Hello everyone and welcome to a new throwback review! This time I will be starting a new series of reviews (one of many I have planned for the near future) in which I will be reviewing some DC films in the lead up to Zack Snyder’s 4 hour cut of Justice League which is set to release in the middle of the month. Specifically I will be talking about Man of Steel, Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice, and the theatrical cut of Justice League since the latter was a direct follow up to those two films and so will this new cut even though it will more than likely be more in line tonally with those first two features. I’d just figure it would be neat to re visit these movies, and see how well they’ve held up in my eyes and I’ve always found them to be underrated, especially Man of Steel which was (larger expectations notwithstanding) a hit at the box office, yet garnered a very mixed reception, was extremely frontloaded, and became a very controversial film for a number of reasons. Yet aside from the fact that I do have some nostalgic feelings for it (it was the first comic book movie I saw in theaters), I’ve come to really love this movie and I do think it is my favorite of the DCEU continuity. Now then let’s take flight with the Man of Steel himself as we explore a rather different take on the classic story.
Kicking off with a prologue set on the planet of Krypton, a planet which is in ruin due to a destabilized core and is doomed to be destroyed in a matter of time. An inhabitant named Jor-El serves as the chief advisor to the supreme council and asks that they give him the genetic codex, and artifact that translates genetic makeup for infants before they are born. But before any action can be taken things are interrupted by an uprising led by one General Zod. Losing hope in saving Krypton, Jor-El takes the codex and infuses it in his newborn son, Kal-El, who is the first naturally born infant on the planet in centuries. While Zod kills Jor-El he is still able to launch his son into space while Zod, and his followers are sentenced to exile in the Phantom Zone as the planet explodes. Kal-El then eventually lands on Earth where a couple named Johnathan, and Martha Kent decide to raise him as their own and call him Clark as they try to raise as normally as possible despite his super powered abilities which he still is trying to understand. As the years go by, Clark becomes a lonely man trying to keep his powers secret from others and trying to find his purpose in life. It isn’t until he meets Lois Lane, a reporter for the Daily Planet, who stumbles into him as he’s looking into an old Kryptonian ship. After he rescues her from one of the ship’s security systems she begins to grow a fascination with this extraordinary man as we see her track him down. But the stakes soon become high as Clark inadvertently sent a transmission to General Zod, free from the Phantom Zone, and he and his army soon head to Earth with the intentions of re building Krypton. Now Clark must decide the type of person he wants to be and see what he is truly made of.
Now I know a lot of people are not a fan of the direction this movie took in portraying Superman, this symbol of hope, in a more realistic, and modern light that is a bit more serious. While I can understand some of those frustrations, that has never really been a problem for me quite frankly. I actually like how Snyder decided to go for a more realistic portrayal as it opens up a lot of ideas, and interesting conflicts like how people would react to a super powered alien living amongst them, and whether or not he would be accepted and how he tries to hide those powers in the process. The movie explores these things effectively and on top of that it works really well as an origin story for this iteration of Kal-El. One of the highlights is that prologue set on Krypton as it does a fantastic job of setting things up and introducing us to Superman’s father, Zod, and why Kal-El is so important (plus it’s a visually stunning, and really cool portrayal of the titular planet). From there we get to see Clark out wandering the world trying to find his purpose with flashbacks of his childhood strewn throughout and I just found it very engaging as we see his upbringing and what led to him in the place he is now and it works as a very good origin for the character with a lot to say about gaining the strength, and confidence to fulfill your purpose in life, and how the way we are raised and who we are raised by affect the decisions we make in our lives and what we choose to believe in. It also helps that the film makes sure to develop Clark’s character so that we care about him, and are excited when he puts on that iconic red, and blue suit and it adds all the more weight to the proceedings. I also greatly admire Snyder’s ambitions in making the movie like this, and it has this sense of grandness, and epic feeling that makes it stand out all the more, and while it is definitely a more serious affair I wouldn’t say it’s as bleak, and depressing of an affair as many claims it to be as it does have it’s moments of humor and has a more of melodramatic feel to it rather than a super bleak tragedy (although the implications of the climax is another story). Really though my biggest problem with the movie would have to be it’s pacing as the movie is nearly 2 and a half hours long and there are a number of parts, mostly in the middle, that can drag at times and this has always been an apparent issue for me. Still though it picks up just in time for the climax and I wouldn’t say it was necessarily bad just dragged out for a bit. Other then that I really dug what Snyder, and the writers were able to do with this story that we’ve seen done so many times in different forms of medium and try something a little different.
Say what you will about Snyder’s storytelling sensibilities, but you can’t deny that he has a very distinct sense of style, and he knows how to direct some really great sequences. Like I said before he’s great at creating this sense of grandness in his movies and a large part is how he directs certain scenes and he definitely leaves his mark on this. Yet what he nails the most here is the action and he’s able to create some truly exciting scenes that do a great job of showing just what the Man of Steel can do. He shoots things in a way where the action is comprehensible, and the way he zooms in, and out of sequences adds to that while also making things even more intense which is particularly evident in the big second act showdown in a small down involving Clark, and the military fighting some Kryptonians. For me personally I really love Superman’s first flight which is just such an epic moment that was such a treat to see on the big screen, and the climax is also very welk done as we see Superman taking down the World Engine, and facing Zod once and for all as it felt like a true comic book movie smackdown where the stakes are high, and the action brutal (with all the damage, and carnage it almost felt, and looked like a Kaiju battle but with superpowered aliens). But other than the action the film can also look stunning thanks to Amir Mokri with as there are a lot of scenes that have a sense of scale to them, and the VFX artists also did a great job as the CGI was very well done, and they especially did a great job of bringing Krypton to life in the beginning and made it look so well realized. Plus all of it is elevated by Han Zimmer’s fantastic score which is truly epic, and honestly one of my favorite compositions of not only his, but also any super hero movie. It’s very good, and I do recommend giving it a listen. My only gripe with the visuals, and I’m seemingly not alone on this, is how most of the movie has this grey filter that makes everything look a little bit muted and that’s always something that has stood out about it for me. While I can’t say I love that artistic choice it still didn’t detract a whole lot from my investment in the movie and how great the other technical aspects were.
Of course in order for a Superman movie to work as well as it should, your going to need the right casting, and I personally feel that Henry Cavill nailed the role. Not only does he look the part but he also does a great job portraying this version of Clark as someone who just wants to find their purpose and while also being a likable presence as someone the audience wants to root for. I also feel he’s great in the more emotional moments where he is very convincing and shows the hardships of what he’s going through. Yet what I really love is how while he may have a hard time deciding what he wants to become, he still wants to help people above all and eventually serve as a beacon of hope for them and for me that stays true to the character of Superman. He honestly doesn’t get enough credit for his work the character which is a shame as I feel he more than left his own mark with this portrayal and can stand on equal footing with some of the other great Superman performances like Christopher Reeves of course. Another aspect I really dug regarding this Superman is the relationship he has with his father, Johnathan, and while of course, and a great actor like Kevin Costner playing the part helps, I like how that even though he may not know what they should do about revealing himself or not, and is very protective of his son, he still wants his son to make the right decisions, and is confident that he will be able to stand alongside mankind one day. Add in Costner’s understated yet poignant turn and I just thought it was very well done, and while Martha Kent may not get as much attention Diane Lane is still very good in the role, and she does have some nice character moments with Clark. As for how the film does Lois Lane, well I do mostly like her, and Amy Adams I think is very good as always, showing her as a strong, free ranging journalist who becomes curious about Clark’s abilities and she has a nice chemistry with Clark even if I will admit the romance wasn’t my favorite aspect. It’s not that it’s poorly done or anything but those moments were among the least investing for me even if they don’t derail the film. Then on the Kryptonian side of things the two major players in that regard are Russell Crowe’s Jor-El, and Michael Shannon’s Zod (Ayelet Zurer unfortunately doesn’t have a lot to do as Superman’s mother, Lara Lor-Van). The former is solid in the role and serves a similar mentor type role as Costner (he communicates with everyone via artificial intelligence) while the latter is great in what is my favorite villain in this continuity. Shannon gives in a really good performance managing to be calm, and calculated in some part, and ferocious, and fiery in others which fits with the character as Zod is a true believer in his cause, and will stop at nothing to achieve it, even kill the people he cares about. He makes for a sympathetic threat where you can understand why he is doing what he is doing yet also disagreeing with his actions making him someone you want to see Clark stop before it’s too later and he makes for an interesting foil to our hero. As for the rest of the cast they all do very solid work as well, most notably Laurence Fishburne’ as a much different Perry White, whose dry sense of humor gets some laughs out of me, Antje Traue, who makes for an amusingly cold hearted heavy in Zod’s right hand Kryptonian, Faora, Chris Meloni, whose military colonel, Nathan Hardy, goes through a bit of an arc as he goes from disliking Superman to owing him his life, Harry Lennix, whose General Swanwick is very unwilling to fully trust this alien from another planet, and Richard Schiff’s army scientist, Dr. Emil Hamilton, who plays a key role in the climax. They each manage to stand out in some way and while some get more focus than others no one feels out of place, and it’s all lead by Cavill’s incredibly leading performance.
Man of Steel is a movie I’ve come to appreciate more, and more each time I watch it. I may have my problems with the pacing, the grey color filter, and the merely serviceable romance but dang does it do everything else extremely well in my eyes. It works as compelling origin story, it has a lot of powerful themes, it’s big in scale, and ambition I found it visually stunning, the action sequences are incredibly well done, and epic, Cavill makes for a worthy Superman, Shannon’s Zod is a great villain, and the cast does solid work across the board. I certainly can understand people’s criticisms as it definitely isn’t for everyone (even if I tend to disagree on certain “controversial” scenes, which many of you may know what I’m referring to) but I really like how it attempts to go for a different kind of Superman story, and I just find it to be an engaging movie in all that has a lot to offer. While I do love quite a few of the films in this continuity, and heck it’s actually a close race to which one may be my favorite, this one (nostalgic feelings aside) just really resonates with me and I like it a little better each time I watch it. All in all it proved to be a very promising start to the DCEU and a movie that I admire a lot. So that’s about it for this one, join me next time around as I’ll be looking into the follow up to this movie, one that serves as a sequel in some ways… yet throws a whole bunch of other things into the mix, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice!
Rating: A-
Please leave your thoughts down below in the comments and see you guys later!
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