I was lucky enough to get to go to an advance showing of Man of Steel on Thursday night. After digesting it for a while, I thought I would type up a quick review and put some of thoughts out there. First of all, I’ve written before about how much doubt I had about this movie. I wasn’t a fan of Zack Snyder as director and hated the suit. As the trailers started coming out I found myself really enjoying them. They made me optimistic. I started getting excited. They made the movie look good. Epic. Did the final product deliver? Well…..kind of.
The good:
Zack Snyder - I think he did a great job with many parts of this film. The action sequences felt powerful. The visual effects were very well done. The man likes his flashbacks about as much as he must hate buildings. There had to be about a dozen flashbacks used throughout the movie and I don’t think there was a building that wasn’t broken, smashed or flat-out destroyed.
Henry Cavill - Wasn’t familiar with him before being cast, but I was impressed. He truly looked the part and there were moments where I felt he was, in fact, Superman. I don’t know if it was just me projecting, but I saw flashes of Christopher Reeve and, surprisingly, Tom Welling in his performance.
Lex Luthor - As in, he wasn’t in it. I was thrilled to have a Superman movie without Lex being the main villain. His name wasn’t even mentioned, even though there was a quick reference I caught to Lexcorp.
Russell Crowe - Now and forevermore this is who I will see as Jor-El. He did a wonderful job and brought something great to the role. He made Jor-El kind of a bad ass. Heads and tails above Marlon Brando or anyone else that has come before.
Zod - Terence Stamp has always been Zod to me. His portrayal is always what I think of when I hear the name Zod. I have to tell you though, Michael Shannon does a good job. It’s not iconic. It wasn’t better than Stamp, but it served the character well in this movie and reminded me of how Zod is portrayed in the comics.
The bad:
Amy Adams - To be fair, this is more of a neutral than bad. It wasn’t that she was horrible, but she was just too “nice”. Amy Adams was halfway there. She almost got it right, but Lois is too important to only be halfway right. The character is what it is and you either nail it or you fail.
Sun - Could someone, at some point during production, maybe have told Zack Snyder that Krypton doesn’t have a yellow sun?
Jonathan Kent – Kevin Costner was one Robin Hood too many for this movie. Jonathan Kent is more responsible for who Superman becomes than any other character. He teaches Clark right from wrong and molds him into the man that he needs to be to carry the burden of responsibility that he has. They really try to do that, but the character just feels off. He tells Clark to do things that just don’t make sense and goes against the character.
Secret Identity - Okay, I lost count just how many people know Clark Kent is Superman. Every person he saved before putting on the suit saw his face. He tells a military commander that he grew up in Kansas. Major events happened at Kent farm and the name Clark was used while he was dressed as Superman. We’ve all had a good laugh at how a pair of glasses seem to fool everybody, but at least it was an attempt. He might as well have had a “Hi my name is Clark” sticker on his suit.
The unforgivable:
There is a moment that happens towards the end of the movie that I can’t say. It happens in seconds, but it derailed the movie. It goes against Superman’s 75 year history so much that I cannot accept it. It is worse than a new costume and an altered origin. Now, there has been precedent set in previous stories where this same type of thing has happened, but I don’t believe that they are considered canon anymore. Regardless, I have hope that this is used as a building block in making Superman who he should be, but it should not have been done.
So, is it worth it to see it? Yes. I think the general ticket buying public is going to love this movie. Those of us that spend most of our time looking at funny books are probably going to be divided. Once a certain amount of time has passed and everybody has seen it, I cannot wait to have discussion about the event that cannot be named. Be prepared for a different Superman than you have ever seen on film before and I hope you enjoy flashbacks. Oh, and there is a YouTube video floating around about the post credits scene. Save some time and head to the bathroom before everybody else. There is no post credits scene. Your welcome.
