Man of Steel - Review

Considering the state of cinema in this day and age, it's always important to keep one's expectations somewhat in line. That's not to say that, considering the rising prices of movie tickets, one shouldn't expect a quality flick whenever they go out to the movies... that's perfectly reasonable. That said, if you expect that every film you pay to see to be some kind of a masterpiece... well, you're most likely setting yourself up for disappointment.  I mention all of this because the hype surrounding Man of Steel has been pretty immense. I certainly don't envy the pressure Zack Snyder must have felt in bringing back Superman to cinematic world. I mean, this isn't some offbeat or semi-famous superhero... this is Superman we're talking here. He's arguably the most well-known, influential, and flat-out important character to ever grace the medium of comic books. That's not even the half of it though. For starters, there hasn't been a truly worthy Superman film to hit theaters since 1980's Superman II. Not to mention, DC Comics hasn't exactly been on fire with it's movie adaptations outside of Nolan's Batman films. The only other DC movie to recently grace the silver screen was 2011's Green Lantern... AND IT SUCKED! To top it all off... this movie also shoulders the responsibility for a jumping off point for a in-continuity DC movie universe AND a Justice League movie! That's a lot of responsibility to bare, and most filmmakers probably wouldn't be up to the task. So yeah... the hype on this film has been quite substantial, to say the least. I'm going to do my best to review the film strictly on it's own merits, but I'd be lying if I told you that my affinity for comics, appreciation for the Superman legacy, and the state of DC's movie division didn't, in some way, affect my opinion for this movie. With all that said, how does Man of Steel fare?

Man of Steel is a complete reboot of the Superman film series, with absolutely no continuity within the previous Christopher Reeve/Brandon Routh timeline. The film opens up on the planet Krypton, a distant world on the verge of total apocalypse after the depletion of it's natural resources. Knowing of the planet's imminent destruction, the high ranking scientist, Jor-El (Russell Crowe) and his wife Lara (Ayelet Zurer), send their newborn son, Kal-El, to planet Earth, to ensure his survival. Amidst all the chaos on Krypton is a conflict started by General Zod (Michael Shannon), a military leader who is bent on taking control of Krypton and preserving it's name, even by violent means. After murdering Jor-El, General Zod and his small band of soldiers, are banished to the Phantom Zone and sent into the depths of space. After Kal-El's ship leaves Krypton, he lands on Earth in the town of Smallville, Kansas. Here, he is taken in by Jonathan & Martha Kent (Kevin Costner & Diane Lane), local farmers who name him Clark and raise him as their son. As Clark grows older, he develops incredible powers including incredible strength, speed, and senses. Knowing that he is not of this world, Clark spends most of his youth as an outcast, discouraged by his parents from using his powers until the time is right. When Clark reaches adulthood (played by Henry Cavill) he becomes a drifter, travelling from town to town working random jobs, helping people when he can, but keeping a low profile. This all changes when he meets an ambitious reporter from the city of Metropolis named Lois Lane (Amy Adams) who earnestly seeks information about this mysterious man with incredible strength and a penchant for saving the day. Soon after meeting Lois, Clark learns of his origins and takes on the mantle of Superman, fighting for truth, justice, and the American way. Superman's destiny suddenly becomes more real, as General Zod and his army make their way to Earth with their sights set on planetary destruction...

I'm going to do something here that I don't normally do. Even though I mentioned that I was aiming to give this film a strictly objective review without any bias from previous Superman films/shows/comics/etc, I feel it's best to at least mention where I'm coming from, at least on the film end. The 1978 film, Superman: The Motion Picture directed by Richard Donner, was the first comic book film to receive a big budget studio treatment. While comic book movies had existed beforehand, this was the first property to receive such a lavish treatment, from it's large budget, recognizable cast, and groundbreaking special effects. Newcomer Christopher Reeve played the Man of Steel, and became synonymous with the role. Even today, he is generally considered by many (myself included) as the best actor to take up the cape. The film itself is, even to this day, by all accounts excellent, and still one of the best superhero films of all time. 1980's Superman II was a worthy follow-up, adding Kryptonian enemies into the mix along with some memorable action scenes. While some of the special effects haven't aged well and a few parts drag a bit, it's still a pretty great film on it's own right. 1983's Superman III took a more comedic direction, adding comedian Richard Pryor to the cast, while providing Superman with a new set of foes. The film was... pretty bad actually. While it had a few decent scenes, it never was as engaging as it's predecessors, plus the film's attempt at comedy completely backfired when it turned out the jokes were painfully unfunny (an unfortunate mark on Richard Pryor's near-flawless comedic record). As for Superman IV: The Quest for Peace... the less said about that disaster the better. After the abysmal failure of the fourth entry, the series remained in development hell for nearly 20 years, with filmmaker after filmmaker trying (and failing) to resurrect the franchise. Names ranging from Tim Burton, Kevin Smith, McG, JJ Abrams, and others all tried (whether as a director, writer, producer, or whatever) in to bring Superman back to the screen. It wasn't until 2006 when Superman made his return in... Superman Returns, a pseudo-sequel to the Richard Donner flicks directed by Bryan Singer. The film was... okay overall. It benefited from some strong direction, good special effects, and an enjoyable supporting cast. Unfortunately, it suffered from questionable story-choices, a miscast Lois & Clark, and too many similarities to it's predecessors. So yeah... despite a strong start, Superman has had kind of a bumpy ride on the screen the last few years.

So after all that, how's Man of Steel? Overall, it's pretty good... not perfect, but a damn good effort and, for the most part, a worthy entry to the iconic series. Is it the best in the series? No, not even close. The first two still loom pretty high, but this entry is miles better than parts III & IV (granted, that's not saying much), and does improve on some of the flaws from Superman Returns (that said, there were some things in that film that were done better than this). Still, while it's fairly unavoidable, it's unfair to judge a film based on how it compares to it's predecessors and/or source material. Judged strictly on it's own merits, it's well-made from a technical standpoint yet kind of flawed, though ambitious, from a narrative perspective. What works and what doesn't wasn't totally obvious right away, and I had to sit on this film for a bit to give a fair review. After a week of contemplating, I think I've got it.

I've mentioned before that, as much as I like Nolan's Batman films, I'm not exactly on board with the influence they've had on films today. It seems like pretty much every genre film these days has to be dark, drab, and edgy... and Man of Steel is no exception. Listen, I'm not saying that all Superman films have to be lighthearted and campy, or that there haven't been darker themed stories in previous Superman comics... it's just that it seemed like whoever was responsible for this film (whether it be Zack Snyder, Christopher Nolan, David Goyer, or whoever) tried to combine darker Batman-like themes while still trying to incorporate Superman's uplifting themes of hope, justice, patriotism, etc. The end result is... kind of messy and unfocused. Most of the film is so somber, drab, and melancholy, that it's attempt to portray tones of heroism and hope often fail to connect. That's not to say that there aren't certain elements of the story or individual scenes that don't work. The flashback scenes of Clark's upbringing in Smallville are pretty good, even if they do contain a few cliche'd or overdone tropes. I also really dug the opening set on Krypton, which arguably contained the film's most memorable scenes. At times, the story works, but as an overall narrative... it's kind of disappointing.

For all of the film's flaws, the strong cast helps to elevate it. Henry Cavill makes a strong impression as the new Superman, showing some promising dramatic ability and holding his own in the action scenes. Because of the film's somber tone, he spends most of the movie in a depressed or angry state, and doesn't really give him the chance to truly explore his character's personality. Michael Shannon pretty much owns his scenes as General Zod in a memorable scenery-chewing performance. Shannon has always been an underrated character actor, and I'm hoping his role as Zod will lead to bigger and better parts. Russell Crowe turned out to be a good choice as Jor-El, giving an enjoyable portrayal of Kal-El's Kryptonian father, and helping to forget his bland performance in Les Miserables. Two of the stand-outs were Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as Martha & Jonathan Kent (Clark's Adoptive Parents), making the best of their relatively small parts with some of the film's standout scenes. The only actor who comes up a little short would have to be Amy Adams as Lois Lane. Now don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against Amy Adams, and she generally does a good job here as Lane, but her character is one of the film's most underdeveloped, and as a result Adams has a hard time making any real impression. Plus, the chemistry between her and Cavill is pretty much non-existent.  Any of their on screen "romance" (and I use that term loosely) is forced, rushed, and thrown in basically as an afterthought. The rest of the cast is across the board good, no real complaints acting-wise.

Director Zack Snyder has received... let's say "mixed" reactions toward some of his previous film efforts. He was mainly showered with praise for his surprisingly decent remake of Dawn of the Dead and the good-but-not great adaptation of Frank Miller's 300. His adaptation of the "un-filmable" graphic novel Watchmen polarized audiences, but I'm in the camp of people who pretty much loved what he did with the film. His most recent film, Sucker Punch, while ambitious and well-intentioned, didn't quite strike the chord I think he was going for and is generally seen as a failure. Still, while he hasn't quite made a masterpiece yet, there's a lot about his directorial style that I've liked. In an industry plagued by remakes, imitations, and lack of originality, Snyder has always attempted big, audacious, and risky projects bringing his unique visual style to the final product. While Man of Steel's story was hit and miss, Snyder's direction did a lot to bring something interesting to the film. For starters, the guy has an incredible eye for visuals. While the film did include a little more shaky cam than I would have appreciated, it was still full of beautifully composed shots, incredible effects, and a general artistic style that honored it's source material and tried something new. For once, I didn't feel like the film was simply trying to capture the feel of the 1978 and instead tried changing it up... that's commendable. The scenes on Krypton were probably my favorite, in how they designed a planet that was reminiscent of the classic look but also felt unique. I was a little disappointed by the new Fortress of Solitude though, mainly how they changed it from a cool-looking alien-ice castle into a fairly generic spaceship, albeit with a few nifty Kryptonian influences. As for the action... it's pretty much incredible. It runs a bit long at times, namely in the finale, but between some great cgi, expertly paced fights, and big explosions, there's more than enough to satisfy any action junkies looking for their fix. From a strictly visual perspective, the film is not quite perfect, but pretty close.

So is Man of Steel the Superman film we've all been waiting for??? No, but we're getting there. The script had it's issues, both in narrative and tone, but there were some good ideas and promising set-ups. That said, the cast was solid, the action was exciting, and the visuals were pretty spectacular. To no surprise, the film ended with strong hints toward a sequel, and while I don't think this film was perfect, there's a lot to work with and much potential for another. If you haven't seen Man of Steel yet though... I'd say check it out.

My Score: 3 out of 5!