Well, that was a longer hiatus than I intended. Man of Steel is directed by Zack Snyder and everyone knows who it's about; Superman, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. To call Superman a character would be a gross understatement; he's a bona fide cultural icon. He was the first costumed superhero and as a direct result of his creation, superheroes have dominated American comics, not only as an industry, but as an art from (Watchmen has been hailed by many as the Citizen Kane of comics). Superman's name is synonymous with heroism; so does Man of Steel do such a legend justice? Not really. I certainly didn't hate this film and I can see why people like it, but Superman deserves better than "didn't hate it."
Starting with the bad, the cinematography is pretty obnoxious. I don't mind a little shaky cam for effect every now and then, but there's so much of it in this film that I can only assume Zack Snyder is the abused stepson of a tripod. I take back all my complaints of Snyder's egregious use of slow motion; at least with slow-mo I can see what's going on. Actually, this film doesn't feel like Snyder at all. Love him or hate him, he has a distinctive style that is nowhere to be found in Man of Steel.
The biggest problem plaguing this movie, however, is the portrayal of Superman's character. A lot of people have complained that Supes is too mopey, but I don't think that's the real problem. No, the problem is that Superman just doesn't give a fuck. Without going into spoilers, the last fight scene leaves Metropolis in ruin. There are countless deaths and billions of dollars in damages. At no point did Superman try to take the fight out of the city. In fact, he doesn't even bat an eye at the death and destruction his fight caused and neither does anyone else for that matter! Metropolis is decimated and in the next scene it's all gumdrops and ice cream. No remorse. No consequences. You would think that there would be at least one person going "Hey, thanks for saving the day and everything, but was it really necessary to punch Zod through that 278th skyscraper? There were, like, hundreds of people in there." For a more modest example, there's a scene where Superman nearly gets into a fight with some asshole trucker. Superman, as befitting a man of his caliber, takes the moral high ground and walks away. Then we see the guy's truck impaled on a telephone pole. Really? He'll destroy a man's way of life and leave him stranded in the middle of nowhere, but he won't just deck him? If you're going to show Superman snap, then show him snap and show the consequences of him snapping. It's like the movie wants to be darker, but is unwilling to actually be dark. No remorse. No consequences.
So what about the good? Well, this movie has one thing going for it: ZOD! The Kryptonians have this thing called the codex which is basically the Krypton eugenics program. ZOD! was bred to be a soldier, his sole purpose in life being the protection of Krypton. Then Krypton blows up. Fortunately for the inhabitants of the planet, the codex was sent with Superman. ZOD! learns of this and tracks Superman to Earth. There, he wishes to regain the codex and rebuild Krypton; all atop the bones of humanity of course. While nothing will replace Donner's version of the character, this is, admittedly, a much more interesting character motivation than "let's take over the world because KNEEL!" But interesting backstory and motivation or no, ZOD! is only as good as he is hammy, the real question to ask is does Michael Shannon deliver?
I sure hope a steady supply of dental floss was provided in his contract, because every time Shannon is on screen he's picking scenery out of his teeth. He turns dramatically. He yells nearly every line. He makes faces. It is glorious! I think this scene gets the point across.
The biggest problem plaguing this movie, however, is the portrayal of Superman's character. A lot of people have complained that Supes is too mopey, but I don't think that's the real problem. No, the problem is that Superman just doesn't give a fuck. Without going into spoilers, the last fight scene leaves Metropolis in ruin. There are countless deaths and billions of dollars in damages. At no point did Superman try to take the fight out of the city. In fact, he doesn't even bat an eye at the death and destruction his fight caused and neither does anyone else for that matter! Metropolis is decimated and in the next scene it's all gumdrops and ice cream. No remorse. No consequences. You would think that there would be at least one person going "Hey, thanks for saving the day and everything, but was it really necessary to punch Zod through that 278th skyscraper? There were, like, hundreds of people in there." For a more modest example, there's a scene where Superman nearly gets into a fight with some asshole trucker. Superman, as befitting a man of his caliber, takes the moral high ground and walks away. Then we see the guy's truck impaled on a telephone pole. Really? He'll destroy a man's way of life and leave him stranded in the middle of nowhere, but he won't just deck him? If you're going to show Superman snap, then show him snap and show the consequences of him snapping. It's like the movie wants to be darker, but is unwilling to actually be dark. No remorse. No consequences.
So what about the good? Well, this movie has one thing going for it: ZOD! The Kryptonians have this thing called the codex which is basically the Krypton eugenics program. ZOD! was bred to be a soldier, his sole purpose in life being the protection of Krypton. Then Krypton blows up. Fortunately for the inhabitants of the planet, the codex was sent with Superman. ZOD! learns of this and tracks Superman to Earth. There, he wishes to regain the codex and rebuild Krypton; all atop the bones of humanity of course. While nothing will replace Donner's version of the character, this is, admittedly, a much more interesting character motivation than "let's take over the world because KNEEL!" But interesting backstory and motivation or no, ZOD! is only as good as he is hammy, the real question to ask is does Michael Shannon deliver?
Yes. The answer is yes.
See what I mean about the shaky cam?
So would I recommend this movie? Well, I'm tempted to say it's worth seeing for ZOD!, but I would wait for it to hit the cheap theaters. If you really want to see a good Superman movie, I recommend Superman Vs The Elite. The animation is a bit lacking, but it's still a solid story about Superman's encounter with a group of anti-heroes who don't share his reluctance to kill.
