Itās a Bird, Itās a Plane; Itās the Man of Steel Review
Editors Note: This is the first review that I am doing that will be using my new rating system. I am no longer using a numerical one but am rating films on pass, rental or see it!
Superman. Many remember him as the classic hero seen in Richard Donnerās films. Some remember him as the having a romantic comedy show. Others remember him as the angst ridden teen on the CWās Smallville.
For a character that has been around for 75 years there have been numerous interpretations of Superman. The newest interpretation comes in Zack Snyderās Man of Steel, a retelling of the last man of Kryptonās origin.
The film begins with the birth of Kal El on the dying planet of Krypton. His father Jor El creates a plan to save not only his son but also the future of his entire race. Kal El is sent to Earth where he must decide if he will support his adopted race or his biological one especially when a Kryptonian named Zod comes to Earth looking for Kal El.
The film borrows a lot from the modern interpretations of Superman that can be found in such comic book series Superman: Birthright and Superman: Earth One.
The original films presented Superman as an icon, the hero that we should all strive to be. But the newer film presents him as an outsider trying to discover his place in the world.
He is presented as having a great deal of weight to bear on his shoulders, which was something that was missing from the original films.
I love the original Richard Donner films. They are classics. But this new one for me at least created a more relatable Superman. I canāt punch through walls or bend steel but anyone can relate to being an outsider and trying to find your place in the world.
Even though the majority of the film is a retelling of Supermanās origin, the film does an excellent job of making it feel fresh.
By focusing on Krypton for a good portion of the first half of the film it allows for great world building. In the previous films and even the comic book series Krypton and its fate where left more as a footnote to explain why Kal El is on Earth in the first place.
Man of Steel takes its time to build Krypton and show it as a living world featuring a variety of alien creatures, its own architecture and culture. When Krypton is destroyed it has impact this time.
When you first walk into the theater you may assume that you have walked into the newest Star Trek but in reality itās the newest Superman film. Thatās something that I really like is making Man of Steel a science fiction action film instead of a simple superhero story.
The best Superman stories are either science fiction stories or ones that focus on the ideas of the superhero who stands for truth, justice and the American way.
By making it more science fiction focused it ended up being a different Superman story than what audiences are used to and thatās a good thing.
Many fans were concerned with director Zack Snyder taking the helm of the film. Snyder had an impressive debut with his Dawn of the Dead remake but has stumbled a few times since then. 300 was a rediculous spectacle and Watchmen while an entertaining film disappointed hardcore fans of the graphic novel while alienating newcomers. And let's not even talk about SuckerPunch (it was bad).Ā
However, Man of Steel was also supported by producer Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Trilogy) and written by David S. Goyer who has written comic books as well as co written the Dark Knight films. So there was some hope.
That said, credit is due to Snyder who stays away from his usual tropes of an over reliance of slow motion and visuals over content and has the vision to direct a stylistic Superman film that contains quality content.Ā
Man of Steel has an impressive cast. Henry Cavil is great as Superman and plays the character very low key, which works well especially since this film, makes him as a wanderer who is trying to figure things out.
The supporting cast is all great featuring Russell Crowe as Jor El, Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as Jonathan and Martha Kent doing great performances. Even if Costner is barely in the film his scenes have impact.
Amy Adams puts in a great performance as Lois Lane. I really liked Lois Lane in this film. The character is difficult because she is supposed to be a strong journalist who somehow canāt figure out that Clark Kent is Superman and gets captured by villains every other week.
Adams version of Lois Lane is smart and resourceful. The film also finds a clever way to solve the problem of her not knowing that Clark Kent is Superman.
The only disappointing performance is Michael Shannon as Zod. Shannonās performance itself is fine but he canāt replace Terrance Stamp as Zod from Superman II. Stamp brought a true presence to Zod giving reason for fans to continue saying the ākneel before Zodā line.
Shannon is also very good at giving over the top performances and this time he seems held back in Man of Steel. Itās not Shannonās fault but it felt like a role that could have been played by anyone.
Man of Steel is a visual splendor. Itās defiantly worth seeing on the big screen especially with Hans Zimmerās bombastic soundtrack. His score is no John Williams theme but it works really well and gives excellent momentum during action heavy moments of the film.
Which leads into something else about Man of Steel, itās a very action heavy movie especially in the final act of the film.Ā This is a first for a Superman film since films previous didnāt have the ability to show off the full power of the titular hero. This time though, Supermanās variety of powers is fully on display and they are very impressive to see, as they should be.
In the final act it becomes one action scene after the next and while I enjoyed the action I found some issues with them. One, it can feel a bit long. Having so many action scenes is fun but when the hero and villain canāt be physically hurt it can lose the drama very fast.
Secondly, during the final act the collateral damage done through Superman and Zodās fight is huge. The entire city of Metropolis is practically destroyed. Itās understandable that there would be massive amounts of damage done by the two but on Supermanās part it seems irresponsible.
Heās a character who would normally try to keep as many people as possible out of harms way and he does so earlier in the film but in the final act he just forgets it all except for one small part where he is reminded that people can get hurt.
I try to remind myself that this is a younger Superman, who only put on the cape mere hours before his confrontation with Zod but still their needed to be a line of dialogue to maybe say that the city was evacuated or something at least just to make it less off putting.
I understand this is a nitpick that many may not share but even though I enjoyed the fight scene, that particular detail bothered me. Even in The Avengers, it is at least mentioned how civilians are handled.
Many civilians are evacuated but there are also causalities. Since Man of Steel has a final action scene, which is just as big if not bigger than The Avengers, this detail being addressed would have been helpful.
This is a difficult film to review because as a comic book fan I was immediately excited after seeing the film. But as days went by and I had more time to think about the film, I found some flaws with what is otherwise an enjoyable summer blockbuster.
Man of Steel isnāt a perfect Superman film but much like itās title character it tries to find its place in the world. The end of the film gives a brand new Superman who I look forward to seeing more of.
Ā Man of Steel earns a rating of See It!
