Man of Steel

Having quite enjoyed "Superman Returns", I didn't quite understand at first why Warner Brothers went all reboot once again on Superman. When you look however at the financial success of the Dark Knight Trilogy under the direction of Christopher Nolan and the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it is obvious as to the reasons. While the realism in this film was noteworthy and the casting was very good, "Man of Steel" went a little overboard in terms of action. It also made some mistake that hurt comic book films. That is to be expected though from the director of "300": Zack Snyder.

One thing I liked about the script was that there were subtle references to past Superman films. For example, a line from Jor-El would sound just like something Marlon Brando would have spoken back in 1978. Another example is the character of Jonathon Kent telling Clark that he is here for a reason. I like the shot where Lara is in the foreground motionless and the huge destruction of Krypton is in the background. It was in at least one trailer and caught my eye. Clark Kent has been portrayed many times in the past as an outcast in Smallville but in this version, there is a much stronger tone of negativity. There is obvious bullying and name calling, much more so than in the Richard Donner film. Thankfully, it helps the overall story. On another note, the scene with the tornado has quite a noticable plot hole that becomes annoying upon multiple viewings. Jonathon could have taken care of Martha while Clark saves the family dog. I understand that Jonathon knew the world wasn't ready for what Clark could do but Clark could have easily saved the dog and made it to safety without revealing his abilities. I like the plot point when Perry White indicates to Lois that he believes her. White, Clark and Lois all agree that the world is not ready for Superman. What truly sets this film apart other that the sense of realism for the new millennium is that Lois knows who Superman is almost from the get-go. The great thing is that we the audience can accept this as well as the romance between Clark and Lois. Lois loves Clark for his morals instead of his powers. She has discovered his back-story and has sympathy for him also. Lois becomes more proactive in this story than ever before and after seeing the movie more than once, I am okay with that. Other more devoted fans may have trouble with these alterations but I am willing to accept change when it doesn't take away from the original spirit of the lexicon. The message General Zod sends to earth is very well created in that it is quite frightening, reminding us of terrorism to some extent. I really like the scene in the interrogation room after Superman surrenders himself. Superman verbally and physically proves to those behind the one-way mirror that he can't be held captive or in the dark. He is there on his own accord. It isn't until later that they finally see him as an ally. After the intense climatic battle, a little too big in scale for my taste by the way, Superman is distraught because of how it ended and this was quite dramatic. When I first saw the movie, I thought that he had sacrificed some human lives in this film's climatic highpoint. If you watch closely though, Superman did not but then Snyder should have made this more obvious. Having Superman win in such a way bothered hard-core fans and I understand but I reiterate my stance that Superman has to be updated. Besides, it's not like Clark was proud of what he did. Zod gave him no choice. Did anyone else see the Lexcorp logo during the fight? Also, the satellite that Zod and Superman destroy during their fight has a Wayne Enterprizes logo. This was early evidence that "Man of Steel" was meant to kick off the Justice League in the same way that "Iron Man" begun the Avengers. It seems Warner Brothers and DC want the success that comes from having their own cinematic shared universe and I guess I don't blame them.

The casting is my favorite element of "Man of Steel". I first and last saw Henry Cavill in "The Count of Monte Cristo" as a young actor. In between both films, he was almost cast as some very iconic characters. He was up for the role of Superman before in the aforementioned "Superman Returns" but I like him better in this version personally. He was almost James Bond in "Casino Royale" and was considered for both Cedric Diggory and Edward Cullen. Robert Patterson got both roles and while Cavill would have been much better as Cedric, I am so glad that he did not find himself in the laughable "Twilight" saga. Cavill pulls off Superman's posture and elocution very well, as did Christopher Reeve. He also does really well in portraying Clark Kent as a man on the run. Traditionally, the role of Superman has been given to an unknown actor and even though Cavill has been in quite a few movies previous to this, I would say he was unknown to much of the general public. I can't believe the filmmakers considered using Kristen Stewart as Lois Lane. That would have been one of the worst things to happen to the Superman universe. Multiple Oscar nominee Amy Adams modernizes Lois Lane in the same way that Margot Kidder did for the 1970's. Lois retains her famous qualities but in a realistic sense. She is a credible reporter. Oscar nominee Viggo Mortensen was considered to play Zod and that would have been neat to see but it is obvious that Michael Shannon had the persona necessary for the character. Shannon did find it intimidating to portray a character last performed by Terrance Stamp but he did not let that get to him and he came out a success in the end. The same can be said for Oscar-winner Russell Crowe. In order to follow in the footsteps of Marlon Brando, you need another big name but gifted actor and Crowe fits that description. His sense of wisdom and paternal love as Jor-El is genuine. Seeing Kevin Costner next to a cornfield brought a smile to my face. He took this role very seriously and as a result, Jonathon Kent is the great father figure that he always has been in the Superman universe. Laurence Fishburne is the first African American to play Perry White in a live action Superman film. This was yet another great choice for the character. You believe the seriousness and hard-working nature of the character. This is not the first comic book movie that Fishburne has been a part of though. Harry Lennix was in the last two Matrix movies with Fishburne and Lennix also did very well in creating an authentic character.

Warner Brothers saw how well the Christopher Nolan Batman franchise was doing and wanted the same success with another superhero they had the film rights to. Nolan and others from that film series have their names all over "Man of Steel". Other directors being considered for this reboot were Robert Zemeckis, Ben Affleck and Tony Scott. Any of those options would have been cool in my book. This was my first Zack Snyder film and I am glad to hear that he likes "Superman Returns". Snyder did a good job in creating yet another modernization for Superman but the amount of destruction that happened in this film was overwhelming. If Superman is "able to leap tall buildings in a single bound", why in this movie is he crashing through and thereby destroying every single one in Metropolis? Did they expect me to believe that this realistic portrayal of this iconic city will be complete rebuilt overnight for the events of "Batman v Superman"? In terms of cinematography, this show has a lot of quick zooms. They worked very well during the Krypton scenes but they got old as quick zooms were used over and over. The use of lens flare was just as distracting as in the first two "Star Trek" films from J.J. Abrams. The use of product placement for the Smallville scene got annoying also. I wish "Man of Steel" had been filmed in Alberta as was originally planned ("Superman" was also filmed here in my home province by the way). The movie was partially filmed in Canada so that is good. When I heard that Hans Zimmer was the composer for this film, I knew that we were going to get a score similar to the Dark Knight Trilogy in that it is hard to sing or hum the theme. Thanks to John Williams' iconic score, the character of Superman to me needs an identifiable and powerful theme music, no matter who composes it. Zimmer's work on "Man of Steel" isn't bad but it just did not stand out as much as I was hoping.

Other Superman films have a sense of optimism and cheerfulness that "Man of Steel" doesn't have. There was also too much destruction that spoiled the realism. You get some humor in this film but the sense of drama and action overshadow the humor. The movie is good enough that the goals of the studio have been met in my opinion and the film is enjoyable to watch more than once. The casting is superb and sense of realism is well handled. Superman has been brought into the new century and did a pretty good job of kicking off the DC Extended Universe. Even though Oscar-winning filmmaker Ben Affleck didn't get the chance to make "Man of Steel", he became involved in the next film in a much more visable way. I was willing to give him a chance because the public ended up being wrong about Michael Keaton, Tim Burton and Heath Ledger. Affleck thankfully didn't mess things up but Snyder went a little too far. Some films in the DCEU have also not lived up to "Man of Steel" but others have.

4 Stars