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Okay, fine. There was a Superman reboot in the 2006: Superman Returns. However, while it scored average reviews and earned mixed critical reception, the film appears to be nearly forgotten now (I’ll note that this may be because I never saw it). As such, Hollywood, not wanting to be accused letting a viable IP rest peacefully for more than a moment, rebooted the franchise, entrusting its creation to Zack Snyder of 300 and Watchmen fame. The result was Man of Steel, a dark, modern rendition of Superman’s origin and call to action. Man of Steel lept (in a single bound) to theatres on June 14, and I had to check it out.
I liked Man of Steel. I liked it a lot. There’s a lot of stuff about this movie that is flat out bad, but it also contains greatness worthy of the caped crusader who literally defined the term “superhero.”
SPOILERS. AHEAD.
Let’s start with the bad. Man of Steel contains some groan-worthy writing. Near the end of the film, Supes saves Lois for at least the fourth time and they finally smooch. Afterwards, Lois remarks “You know, they say it all goes downhill after the first kiss,” to which Superman responds “I’m pretty sure that only counts when you’re kissing a human.” …WHY? What do you mean things go downhill YOU JUST KISSED SUPERMAN ERGH. I realize this was an attempt at humor, but please don’t because it could not have sounded more forced and weird. This one scene possesses the worst of many “meh” lines throughout the movie, all of which fall flat due to either a lack of context or just poor writing. I mean Clark yells monosyllabically five or so times during the movie. Come on. Also, the film was oddly paced. It started with a lot of things going on at once and ended full-on schizophrenic. This isn’t surprising because Snyder’s Watchmen had a similar problem; there was simply too much to cover in the length of a film. To Man of Steel‘s credit, the speed only felt jarring after Kal-El meets Zod, but that’s also half the movie… so yeah, not good. A side effect of this is that we don’t get the chance to become invested in important characters like Lois, Perry White (or any of the Planet staff), or the military contacts Clark encounters along the way. Finally, Man of Steel’s treatment of female characters was pretty atrocious. Lois Lane was relegated to screaming until Superman saves her, and I know that Amy Adams can do more than that. There was a female officer whose sole purpose was to act dumb to illicit exposition until the end where she giggles and comments that “…[Superman]‘s hot.” Great job. My favorite character was Zod’s brash, competent, and kick-ass commander, Faora-Ul, who beat the ever-loving crap out of a lot of people, but even she “had to be” rescued by a man at one point. When you see the mediocre reviews of this movie, these are the problems about which they’re talking. This is what will bug you if you see it. But there’s a lot on the flip side of the coin.
The casting in this movie is just amazing. Almost every minor character is a familiar face, including Lawrence Fishburne (as Perry White), Harry Lennix, Christopher Meloni, and Richard Schiff (who is great to see outside of The West Wing). Even though you spend little time with these characters, they do a good job with the time they’re given (though I get the feeling they signed on to cash in on the superhero craze). I can’t stress how cool I thought Antje Traue was as Faora-Ul. What a badass. The Kent family is SO GOOD from Costner’s supportive yet fearful Johnathan, to Diane Lane’s loving Martha, to the young actors that played youthful Clarks, struggling with their identity. I’ll admit to tearing up (something I’ve literally never done before) watching Clark struggle with his fear of his own powers and receive his parents’ love in spite of his differences. Kal-El’s Kryptonian family was impressive as well; Superman’s mother, Lara, is only in the movie a short time, but Russel Crowe’s Jor-El was absolutely marvelous with both his stoicism in life and badass holographic door manipulation in death. Though Lois did little throughout the movie (other than be rescued), Amy Adams works well with the time she has, showing (if little else) Lois’s dedication to journalism. Michael Shannon portrayed Zod’s cold and self-righteous insanity with aplomb, creating an awesome adversary for Superman. Last but not least, there’s Henry Cavill’s Superman. His representation of the eternal good guy carries the same innocence, compassion, and morality that defines Superman, even while he confronts doubts and inner demons in a way he never has before. Together this cast makes Superman believable, making him more enjoyable than ever.
It’s clear that Zack Snyder, David Goyer (who wrote the screenplay), and Christopher Nolan (WHO ALSO WROTE SOME OF THIS) are huge Superman fans because Man of Steel is comprehensively detailed. They flawlessly executed Superman’s origin story from Krypton to Smallville; alterations to the story were neither forced nor over-the-top, yet created some novelty in a 70+ year old tale. I also appreciated their fidelity to canon Superman concepts such as the Phantom Zone and (though it went unnamed) the Fortress of Solitude. Yet as cool as these obvious references were, the best parts of this movie’s story were even smaller shoutouts to Superman lore. When a young Clark Kent saves a bus-full of classmates from drowning, a shocked mother mentions that “Lana saw it,” calling out Lana Lang, Clark’s high school sweetheart and a star of Smallville. LexCorp trucks and signs dot the world of Man of Steel, foreshadowing Superman’s arch-nemesis who waits in the world for a sequel to put the spotlight on him. The Kents own a series of dogs that bring Krypto, the Super Dog, to mind (who is too silly to be in this series). When Superman stares into the one-way mirror to speak with his military “captors,” his shadowed and reversed reflection appeared so similar to Bizarro that I gasped aloud. Even the Kryptonian “Codex” that is embedded within Kal-El is a reference to the Shrunken City of Kandor storyline (except it’s lodged in Superman’s cells). I love this kind of dedication to the source material, and Man of Steel is impressive in the breadth of its allusions.
Yet the best part, and by best I mean absolutely phenomenal, of Man of Steel is the action. You may say “Sure, of course. It’s a superhero movie. That’s all it is.” No. You’ve seen most action movies. You’ve seen the typical comic book combat. And it is nothing compared to the scale and spectacle of Man of Steel. Superman is the most powerful superhero in the DC (or any) universe. You can feel that incredible might in every punch and leap he makes throughout the movie. The Kryptonians, Kal-El included, fight like Earth is their sandbox and that immense power is palpable in the dazzling sights and theater-shaking sounds of Man of Steel. Seriously, I can’t actually describe it; you have to see it. It’s worth the price of admission for this alone. I know I risk overhyping this, but it was awesome enough to make the movie’s flaws more than worthwhile. There are other great elements of the presentation, such as the spherical, metallic theme of the Kryptonian technology, but the fights take the Kryptonite. Even when the writing or pacing sours, the concussive blows and city-melting eye lasers carry the movie to heights that many superhero films cannot reach.
Certainly Man of Steel has problems. No, this movie won’t receive critical acclaim or win any awards. However, few other movies capture the spirit and strength of their titular heroes like Man of Steel. This is a movie that makes me like Superman, and that’s a feat worth commending. Do not miss out on seeing Earth’s greatest hero while he still is flying through movie screens. You won’t regret it.
You can read this review and many more at the N3rd Dimension.
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