any room to even breath, so you couldn't take in all that was happening. Logic got thrown out the window so that certain moments could be facilitated, and most tragic of all, it sacrificed one of the most important aspects of Superman's character.

Superman, regardless of the medium, has always been portrayed as a protector of the people of Earth. When the time came for Superman to step up and become the hero that the world needed in Man of Steel, we got a guy who decided to leave thousands to die while he wrestled with a machine in the Indian Ocean. You see, during this sequence, General Zod had decided to terraform Earth into a new Krypton. In order for him to do this, two machines (known as the "World Engine") were used to begin the process. One machine took root in Metropolis, while the other took to a spot in the Indian Ocean. The machines worked on a "master-slave" system, which meant that if one was to be destroyed, the other remaining unit would stop. Superman would only have to really take out one in order to save the day, not both. As the machine did its thing with creating massive amounts of destruction and chaos in Metropolis, Superman decided to head off to destroy the device in the ocean. (You know, where no one was in immediate danger) This was also the one that was spewing out an atmosphere that was confirmed to weaken Superman and make it harder for him to take it down. Instead of teaming up with the military and focusing efforts on taking out the engine in Metropolis (thus perhaps preventing further loss of life) Superman flew off to the ocean. So yeah, I could see how the logic on that one made complete and total sense.

The Superman I know wouldn't have left thousands of people to die, let alone even put them at risk. It got even worse after the carnage that was brought about, as Superman didn't even try to set out saving anyone in the city besides Lois Lane. When he came back to the crater that used to be Metropolis, he didn't look for survivors, he didn't even grieve at the obvious loss of life that had just occurred. He could certainly plant an awkwardly forced kiss on Lois though. It was at this point in the movie that Jenny Olsen stated "He saved us!" to which I replied with "Superman didn't do squat! While you all were dying in the streets, he was messing around with an engine he didn't really have to fight! Perry White was the one that saved you!"

Granted, at an earlier part, Clark did save everyone on a burning oil tanker, and that was a great moment. But during a fight in Smallville with Faora, Superman only went as far as telling people to stay inside because it wasn't safe. What he didn't do was attempt to take the fight outside of the town, prevent incalculable amounts of property damage, and keep innocent civilians out of harm's way. I understood that the Superman in this movie wasn't exactly the most experienced hero (as everything is just sort of thrown onto him) but even so I still felt that he should have at least made a better try at avoiding the destruction of things. To be clear, I wasn't even expecting him to save everybody, just to try a little harder. When the villains caused the chaos, I was just fine with that (they're villains, it's what they do) but when the hero seems to be causing just as much damage... Yeah, I didn't take too kindly to that.

It got even worse by the end, because when it finally came time for Zod and Superman to throw down, Superman didn't try to take the fight away from Metropolis. Instead, they kept the fight there, and continued to wreck the city where the World Engine had stopped. Every time I saw Zod or Superman get tossed through a sky scrapper, I couldn't help but think of all the people that these two were killing. At one point the battle did get taken into outer space, and I thought that maybe finally Superman smartened up and decided to take the fight to the moon or something. Nope. They brought the fight right back to Metropolis, and the disaster porn continued. (I'm sure Micheal Bay would be proud) The fight did look quite beautiful though, with the great camera work that Zack Snyder has been known for taking center stage. If there was one area that this fight had going for it, it was that the choreography really managed to capture the look and feel of what a I think a straight-up super powered brawl would probably look like.

It wasn't until they finally crashed down through one of the few remaining buildings in the area that Superman actually tried to stop Zod from killing people. But by that point I felt that it was too late; the damage had already been done. (no pun intended) Not content with all the setting destruction though, this movie then committed the biggest sin it could. This movie had Superman kill Zod. Now don't get me wrong, I understand that Superman has been depicted in previous stories as having killed. Those stories though are considered to be some of the most divisive tales in the big blue boy scout's mythology. While they did have Superman plead to Zod to stop, but at no point did Superman try to actually get Zod to stop. Simply holding him in a headlock and asking him "Please" was not something the Superman I know would have done. He would have flown Zod out of the building, knocked Zod out, or put himself in the way of Zod's attacks.

For everything that Superman has represented, he's represented hope the most. Superman has always had hope, even for the likes of his enemies. The Superman I know retains the hope that even someone as dangerous as Zod could eventually be brought into the light. By killing Zod, the Sueprman in this movie has dashed the image of someone who believed that bloodshed was not the solution. Superman saves people, that is his thing, it's what he does. Even if he is saving someone from themselves. A statement made by Jor-El at the top of the final act is "You can save them all." but at no point from then on did I feel like Superman even made that attempt. While I don't think that Man of Steel was a bad film, it was certainly not a great Superman film. As I said earlier, it's more like a sci-fi movie that had some elements of something resembling Superman in it. I don't think the creators understood what was needed in order to capture what makes Superman, SUPERMAN. Having someone who can fly around really fast and punch really hard doesn't make them a hero. The makers of this movie seem to have forgotten the all important fact that you can't have a super hero without having the HERO part first.

Positive Factors

• Very interesting version of Krypton. You actually care when Krypton suffers its ultimate fate.
• Clark Kent/Superman has never been shown as being this human in the films. Ever
• Great special effects. Super powered fights feel fast, frenetic, and impacting.
• Good casting. No actor ever felt out of place.
• Faora totally steals the show as a villain. This woman is one of the reasons to watch this movie.
• Beautiful costuming has rendered some of the most amazing looking cape spreads I've ever seen.

Negative Factors

• Superman has very little charm to him. This guy takes himself way too seriously.
• Shaky cam techniques make the movie feel cheap and amateurish.
• Average score, with only one or two tracks that sort of stuck out.
• The final act is one big fight scene, leaving little room to breath.
• Superman's actions throughout the film's climax don't really leave one thinking that they just watched a Superman movie.

Final Rating: Splenderiffic! (But just barely)