No doubt, like many of you, I too draped a red cut up curtain around my neck and jumped off of couches, fences and ditches. Why wouldn’t I? The original Superman movie had such a profound effect on me that I thought I could fly. It left an almighty impression. As much of a Star Wars geek that I am, Superman was always my first love. Safe to say, I’ve been looking forward to Zack Snyder’s Man Of Steel take for quite some time.
How many reboots do we need theses days? David S. Goyer, Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder obviously think we need another one. And while the origin story of Kal-El is mainly told in flash backs it’s a story that we all know far too well. Baby falls to earth, grows up to be a Super hero. It’s been explored numerous times and one wonders the exact purpose of doing it AGAIN! So besides the family flashbacks throughout, General Zod is making his way to earth to find Kal-El, or as he’s known by his human name, Clark Kent. Krypton is no more and Zod wants to terraform Earth and keep Kryptonians from disappearing altogether. Combine this with some fatherly advice from Jor-El (Kal-El’s “real” dad) on occasion, mix in a little bit of Lois Lane and a bunch of big set pieces and you have what is ultimately a disappointment.
Zack Synder has been criticised in the past for having far too much style over substance. And while there's a bit more substance than something like Sucker Punch, visually Man Of Steel is a bit of a mixed bag. The problem mainly lies within the continuous hand held style which is employed (that does not lend itself very well to 3D) to tell the tale. And while a more realistic movie was the goal, this style gets very annoying and disconcerting after 30 minutes. It could have been used sparingly and subsequently delivered a far more realistic punch. Set pieces on the other hand are a bit more of a positive experience. Incidentally, the 3D does nothing for the movie and it might be more physically watchable in only 2 dimensions.
The visual fx look superb and are quite convincing, however sequences suffer from far too much rapid fire editing and there is an incredible amount of destruction and devastation, and all from a few Kryptonians? For a movie that is allegedly trying to provide a more realistic approach, it’s quite unrealistic at times. And yes, it’s a visual fx muscle flex, but the amount of skyscrapers falling and carnage do little for the story.
The predictable finale of Zod and Kal-El, while quite impressive and enjoyable also suffers. It plays out like a videogame fight sequence, from camera angles to obvious “combos”. Those of you who have ever bashed in a few joypad buttons, will know exactly what I’m on about. While Synder has a great compositional eye, composing Zod and Kal-El like Mortal Kombat is incredibly frustrating. Frustrations aside, the two fights between the characters are thoroughly enjoyable though.
Performance wise, things are a bit more positive (thankfully). Russell Crowe (Jor-El), Kevin Costner (Pa Kent) and Michael Shannon (General Zod) in particular stand out, Crowe especially. He has a genuine fatherly vibe to him and his care and love for his son is very obvious. Shannon does a solid job as Zod, but at times feels a bit reserved. Costner does manage to stir up a bit of emotion and is genuinely quite likeable. But what about Kal-El? It’s the first time a British actor has donned the red cape, and to his credit Henry Cavill is ripped to shreds. His physique is mightily impressive and no doubt he put some serious work into the look.
With a 2 hour plus running time, you expect plenty of character development, and while Kal-El is developed well enough, his surrounding relationships, especially with Lois Lane are poorly established. The Daily Planet staff, in particular Perry White (Laurence Fishburne), while minor in the bigger scheme of things, is only there as a token gesture and seems utterly pointless.
Much has been made of the dropping of John Williams iconic score, and while Hans Zimmer is an incredibly talented composer, his score here is loud, muddled and unmemorable. I’ll put it another way. I regret ordering the soundtrack now, DTS-X headphone or not!
I’m a lifelong Superman fan (notice how I’ve rarely used the words Superman throughout this review, when you see the movie, you’ll know why) and I genuinely couldn’t wait for this to hit cinemas. I honestly expected this to be my movie of the year, hands down. And while this review is on the negative for the majority of it, Man Of Steel is still watchable and does have some exhilarating set pieces.
Overall though, it’s lacking in heart. As much as I think Zack Snyder, Chris Nolan and David S. Goyer are exceptional talents, they’ve missed a beat here with a cold, charmless movie that really has taken (and this pains me greatly to say it) the Super out of Superman.
How many reboots do we need theses days? David S. Goyer, Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder obviously think we need another one. And while the origin story of Kal-El is mainly told in flash backs it’s a story that we all know far too well. Baby falls to earth, grows up to be a Super hero. It’s been explored numerous times and one wonders the exact purpose of doing it AGAIN! So besides the family flashbacks throughout, General Zod is making his way to earth to find Kal-El, or as he’s known by his human name, Clark Kent. Krypton is no more and Zod wants to terraform Earth and keep Kryptonians from disappearing altogether. Combine this with some fatherly advice from Jor-El (Kal-El’s “real” dad) on occasion, mix in a little bit of Lois Lane and a bunch of big set pieces and you have what is ultimately a disappointment.
Zack Synder has been criticised in the past for having far too much style over substance. And while there's a bit more substance than something like Sucker Punch, visually Man Of Steel is a bit of a mixed bag. The problem mainly lies within the continuous hand held style which is employed (that does not lend itself very well to 3D) to tell the tale. And while a more realistic movie was the goal, this style gets very annoying and disconcerting after 30 minutes. It could have been used sparingly and subsequently delivered a far more realistic punch. Set pieces on the other hand are a bit more of a positive experience. Incidentally, the 3D does nothing for the movie and it might be more physically watchable in only 2 dimensions.
The visual fx look superb and are quite convincing, however sequences suffer from far too much rapid fire editing and there is an incredible amount of destruction and devastation, and all from a few Kryptonians? For a movie that is allegedly trying to provide a more realistic approach, it’s quite unrealistic at times. And yes, it’s a visual fx muscle flex, but the amount of skyscrapers falling and carnage do little for the story.
The predictable finale of Zod and Kal-El, while quite impressive and enjoyable also suffers. It plays out like a videogame fight sequence, from camera angles to obvious “combos”. Those of you who have ever bashed in a few joypad buttons, will know exactly what I’m on about. While Synder has a great compositional eye, composing Zod and Kal-El like Mortal Kombat is incredibly frustrating. Frustrations aside, the two fights between the characters are thoroughly enjoyable though.
Performance wise, things are a bit more positive (thankfully). Russell Crowe (Jor-El), Kevin Costner (Pa Kent) and Michael Shannon (General Zod) in particular stand out, Crowe especially. He has a genuine fatherly vibe to him and his care and love for his son is very obvious. Shannon does a solid job as Zod, but at times feels a bit reserved. Costner does manage to stir up a bit of emotion and is genuinely quite likeable. But what about Kal-El? It’s the first time a British actor has donned the red cape, and to his credit Henry Cavill is ripped to shreds. His physique is mightily impressive and no doubt he put some serious work into the look.
As Clark Kent, well farmboy Clark Kent (no reporter Kent here) he lacks the charm and clumsiness that has gone before him and is probably a more rounded Clark than we’re used to. As the Man Of Steel he does have an intensity, but he’s cold, not very charming and seems to be, like the movie itself, frustrated. Maybe he took the steel thing a bit too seriously because on occasion, Cavill is incredibly stiff. That said, he does get the emotions bubbling to some degree, at least once.
Much has been made of the dropping of John Williams iconic score, and while Hans Zimmer is an incredibly talented composer, his score here is loud, muddled and unmemorable. I’ll put it another way. I regret ordering the soundtrack now, DTS-X headphone or not!
I’m a lifelong Superman fan (notice how I’ve rarely used the words Superman throughout this review, when you see the movie, you’ll know why) and I genuinely couldn’t wait for this to hit cinemas. I honestly expected this to be my movie of the year, hands down. And while this review is on the negative for the majority of it, Man Of Steel is still watchable and does have some exhilarating set pieces.
Overall though, it’s lacking in heart. As much as I think Zack Snyder, Chris Nolan and David S. Goyer are exceptional talents, they’ve missed a beat here with a cold, charmless movie that really has taken (and this pains me greatly to say it) the Super out of Superman.
