This is my first ever film review, so I apologize beforehand if I sound a bit amateurish while writing this post.
Well, it's finally here. My very first film review. I decided to choose Man of Steel as my first review, for a couple of reasons. The first, is that I've never truly been a big fan of Superman. I always felt that he wasn't as cool as Batman, and that the original films were kind of goofy in terms of special effects and acting (I like them though). Second, is that this is the film I've seen most recently, as I just saw it on Friday. Thirdly, because I want to express my opinion on what has surprisingly become a highly controversial movie. This film, like The Dark Knight Rises before it, has started a major war between fans and critics about how to tell the story of this famous American superhero.
Plot: (Borrowed from Wikipedia)
The planet Krypton faces imminent destruction due to its unstable core, the result of years of depleting Krypton's natural resources. The ruling council is deposed by the planet's military commander General Zod and his followers during a military coup. Scientist Jor-El and his wife Lara launch their newborn son Kal-El on a spacecraft to Earth after infusing his cells with a genetic codex of the entire Kryptonian race. After Zod murders Jor-El, he and his followers are captured and banished to the Phantom Zone. However, Krypton explodes some time afterwards, freeing them.
Kal-El's ship lands in a small Kansas town. He is raised as the adoptive son of Jonathan and Martha Kent, who name him Clark. Clark's Kryptonian physiology affords him superhuman abilities on Earth, which initially cause him confusion and ostracism, but he gradually learns to harness his powers to help others. Jonathan reveals to a teenage Clark that he is an alien and advises him not to use his powers publicly, fearing that society will reject him. After Jonathan's death, an adult Clark spends several years living a nomadic lifestyle, working different jobs under false identities, while saving people in secret as well as struggling to cope with the loss of his adoptive father. He eventually infiltrates a U.S. military investigation of a Kryptonian scout spaceship in the Arctic. Clark enters the alien ship, and it allows him to communicate with the preserved consciousness of Jor-El in the form of a hologram. Jor-El reveals Clark's origins and the extinction of his race, and tells Clark that he was sent to Earth to bring hope to mankind. Lois Lane, a journalist from the Daily Planet who was sent to write a story on the discovery, sneaks inside the ship while following Clark and is rescued by him when she is injured. Lois's editor, Perry White, rejects her story of a "superhuman" rescuer, so she traces Clark back to Kansas with the intention of writing an exposé. After hearing his story, she decides not to reveal his secret.
Meanwhile, Zod and his crew seek out other worlds that the Kryptonian race colonized. However, the colonies did not survive long after Krypton's destruction. They eventually pick up a Kryptonian distress signal sent from the ship Clark discovered on Earth. Zod arrives and demands the humans surrender Kal-El, whom he believes has the codex, or else Earth will be destroyed. Clark agrees, and the military hand him and Lois over to Zod's second-in-command, Faora, at Zod's request. Zod reveals that he intends to use a terraforming "world engine" to transform Earth into a new Krypton and use the codex to repopulate the planet with genetically-engineered Kryptonians. This transformation will result in the destruction of mankind. After Clark and Lois escape Zod's ship with Jor-El's help, Clark defeats Faora and Nam-Ek, convincing the military that he is an ally. Zod deploys the world engine and initiates the process in Metropolis and over the Indian Ocean.
Clark, now being called "Superman", destroys the world engine, while the military uses the spacecraft that brought him to Earth in an aerial strike on Zod's ship over Metropolis, sending Zod's forces back into the Phantom Zone. Superman destroys the ship which carries the Genesis Chamber, the pivotal technology to restore the Kryptonian race with the codex. Only Zod remains, who engages Superman in a destructive battle across Metropolis. When Zod attempts to murder cornered civilians in revenge for his defeat, Superman is forced to kill him. Some time later, Superman continues to try to earn the U.S. government's trust, though evading their efforts to uncover his secret identity. To create an alias that gives him access to dangerous situations without arousing suspicion, Clark takes a job as a reporter at the Daily Planet.
What's Good?: The one character I felt that I sympathized with the most in this movie is General Zod. While I don't find Michael Shannon's portrayal of Zod as intimidating as Terrence Stamp's portrayal, or as menacing as Liam Neeson's portrayal as Ra's Al Ghul, I felt a great deal of sympathy for what Zod was trying to accomplish. He was trying to do good, but for all the wrong reasons, much like Ra's in Batman Begins. Seeing the look in Zod's eyes as he held what was left in his hand was pretty depressing. He is only a villain by what role society has him playing. His was by far the best performance in the film.
I was also happy that they now gave Superman a reason for him not to kill. With Bruce Wayne, I only noticed the only reason he didn't kill was because of how disgusted Rachel was when he told her he was going to kill Joe Chill. I agree fully with Clark snapping Zod's neck in order to save what was left of Metropolis, seeing it as the only way for the fighting to end. After all, the two of them could fight forever until Earth is nothing but ashes. In fact, they probably would.
I feel that the story was adequately explained to me, being a newcomer to the story arc. Of course, there are some things that don't make sense, but I feel that the whole story of Krypton's destruction, Zod's backstory, and how Clark had to cope with being a freak among humans was told in an understandable and comprehensible manner (for me at least) .
Also, the inner Revenge of the Sith fan in me feels that I have to say the special effects are freaking impressive. Superman flying, the implosion of Krypton, and the complete fight between Zod and Superman was amazing. If you could combine that with the story of The Dark Knight, what a film this would be
What's Bad?: It's pretty clear that Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan took some pages from the George Lucas book of writing screenplays. The film is not the best written, and many things aren't explained well. But almost every performance, from Costner to Crowe, and Adams to Cavill, the acting in this movie is both bland and forgettable. No one but Shannon stands out in any way, as the film drags on with the poor performances all around.
The editing is almost like looking at a poorly put together photo album, as the flashbacks to Clark's childhood are back and forth a lot in this film. The chemistry between Clark and Lois is virtually non-existent, as the two never share one touching moment on screen and we're just supposed to believe that they're together because they end up together.
And while those are my two problems with the film, they are unfortunately big problems. And normally, two problems like this would sink the whole film for me. But here, I wasn't as offended by these problems as others were, because I was never a big fan of Superman to begin with.
Overall, I do like the film. I guess you could call it a guilty pleasure. I love Zod, I love the action and I love the story for, the most part.
Report Card:
Story: B
Acting: C-
Action: A
Themes: B
Musical Score: B+
Chemistry: D
Final Grade: B-
Recommendations?: If you're a huge fan of the comics or the original movies, I won't guarantee that you'll like the film much. But if you're interested, go see it. It should have a little something for everybody.
Is this film in my Top 50 Favorite Films?: Perhaps...
Leave a comment below telling me your opinions on the matter. I'm open to discussion.
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