Friday, June 14, 2013

Man of Steel

Man of Steel is Warner Bros.’ $225 million dark and morose take on Superman. This follows the same studio’s flashy and upbeat reimagining of Superman just seven years ago. Bryan Singer’s film, Superman Returns, nearly doubled its profit in worldwide earnings, but Warner Bros. is having another go at it. The result? A brooding reinterpretation of one of the most cinematically lucrative superheroes in history. Arguing if Man of Steel is good is one thing (I believe it is), arguing if it’s necessary is another.

Man of Steel begins with a dizzying and overly caffeinated sequence on the planet Krypton. Jor-El (Russell Crowe) assists his wife, Lara, as she gives birth to their son, Kal-El. Moments later, General Zod (Michael Shannon) stages a military coup with plans to take Krypton over and salvage what appears to be a dying planet. As this introductory sequence comes to a close, Zod and Jor-El have it out, in which Jor-El rather pointlessly tells Zod that he has just beamed Kal-El to a new planet. (Seriously, the fact that Jor-El willingly offers up this very important piece of information is rather baffling.)

So, right off the bat, Man of Steel is heavy in exposition, setting up the elaborate cat-and-mouse revenge plot that will consume the third act of the film.

We meet Kal-El/Superman/Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) years later as a loner who constantly switches identities to keep himself hidden. In one scene, he’s a fisherman who saves a dozen workers from a burning oil rig. Then he’s a bus boy defending a waitress’ honor. Then he’s an errand boy for scientists on an Arctic island. And then… oh hell, forget it. Look, Man of Steel makes painstaking efforts to laboriously establish its title character. Through heroic deeds both past and present, we get to know who Superman is. His sense of commitment, honor, loyalty, and so on. After 30 minutes or so of this, we basically learn that Superman is a nice guy who doesn’t want to do the world any harm. But you already knew that.

General Zod comes back in the mix and demands that Earth give Superman up. If they don’t, Zod will destroy the planet. (Zod communes this point by taking over every radio, television and cell phone frequency on the entire planet, something many villains in movies of this kind seem to be able to do.)

Superman turns himself in, Zod broods endlessly, fight, action sequence, fight. The genuinely splendid supporting cast (Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Laurence Fishburne as Lane’s editor, Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as Mr. and Mrs. Kent) help move things along, and Man of Steel ends with an appropriately lengthy action sequence that should appease most any genre fan.

The film’s director, Zack Snyder, likes to capture the dark sides of human nature. Or at least he likes to shoot them that way. Man of Steel feels like it was shot during a ceaselessly overcast day. Despite the sun forcing many a lens flare onto the camera, the characters are painted in a thick gray palette that makes the viewer feel the atmosphere. Or… something. I’m not going to use this space to bash the lot of Snyder’s filmography; it’s best to say that I’m simply not a fan of his work. (I enjoyed his remake of Dawn of the Dead, but that’s it.) Thankfully, with Man of Steel, Snyder has taken a note or two from his producer, Christopher Nolan, and toned down the pulpiness of Superman and delivered something more sinister.

But as much as I’d like to report something new, Man of Steel amounts to a product of the formula we all know too well. Yes, Man of Steel has a moody hero who says little; yes, there is a fiery damsel in distress for our hero to care for; yes, there is a villain who pointlessly reveals too much; yes, there is a minute challenge that nearly hinders the big concluding victory; yes, there is a final showdown between hero and villain long after the action should be done. I could go on.

Man of Steel is recycled, but is that the film’s fault? Do I fault the by-product of the formula, or take issue with the formula itself? Perhaps it’s about time I accept that mechanical superhero action movies are going to outlive me. They’ll be around forever, hoping to profit off the cookie cutter mold. Fine. But is the idea of a little variety out of the realm of possibility? B- 

36 comments:

  1. Haha! I like your review. I imagine you sitting down in front of your computer, maybe yawning a bit, saying to yourself "Lets do this!" not because you want to but because you have to. :D

    I understand that but I have said often enough. If Nolan isn't directing, all I expect from a superhero movie is to entertain me. I don't try to make much sense of it. It's better that way. Hopefully, Man of Steel will deliver to those expectations.(Plus, Amy Adams is in it. So I have to see it :))

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    1. Jesus man, you know me too well. That's about exactly how it went down. Though I thought of my kicker during the final minutes of the movie, and just went in and filled in the rest later.

      I think the movie will entertain you. But I'm wondering at what point do we get a smart superhero movie under 2 hours?

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  2. I saw this at a midnight screening last night (after being up for 24 hours for school finals among other things) and wound up falling asleep twice during the film. I'll need another go to really formulate an opinion, but I did manage to salvage a viewing of something like 2/3 or something. What can I recall from it:
    Amy Adams = hot and great as always.
    Michael Shannon = having a great time being an over the top baddy and doing it rather well.
    Russell Crowe = playing Russell Crowe.
    Henry Cavill = not bad, totally ripped, but a solid performance for someone who has to play someone who has no weaknesses.
    Kevin Costner and Diane Lane = scene stealing team.

    So I'd agree with your score based on what I remember seeing.

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    1. I pretty much agree with everything you said. I hope you find that your second viewing is money well spent. My ears need a break. Ha. Movie was LOUD.

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  3. I'm going to see this film this weekend (along w/ Before Midnight) though I admit, I am worried if it will live up to expectations as I am in the minority over the fact that I really liked Superman Returns.

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    1. I actually dig aspects of Superman Returns as well. I didn't think it was nearly as bad as people thought. Hope you like this one. Interested to hear your thoughts.

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  4. I like your review but I don't understand why Superman has to be *this* sinister and serious. It's a fun character, and I personally hated all the Nolan influences in it. There was literally nothing happy about this film. And the final battle scenes just wouldn't end!
    I really loved Diane Lane in it.

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    1. I agree that the movie was dark as fuck. Way darker than Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. I mean it was literally dark, you know? Weird.

      Battle scenes were way too long. Way too long.

      I love D Lane. Love her.

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  5. Man you killed my hype hahahaha

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    1. Ha, well, a B- really isn't bad. It means it's worth your time (and I suppose your money), but you're likely not to think much about it after. Just my opinion though.

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  6. Good review. Had a unique perspective to it.

    Also, is this the first time Shannon has been in studio fare like this?I feel like he has been exclusively in indie fare fr the most part

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    1. Thanks man. I was wondering the same thing about Shannon. This is probably his biggest role in a big movie, but he's had parts in Pearl Harbor, Bad Boys II, Jonah Hex, and a great part in World Trade Center. Love that guy.

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  7. wow, to hear it's formulaic is not very appealing. but i do like a good origin story, and since i don't know superman's background very well, maybe i'll like this.

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    1. I really do hope you like it. At least it tries to be different, you know? I give it credit for that.

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  8. Remember when Superman was fun? Now he just is depressing. A OK action movie, but not the entertainment we are looking for. Did anyone else wince when every punch thrown resulted in a 9/11 type building collapse?

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    1. I do remember when he was fun, sadly... no more. I didn't get a chance to mention it in my review, but I'm frankly tired of movies of this kind so blatantly using 9/11 to garner sympathy from the audience. The falling buildings, the ash-cover pedestrians. Enough.

      Thanks for the comment, Richard!

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    2. I don't remember when he was fun, having not seen any iterations prior Brandon Routh's. I don't agree with the 9/11 bit at all. The twins fell down vertically--buildings in Man of Steel fall like dominoes. Buildings blowing up from an alien invasion and the resulting ash-covered pedestrians is the most common thing that happens during war-like battles. I thought the city destruction was pretty natural, all-things-Superman considered.

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    3. Ahh, that's arguing semantics, I feel. To me, doesn't matter how the buildings feel in Man of Steel. When I see tall buildings in a NYC-esque city fall down, rubble everywhere, ash-covered pedestrians aimlessly gliding through the streets, I think of 9/11. The producers know that.

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  9. I was surprised that such a well known character was given so much exposition. I was bored before the film even really got going. That boredom didn't subside when the city destroying came either.

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    1. Agree all the way. This movie (and most all modern superhero movies) could've been 30 minutes shorter if it cut out some exposition. Final action sequence could've been cut in half too.

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  10. I do like how even handed your review is here Alex, I'm not nearly as accepting in how I saw it. Although there are legitimately solid moments throughout, MoS seems like a skeleton of a more realized film hiding behind a desaturated color pallette, eye popping CG and thin and borderline stereotypical thematic parallels to the Batman films. They wanted to make a Superman movie for people who like The dark Knight instead of doing what The Dark Knight did well, create a new audience for Batman. Director Snyder did his best Nolan impression throughout and showed us that he is still in fact, Zack Snyder. If a sequel is on the way, I sure hope it has some fun with itself instead of being a brooding, maudlin mess that misses the entire point and appeal of Superman.

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    1. Yeah, I pretty much agree with everything you said here. It was a somewhat worthy effort, but a lasting wash all the same. Can't say it has sat well with me in the days since seeing it.

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  11. Great review man. I agree with everything you said, except I'd give it a B. This wasn't a fresh take on Superman, but it wasn't a bad film. If they're sticking to the formula, I hope Lex Luthor shows up in the sequel. Still, I'd love to be surprised in the next one.

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    1. Thanks dude. I'd be curious to see Luthor pop up in the next one. Also, seeing as how we agree on this film, were you at all put off by the blatant 9/11 references? I'm getting really tired of seeing that in blockbuster movies.

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    2. Luthor pretty much has to be involved in the next one. No other reason to set it up with a LEXCORP truck being thrown at Superman in the middle of the city fight scene.

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    3. Jesus, so you like... really paid attention during this.

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    4. I wasn't put off by those references, but the film didn't need them. I didn't notice the LEXCORP truck either, but my stepdad mentioned it afterwards.

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    5. That's a good way to put it: agree or disagree about the harshness of the references, they were definitely unneeded.

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  12. Just didn't really dig it myself. On the script side of things, everything seemed wrong. Dialogue. The flow. The structure. Oh those flashbacks. Between the flashbacks and the way Clark/Superman floated around from scene to scene it just didn't feel coherent. And there was no momentum. It just didn't get going for me.

    Good review though! I still think this can be a good series.

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    1. You know, I really should wait a week or two before writing reviews for movies like this, mainly because, after that amount of time, I realize I'm probably never going to think about the movie again. Point is, yeah, I'm with you all the way. Totally indifferent toward this one.

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  13. Great review, I felt it was going through the motions, much like your thoughts. B- for me too. A lot was hard to massively fault, otherwise I would have given it a lower grade too!

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    1. Thanks man, cool we agree here. You know, as some time has passed, I'd actually say I like this a little less now. I literally haven't thought about it since seeing it.

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  14. So, its been what? 3 months and you've probably forgotten entirely about Man of Steel, I probably would have written a comment earlier if I hadn't been constantly distracted by all the other new updates on your site as to not look for this review. The things is, I have to disagree with some of your opinions. I was always so sick of how perfect they made Superman appear in movies, yet Man of Steel took it to a new level and humanized his character. The beginning I found was very significant: they made him relatable. By exploring his past I felt they managed to portray a weakness and struggle Superman doesn't usually have, redefining the character . I loved it, the cinematography was beautiful and I loved the soundtrack; I prefer when super hero movies are not flat with too many bright colours like the Avengers (not hating on it though) so this was right up my alley. I also liked it as I found Lois was not as big of a damsel in distress as she could have been and usually is- we immediately see her as adventurous when she enters the ship in the beginning of the film and at the end she takes on a huge role when willingly going aboard Zod's ship (you have to admit that's more than that chick in the latest Transformers movie, nor did she dominate like Pepper in the recent Iron Man). Sure you don't think about it, but when you do, don't you see the depth of each frame? The simple yet meaningful music and realistic appeal- unlike Black Widow suddenly being able to use an alien weapon that she just found in the Avengers - I felt Man of Steel gave us something more, something Thor, Green Lantern lacked or even Iron Man 2 and 3 lacked. I would really love to hear your thoughts on my opinion though, I'm a huge fan!

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    1. First off, when I saw the size of this comment, I was certain it was going to be troll hate. So thank you very much for leaving an extended and thoughtful opinion, without being critical or negative of mine. Sadly, that is all too rare in the blogging world.

      Now, you obviously dug the film more than I did, but I can honestly tell you that I didn't think it was that bad. A B- is far better than I'd give most movies of this kind. And I think all of your points are completely valid. I thought Adams gave an edge to her character that is absent in female, non villain characters in super hero movies. I also appreciated the film's dark color tone. I'm not really into flash either.

      But with all that noted, I can't say I've thought much about the movie since seeing it. I hope I made clear in my original review that the majority of my distaste for Man of Steel is because of my issues with the genre itself. You seem to be very well versed on films of this kind, which is really cool. They're just not really my thing. However, you can be damn sure I'll be checking out Snyder's Superman/Batman flick. Dude has major balls to attempt that.

      Thanks again for stopping by and leaving such a kind comment!

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  15. This film lacked Zack Snyder's trademark of slow-motion.

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    1. Don't think it would've helped it much though. I can't believe I gave this a B-. Have to go with a C-/D+ today.

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