Bright Future Ahead
I'm going to do it. I know this movie is almost 2 years old, but it's probably still the most talked about film on this site. People argue about this film everyday, so I decided to review it to give my opinions on the film without having to do a back and forth with another viner.
I liked Man of Steel. Was it perfect? No. Honestly, I didn't like it that much when I first saw it. I blame that on the Dark Knight trilogy. After the Nolan trilogy, I compared EVERY superhero movie to TDK, and since I love those movies so much, nothing else was ever as good. I learned soon after that I need to move past TDK, and start focusing on these films as independents. So what did I do? I watched Man of Steel again, this time with a more positive and neutral attitude. I found that the film was actually quite good, and that some of the common complaints are a bit misguided. I do have plenty of complaints of my own still, but that's because I assumed this film could do no wrong before it was released. I'm going to sort this review into good and bad like I generally like to do. I'll then give a short follow up and some closing thoughts.
The Good
The cinematography and visuals were all pretty great.
- I loved the way the actual film looked. A lot of people complained that the film was (literally) too dark. It was definitely filtered in a dark matter, but I thought it was well attached to the tone presented. The CGI was also pretty good, which is something I'm REALLY picky about. In general, I can't say I had any complaints about the actual appearance of the film.
The music
- Oh Hans Zimmer. You German genius. The man behind the sound of TDK trilogy helms the musical reigns of this film, and he knocked it out of the park. That was too be expected though. Hans is second only to John Williams in my book.
The action & fighting
- People complain that this film was too destructive, and it was basically just a lot of flashy explosions. Let me start by saying that Superman is an action hero. I mean, he originated in Action Comics... Superman is at his best when he's fighting, whereas characters like Batman are often best when they're doing other things. This film contained 2 of the BEST fight scenes I've ever seen in a CBM (Kal v. Faora/Non, & Kal v. Zod.) Both of those fights were well orchestrated, epic, and entertaining as hell.
Krypton sequences
- The opening sequence on Krypton was one of my favorite parts of the film. We get to see the birth of Kal, the attempted takeover by Zod, and the end of the world. The most important points of the planets history (relating to Kal) are all shown to us in a pretty great summary segment. It was cool to get a glimpse of what Krypton was like too. The flying... dinosaurs? The clothing, the architecture etc.
Narrative was generally solid
- I'm referring generally to the second half of the film... I'll explain the first half in the next section. Once Zod arrived, the story was pretty well hammered, and well written as well. Zod wants to turn Earth into Krypton, and he needs the codex to do it. Pretty solid plot that had me sold.
The Bad
Hazy 1st half narrative
- Here we go with this part. The first part of the film had some foggy narrative points. I wouldn't necessarily say that there were plot holes, just... pieces were missing. It would've been nice to see WHY Clark was working at the snow base, and why he knew to go to the old scout ship. It makes sense afterwards why Clark is always seen at a new job, but it would've been nice to get a little more information on those instances.
Johnathon's death
- Here's a plot piece that I really didn't care for. It's not the death I didn't like, it's how he died. I understand that he was a stand up guy that wanted to help others. And he didn't want Clark to help because he didn't want people to be afraid of his powers. However, I just don't really like the tornado bit and all the facts around it. I mean, Clark could've gone in there and saved his dad and nobody probably would've even noticed he was gone.
Lois knowing that Clark is Superman so early
- This is more of a small fanboy problem. I don't like when origin pieces are changed up too much, and in generally all origins, Lois doesn't know that Clark Kent is Superman for a while. I wasn't a huge fan of Lois being on the ship that Zod took Kal on, and that could've been avoided if she didn't know who Supes was.
Now, I'm going to address a few common complaints
- Superman was too dark and aggressive.
Yes, Superman was a bit dark, and very aggressive. BUT this is a very inexperienced, very young Clark Kent. He really hasn't tested the full capability of his powers, and at this point, he just cares about destroying the enemy for the greater good of the whole world.
- Metropolis destruction was overkill.
Yes, Metropolis is in ruin. But like I said, Superman is very young and inexperienced. I mean, what do you think would happen if two beings with THAT much power fought to the death in a large city? Zod obviously doesn't care about the building or people..but at this point in his career, Kal cares primarily about stopping Zod, and not about what happens to the city. It isn't until after the battle, that Superman's moral compass starts to form. You can see it in his eyes after he kills Zod, and he explains why he's getting his job at The Daily Planet (he wants to help people, so he needs to be near the danger.)
- AND... The neck snap...
This one will never be accepted by everyone. There will always be a huge split in audiences over this matter. My defense of Supes is this... What was he supposed to do? If he didn't kill Zod, he would've killed that family. It was at this point, that Zod wouldn't stop EVER unless he was dead. It was the only thing he could've done.
Anyway. That's the review. If you stuck around to read all of it, I thank you.
7/10
