SPOILER
ALERT!!! DON'T READ THIS IF YOU DON'T WANT THE FILM TO BE SPOILED OR RUINED!!!
This
review could have been much longer and I could have broken it down scene by
scene but I decided not to because I didn't want to bore too many people.
Man of
Steel was a very good movie but it wasn't great. Let me break it down. Man of
Steel or Superman as we all know him is the Great American Boyscout. He stands
for truth, justice and the american way. He personifies perfection and honesty.
He believes that there is some good to everyone and really believes in justice
the right way.
In this
film, they did a lot of great things with this character but I never felt the
above message from this version. I felt like there was too much Nolan to this
film. If anyone has seen the Dark Knight Trilogy will know that Nolan has a
very realistic and dark tone to his films. They do that with this Man of Steel
film. It left me feeling like I wasn't having a "fun" time. Throw
some fun jokes in. Have Clark stumble a little. Slapstick it a little.
I loved
what they did with the re-imagining of Krypton. It gave the planet life and it
helped the audience realize that Superman is really an alien. This is a
completely different planet. I loved that they expanded on why Ka-El was so
special and why Jor-El and Lara were saving their son. They expanded on the
relationship between Jor-El and Zod.
Once we
get to Earth and Clark Kent is going through his changes, I loved those aspects
and flashbacks but I needed more. I liked that he was so scared of his powers
as a young child but then i felt that they needed to expand on him trying to be
more human than alien or super. Expand on his other powers (speed, super
breath) and have him learn them.
I didn't feel the
connection between his love for humanity either. He didn't save humans enough.
I would have liked to seen him save more humans than just Lois and an oil rig.
Show more a Superhero side to humanity so we know that you love the humans. And
I didn't care for Amy Adams as Lois Lane. She didn't look like Lois Lane and
she didn't act like Lois Lane. Lois Lane is a brunette and has a sexy build to
her. I didn't get that from Amy Adams. Lois Lane is the type of character that
would risk anything and proudly to get the story and to defend someone or
something with an aggressiveness. This Lois Lane was too much of a "Damsel
in Distress". Why did Superman and Lois Lane kiss? There is no love
connection there. At least not yet. They didn't establish that. They didn't
build on that connection.
I liked
Henry Cavill as Man of Steel from a physical form but not in attitude or
presence. I think he needed more dialogue. I think he needed more of a
connection with his father (Johnathan Kent). There wasn't enough remorse for
their relationship after his father died. I don't think him as Clark Kent
really understood what his father was trying to make him to be which is Super.
I really
liked Fiora's character. She was what I wanted from Michael Shannon as Zod. I
felt like Zod's lines were good but he didn't deliver them as well. Benedict
Cumberbatch as the villain (I won't say what villain; cause I don't want to
spoil it) in Star Trek Into Darkness was what I expected from Michael Shannon.
Also,
Laurence Fishburne was good as Perry White. I felt like that was good casting.
Perry White actually was what Lois Lane should have been. Someone who fights
and is aggressive.
Now on to
bigger things, Man of Steel killing Zod. At first, I had an issue because
Superman doesn't kill people however in the Dark Horses and Superman 1987 Issue
#22; Superman did kill kryptonians cause
they were too powerful and they destroyed all humans. That is essentially what
happened here in Man of Steel. Superman had no choice but to kill Zod in Man of
Steel because Zod was determined to kill all humans. Would Superman just sit
there and watch these poor innocent humans die? So after thinking about it, I'm
OK with it and I understand why they did it. His remorse afterwords though
should have been touched on more. He yells and you can see it on his face but
it would have been nice to hear a better explanation about the implications
with either Lois Lane or his father (Johnathan at his grave site) or even the
military.
Which
also leads to me to my next thought that I didn't really get the feeling that
Superman really cared for humans. He did but he didn't show enough of his
savior self. I would have liked to seen him save some people from a burning
building and vanish like a ghost or something. Heck save a cat from a tree like
he did in the original Richard Donner film. There really wasn't a connection
that he cared for humans and that we as humans needed him except to kill Zod
because he was destroying everything.
In
closing, don't be confused by reading all of this that I hated the film. I
didn't. I really enjoyed it but getting back to my original thought, I wasn't
having fun. It was very brooding. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Look at
what happened with the Dark Knight Trilogy. But it didn't seem fitting for a re-boot
or re-introduction to the Superman franchise. I really liked the Jor-El stuff.
I really liked the Johnathan Kent stuff. The action was great. He actually
punched people and punched them hard!!! I give it a B+. I recommend it but go
with an open mind if you are a comic book geek.
Oh, one more thing. I
actually wanted more Clark Kent. Show me the definition of Clark Kent. Give me
two personalities. Show the difference and why people can't tell that Clark
Kent is Superman. The glasses don't work if you don't explain the disguise.
