Movie Review #70: Man of Steel (2013)

I have to say, this is the only movie I know of that has a fight take place inside of an Ihop. What other movie can hold the title of "Coolest Fight in an Ihop." I would like to see a Teen Choice Award for that!

I am finally reviewing Man of Steel, the one summer blockbuster I was excited to see but didn't end up seeing on the big screen. I decided to put of seeing this because I was dismayed by the critics (for a first) and decided to wait and rent it. And now that it has made itself available to the screens of the general public, I finally got to see the blockbuster with the most mixed reviews.

And how was it? For once the critics were right. This really is a mixed bag. Don't get me wrong, I ended up really liking the movie, but as a movie reviewer, there are problems with it and a few personal issues I had with it that I couldn't ignore.

When the trailer was first released it showed a quieter, more emotional side to our protagonist with flashbacks to him as a child.
That would have been a very interesting take on Superman because the previous films didn't really focus on his life trying to fit in. It also would have been a different direction for Zack Snyder, who's filmography consists of only films that are style-over-substance. But the later trailers ended up being more accurate to the end product : A special effects heavy, relentless disaster movie. And I am fine with that to an extent. The entire second half of the movie is full-on armageddon. There is so much belligerent carnage, mayhem and destruction in this movie that the finales to The Avengers and Transformers: Dark of the Moon combined look like mere child's play compared to this! And while it could have been 10-15 minutes shorter, it was so cool! The visual effects were unlike anything I had ever seen in a comic book movie before. The sheer grandness of the action felt larger than life. It really was super.

Some of the biggest complaints with Superman Returns is that there was too much emotion and not enough action and the biggest complaints with Man of Steel is that there wasn't enough emotion and too much action. Is there no middle ground with Superman movies?
But I do have to agree with those statements. The movie did lack the emotion and drama that made Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy so memorable. The only scene that I honestly felt a bit of emotion in was when Pa Kent died. But even that wasn't much.

The movie also lacked the lighthearted, hopeful tone and humor of the lore and the five previous films. Even Superman Returns, which for the most part is a very somber movie, had more lighthearted, uplifting, feel-good moments than Man of Steel. There are very few jokes in the film and when a moment of humor appears, it takes you out of the moment for a second.

Henry Cavil was pretty good as Superman. He was pretty likable and definitely has the looks and physique for the role. Amy Adams of course was great as Lois Lane. It will be a rare day when I say that Amy Adams is the weak link in the cast of a movie. I really enjoyed the addition of Russell Crowe as Jor-El. The scenes of him on Krypton were great. He also appears in a spirit form of sorts and gives advice and help to both Lois and Kal. He also had a couple good scenes with Michael Shannon as Zod. Which is one of the parts of the film that I think could have been better.

General Zod is one of the most famous villains in all of comic book lore but Michael Shannon's performance as him wasn't as memorable as it could have been or how I wanted it to be. I'm not saying Michael Shannon is a bad actor. Far from it! It just came off as a bit too cold and stoic for me. Although he does have a couple very entertaining freak out moments. I also enjoyed the scene where his message to the world was broadcasted over every television. It kind of reminded me of the scenes in Iron Man 3 when the Mandarin hijacked the airwaves. The way the message was delivered seemed like something a real terrorist would do. It felt gritty, creepy, invasive, wrong and I loved it.

Without spoiling anything, The way the final battle ended shocked me. Even though it probably infuriated some fans, I appreciated the direction the film went in. It cemented the fact that this version of Superman no longer fights for truth, justice and the American way. Surprising, but very effective.

Final Report:  Man of Steel lacks emotion and humor, but the grand spectacle of the action sequences and visual effects are more than enough eye candy to feast upon. And for me, that is a good enough for me to add it to my movie collection.