I hate this scene and imagine that many are deeply traumatized by its appearance in a film so soon after the devastating Oklahoma tornado. Others, such as Snyder, simply peddle mass destruction as the ultimate form of entertainment, reveling in how much more bang they can get for their CG buck these days. Topicality need not always be heavy-handed. This is big-scale epic filmmaking in touch with its humanity as well as the spirit of classic Hollywood. Is Nolan a better filmmaker than Snyder?
Tell us what you think in the comments section below. Home Film Columns. Jun 17, pm PT. Superhero movies are supposed to emphasize the hero's cleverness and the villain's plot.
The last half hour of this movie is more like a Rambo movie. On top of it, the movie has too much of a religious bend: Superman is less a character that inspires cosplay than a Jesus-like figure. So, I don't recommend the movie. Amy Adams had a better outing later in with "American Hustle". The original Superman is a fantastic classic, most of the sequels that followed were hardly worth the effort, and Superman Returns was to some a hit and miss, but this was the next attempt to reboot the famous DC Comics superhero, from director Zack Snyder , Watchmen, Sucker Punch.
Basically the film opens on the planet Krypton which is on the brink of destruction because of its unstable core, due to years of exploiting natural resources, General Zod Michael Shannon and his followers refuse to believe the planet has no hope of survival. Scientist Jor-El Russell Crowe and his wife Lara Lor-Van Ayelet Zurer have been the only people in ages to produce a natural born child, and to save the newborn male baby they prepare a spacecraft to launch to the nearest planet with the same resources, and that is planet Earth, and they infuse his cells with a genetic codex to preserve the Kryptonian race.
As the spacecraft is launched Jor-El is murdered by General Zod, he and his followers are banished to the Phantom Zone, and indeed Krypton explodes, meaning that the banished people are freed from their imprisonment, and the infant Kal-El reaches and crash lands on Earth to be raised by adoptive father Jonathan Kent Kevin Costner and his wife Martha Diane Lane. They name him Clark, he looks and acts like a normal human, but of course his Kryptonian physiology gives him superhuman abilities, such as extraordinary strength, rapid speed, laser heating eyes, and the ability to fly, but he is forced to hide these abilities to avoid society rejection.
Jonathan does reveal to Clark his true origin, of being an alien from another world, and after his adoptive father dies Clark lives a life off the grid using false identities and working various jobs, and using his abilities to do good and help people, until he finds an opportunity to understand his heritage.
In the Arctic a large craft has been found buried deep under the ice, and adult Clark Henry Cavill investigates it, finding it to be Kryptonian, and he is able to communicate with a the preserved consciousness hologram of his biological father Jor-El, and reporter Lois Lane Amy Adams from the Daily Planet follows him, and is rescued from a serious injury.
Back in the big city, Metropolis, Lois is insistent to write a report about the superhuman man who rescued her, but Daily Planet editor Perry White Laurence Fishburne refuses to print any story without significant proof, so she tracks the man down to his home in Smallville, Kansas, but hearing the story Clark tells she understands his desire to remain anonymous and she lets it go.
However General Zod and his followers have found their way to Earth, tracking a distress signal from the spacecraft Clark came in, and they are threatening the Earth with destruction if they do not surrender Kal-El who he is sure has the codex hidden somewhere, and eventually, in his acquired blue suit with red cape and the "S" symbol on his chest Clark surrenders himself to the military.
Zod actually intends to turn planet Earth into a new Krypton, which will mean the eradication of the human race and a re-population of genetically-engineered Kryptonians, so when Clark, dubbed "Superman", escapes the enemy ship, with Lois, he convinces the military he is a force for good, and flies to stop the evil plan.
The "world engine" that will destroy the world is dropped into the Indian Ocean, but Superman stops it and destroys the ship carrying the Genesis Chamber, while the followers are sucked into a black hole, and Zod and Superman fight to death in an aerial battle through the city skyscrapers and buildings, and the hero is forced to kill the villain.
The film ends with Superman continuing to prove himself to the military by doing good with his powers, while also enduring his secret identity, and he finds a job that will help him access dangerous situations without being discovered, Clark becomes a reporter alongside Lois at the Daily Planet.
As the first British actor playing the part Cavill does pretty well being bold and brave flying and fighting in the famous suit without the red trunks , Adams is likable as his love interest, Crowe is good as the father originally Marlon Brando , and Shannon is good at being ferocious and shouting. The film was a bit mixed in places, going backwards and forwards in time during the childhood and growing of Superman, and I felt it could have a little more of him saving people, but the flying sequences are highlights, the special effects to create the devastation and destruction of the world are fantastic, and the fight sequences are aggressive, there are plenty of engaging moments, it is a most worthwhile fantasy action adventure.
Lots of recognizable names in the cast as well as a couple of talented newcomers, and the story is complex, with several somewhat confusing flashbacks.
But at heart it's just the old story, reminiscent of one of the later sequels to the original "Superman" of , with Christopher Reeves, plus a stylish and cadaverous green pallet and an absolute cornucopia of computer-generated graphics, with added hints of "The War of the Worlds" and "Mars Attacks. He communicates this in a hushed voice to Lois Lane, Amy Adams, whose presence is appealing.
I would have killed to see this movie if it had been available when I was a child, during the comic book age. Now it all seems to much and too little at the same time. Too little depth but so much action that it set my nerves on edge and I had to dash for the scotch. They come at you in bundles.
Bodies are flung around at the speed of light with abandon. The attacking Weasels of the US Air Force ought to know better than to try destroying an alien space craft on a small town street. Haven't the authorities ever seen a science fiction movie? The armed forces always lose. Except in "Tarantula", in which Clint Eastwood manages to set afire a spider the size of Greenland.
A disgusting sight. But just try something like that with Gort -- or with these evil-intioned goons. Everyone is either good or bad, as in a comic book, and sometimes that's fun, as in "Indiana Jones" or the original "Cape Fear.
But the sort of things on screen here -- the tornadoes, the cars flung through the air, the anti-gravity machine turning Metropolis into a black hole -- have all been done before, and the people of the city running in panic from the massive cloud of dust raised by a collapsing building is genuinely tasteless.
On the other hand, reducing the broth, if you enjoy a bonanza of destruction and fist fights and so on, this is your movie. I outgrew it about the time I lost my sense of the absurd. I loved Zack Snyder's debut movie, the thrilling remake of Dawn of the Dead; it must have been beginner's luck, because everything I have seen by the guy since has been utter garbage, with Man of Steel being no exception.
Two and a half hours of superficial, overblown, CGI packed nonsense that fails spectacularly to make an emotional connection with the viewer in the first hour and thereafter settles for mindless action, the film is worse than I expected—and I never expected it to be good. The special effects employed in 's Superman The Movie might have been crude in comparison to the spectacular mayhem presented here, but as an overall experience, the Christopher Reeve film wins hands down, director Richard Donner giving his audience humour, pathos and a genuine sense of awe, helped in no small part by the wonderful John Williams score; Snyder achieves only boredom, his huge explosions and random destruction rapidly becoming extremely tedious.
Tall, muscular and handsome, Henry Cavill makes for an impressive Supes even in his dingy 21st century version of the iconic costume , Michael Shannon is suitably imposing as General Zod, and although Amy Adams is miscast as feisty reporter Lois Lane, I never complain when she is on-screen. But as hard as the cast might try, the magic is simply not there, David S. Goyer's plot-hole ridden script and Snyder's soul-less direction making this as bad as, if not worse than, Superman Returns Adams—who is as lovely as always—and that bad-ass, dark-haired Kryptonian chick, both of whom helped prevent me from dozing off.
I enjoyed the different take on the Superman story. TxMike 11 December I grew up on Superman and Superboy comics, and I have enjoyed all the various Superman movies. Even the Supergirl movie. Each brings its own sensibility to these stories.
None of them are "the best", they are all good. This one starts with a full 20 minutes devoted to the Krypton society, how the rebellious Jor-El Russel Crowe and his wife had a baby the natural way, after hundreds of years of only designed babies being produced.
How the planet was dying, the friction Jor-El had with Zod Michael Shannon , and their decision to sent the baby Kal-El towards Earth so that he might be the salvation of their race.
We see some, not too much, of Clark Kent's youth, but mostly him as a ish adult Henry Cavill , moving from place to place and working. His dad Kevin Costner had cautioned him to not reveal who he really is and what his powers are, but when a catastrophe struck and he was forced into action, afterwards he moved and used a new name.
But reporter Lois Lane Amy Adams got on his trail, essentially tracked his existence, asking questions, until she found him. So, in this version Lois knew Clark Kent and knew of his super powers before he even went to work as a reporter at the Daily Planet. The climax of the movie is when Zod eventually finds him and wants Kal- El because he figures out Jor-El had used Kal-El's blood cells to code the information needed to re-start the Kryptonian race, and Zod intended that they would take Earth for their own, meaning the extinction of Earthlings in the process.
Superman resisted this and the two had a lengthy, very destructive fight in Metropolis. And there is where all three of us said the movie simply over-did this battle and destruction of a large part of Metropolis. Yes, Superman did prevail, but seeing so much CG destruction just for "effect" seems much more extensive than it needed to be, and detracted from the overall movie.
Good movie, we all enjoyed it, Cavill makes a very good Superman. I just wish the battle near the end had not been so extensive and destructive, it would have made it better for me. I am not overly fond of superhero movies in general, but still I watch them, as I am a movie aficionado.
And I must confess that "Man of Steel" is actually the best superhero movie that I have seen. This is not the child-approved adventure that Superman was back in the Christopher Reeve era - during which I grew up with those particular movies - and nor is it anywhere near "Superman Returns".
The story is darker and delivers a harder punch, no pun intended, than any previous Superman movies. And the level of destruction and mayhem present in this movie is just simply off the charts. And for that alone, the movie is well worth watching. These constant reboots of previously established movies is annoying to a great extend, and the same goes for "Man of Steel". Was it really necessary to tell the story of Supermans trip to Earth and his upbringing here?
No, not really. But still, the movie was entertaining, because it was a more serious and gloomy universe that the audience was introduced to. And while we are on the topic of reboots, then why use General Zod and his henchmen again? These were in a Christopher Reeve Superman movie already and were bested even there.
So why reinvent them and use them again? I just don't get that. But thumbs up for the characters, their outfits and their more menacing and brutal demeanor. I wasn't familiar with Henry Cavill at all, and must admit that it is good that they are finally moving away from the Christopher Reeve era and anything that looks like him hint, hint, the "Superman Returns" movie.
It was a bold move, sure, but one that will essentially bring about a great new touch and inspiration to the Superman franchise. And even Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner performed quite well in this movie.
I can warmly recommend that you sit down and watch "Man of Steel", it is a much needed breath of fresh air in the superhero genre. And what is up with the hype about these so-called 'easter eggs' in the movie? Come on, get over it. It is a movie meant for entertainment, this is not rocket science. Strap in for an action-filled and adrenaline-filled ride of a movie. Quinoa 25 March Man of Steel is smart and dumb, subtle and overbearing, up its own butt and trying to find the line as to what a comic book SUPER hero is supposed to be and represent in society It has a script that is problematic, intriguing, and gives us a hint as to what could have made for a mind-blowingly weird and self-serious but campy world on Krypton from the opening 15 minutes.
It's a story that is all about how Clark Kent aka Kal-El doesn't know what his place is in the world and has to find it out, while also combating a rather p-o'd presence from his past that has found him. Oh, and there's Lois Lane in it and she does things the plot requires her to do, which includes falling for Superman.
It's probably Henry Cavill's dimpled chin, right, chicks love the chin. This is Snyder by some collaboration with Christopher Nolan because Warner brothers couldn't let go of that Nolan comic book dark-and-brooding mojo I guess making a new mythology for a character who most Americans, whether they follow graphic novels or not, know and some love.
It's a film that tries for an alternate viewpoint that is not bad necessarily or wrong-headed, but as the sort of "definite" new view for a franchise to rise out from it's not much fun.
Sure, you can philosophically pick this apart and find a lot there, maybe some dime-store Nieztsche and other things, but the problem comes when people don't have actual conversations with one another.
You want to show that Clark and Lois become closer? Fine, have them talk about something that isn't just him giving googly-eyes explaining what the "S" on his suit means. Much of that might be due to the efforts of the writers unbelievably, the Dark Knight team of Christopher Nolan and David S.
Goyer to repeatedly present the character as Christ incarnate the movie's a Where's Waldo? And while we'll have to wait for the sequel to fully measure his effectiveness at playing the nerdy, bespectacled Clark Kent, his brief appearance in this capacity unfortunately stirs memories of The Amazing Spider-Man , where the makers merely slapped a pair of glasses on Andrew Garfield and asked us to accept this hunky, in-crowd kid as a geeky outsider. More Reviews ». New report: North Carolina among national leaders in solar power growth and energy efficiency progress Decade-long analysis details dramatic clean energy growth in North Carolina and nation.
Showing 1- 25 of Add a comment. Creative Loafing encourages a healthy discussion on its website from all sides of the conversation, but we reserve the right to delete any comments that detract from that. Violence, racism and personal attacks that go beyond the pale will not be tolerated. Switch to the mobile version of this page. Pin It. Submit to Reddit. Favorite Saving…. While trying to stop Zod, Superman and the other Kryptonian inadvertently cause untold amounts of damage.
There are several casualties, as well. All of this serves for Batman to later use to paint Superman as the bad guy, so he can have excuses to fight him in the next movie, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. While he has helped some people, it was always whenever he came across issues under his aliases.
Man of Steel found Clark still discovering his powers as an adult, and so he still has to create and establish Superman as a hero. As a result, in this film, nobody even knows who Superman is, and it makes it impossible for anyone to trust him as anything more than an extraterrestrial threat. Superman is many, many things, but one thing he consistently tries not to be, much like Batman, is a killer. If heroes like Superman kill people, it defeats the whole purpose of their symbolic image, and drags them down to the human level everybody else is on.
Despite this, the movie Man of Steel decided to force Clark to kill Zod as one of his first actions as Superman. While the decision was posed as necessary in context, the fact that the plot necessitated Superman murdering another Kryptonian so quickly seemed like a massive jump for Clark so soon in his story.
0コメント