My connection with Superman does not run deep. I never really read any of the comics growing up and
hadn’t seen any of the Christopher Reeve films until recently – I watched Superman and Superman II back-to-back and thought they were good but great (I
know, probably blasphemous, right?). I
had seen Superman Returns only once several years ago and enjoyed it quite a
bit from what I remember; I still don’t understand the hatred that it receives
to this day. I mean, even in last year’s
fantastic Ted, Seth MacFarlane made
sure to throw in a joke about Brandon Routh and “that god-awful Superman
movie.” That said, what really had my
juices flowing about Man of Steel was
the creative team behind it; David Goyer writing (who helped to co-write The Dark Knight trilogy), Christopher
Nolan producing (the man needs no introduction), and Zack Snyder (one of my
absolute favorite directors) directing.
Add in an absolutely stellar
cast and they pretty much could do no wrong.
And guess what? They didn’t.
The influence that this incredible creative team exerted
upon this film comes through in spades.
Goyer, Nolan, and Snyder took Kal-El’s origin story and made is
realistic as possible; yeah, he’s an alien from a distant planet, but they took
this super-powered alien and planted him in our world and explored the
ramifications of such an event. Through
a series of vignettes interspersed throughout the film, we learn about Clark
and his struggles growing up with his amazing powers. His human father, Jonathan (Kevin Costner) mentored
him in his early years, imparting key advice – that everything will change for him and the entire world when his powers
become known. This leads to a life of
mediocrity for Clark, as he moves from job to job across Canada, revealing his
powers only when life-or-death situations arise. And when he does reveal himself to the world,
and namely the American military, they react accordingly; with extreme
trepidation and a healthy dose of fear.
Luckily, this initial prejudice dissipates as Clark proves that despite
their inability to control him, we, as a country and species, have nothing to
fear from him.
On the surface, Man of
Steel is a superhero action film…that is hidden within a greater
science-fiction epic. The film opens
with Kal-El’s birth on his home planet of Krypton – one of the most visually
stunning extraterrestrial environments I’ve ever seen. We quickly get into some action via the
menacing General Zod (Michael Shannon) and his cronies who start a civil war
over the future of their dying planet.
The action on Krypton is face-meltingly gorgeous through and through, and
the same goes for the Earth-bound majority of the film. Snyder very rarely dips into the slow-motion
well that he mined gloriously for 300,
Watchmen, Sucker Punch, and to a
degree Legends of the Guardians. Fist-fights (of which there are numerous)
tend to be a little close to the camera but comprehensible for the most part –
which is what really matters. Any scene
where Kryptonians collide will leave your jaw on the floor; a showdown between
two of Zod’s soldiers and Clark in the middle of Smallville is hands-down one
of the coolest fight scenes I’ve ever seen in any superhero film…or action film
in general. Snyder does a fantastic job
of making these super-powered people feel as real as possible; when Clark gets
punched across the town by Faora it looks and feels real.
While all of the action scenes are glorious to behold,
within them lives my only real issue with the film - the wanton destruction
that permeates every conflict between Clark and Zod’s minions. I’m no Superman expert, clearly, but to me it
seems that Clark doesn’t even really attempt to steer destruction and carnage
away from Smallville and/or Metropolis.
A major battle occurs in each, with Clark actually bringing the fight himself to Smallville. Gas stations explode, an IHOP gets demolished,
and dozens of cars are blown up with seemingly no remorse. In the third act finale, what seems to be a
large portion of Metropolis is completely and utterly demolished. Granted, a lot of this isn’t Clark’s fault,
but a climactic fight between him and Zod causes entire skyscrapers to collapse…and
Supes doesn’t even flinch. All I can
hope is that this issue is brought up and dealt with in the sequel; perhaps
Clark accepts responsibility and helps rebuild the city. Maybe Lex Luthor steps up (there are myriad references
to the super-villain throughout the film) and gets wealthy from
rebuilding. I just don’t hope that it
gets ignored in future installments.
Much ado is being made about the film’s final moments. I won’t spoil what exactly happens, but Clark
makes a decision that is incredibly polarizing.
Personally, I had no issue at all with what transpired; it may go
against one of the major tenants of the character, but I feel like there was no
other option for Clark. What transpires
can allow for the already-green-lit sequel to explore the ramifications of his
decision and how it affects him as a person.
The film ultimately hinges upon the relationships within;
Clark and Lois, Clark and the Kents, Kal and Jor-El, and even Zod and Jor-El. While each existed on different levels, for
the most part they worked. A lot of
emotional weight is placed upon the Clark/Kents relationship, with the bond
between Clark and his father, Jonathan taking center stage. A key moment in the film hinges entirely upon
this bond and I felt it worked incredibly well.
It doesn’t and won’t work for everyone, but I felt that the handful of
flashbacks to Clark’s childhood did a fantastic job of building this
relationship and the values that Jonathan tried to impart upon his son. Clark and Lois are together for a large part
of the film and I felt their chemistry immediately. Much like in Captain America, by the time the two leads kiss it feels incredibly
earned and meaningful.
As with most action and superhero films these days, many
comparisons can be drawn to previous films.
Several moments in Man of Steel
seem to come directly out of the The Dark
Knight – both feature an interrogation-room scene, have a villain demanding
something from the hero within 24 hours or bad stuff will happen, and both end with our hero doing something
questionable for the greater good. There
were also echoes of The Avengers (an
alien-invasion scenario in the third act) and Transformers: Dark of the Moon (the villains attempting to
essentially make our world theirs).
Despite these immediate comparisons (of which some are
knowingly thin), I think the aspect I enjoyed the most is the originality of
its structure. Something like 2009’s Star Trek flows quite linearly; we open
with an action sequence (as does Man of
Steel) and from there were bounce from Kirk to Spock and back as they each
grow up on their own planets. Man of Steel jumps right into Clark as
an adult. As I mentioned before, current
events are inter-spliced with flashbacks to Clark’s childhood, with them
complimenting each other quite well. I’m
sure you could edit the film to play out linearly, but this non-linear
narrative adds just a little uniqueness to a film that is ultimately a loud,
pretty, bombastic action film.
It would seem that Man
of Steel is a love-it-or-hate-it film…I fall into the “love” category. It has its flaws, yes, but it is incredibly
entertaining, with some outstanding action sequences that left my jaw on the
floor. The same can be said about the
stunning visual effects that allow these super-human beings to feel grounded in
our reality. Warner Bros. and DC seem to
be wholly embracing the dark/somber tone that The Dark Knight trilogy delivered to us, and while it may not
exactly fit every character in their pantheon, it suits this film well enough
and will hopefully continue on to the inevitable Justice League film.
Man of Steel a
jaw-droppingly gorgeous summer blockbuster with some real emotion and heart.
The Bearded Bullet
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