Man of Steel (2013)

[Dementeleus]

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's... a bunch of Superman reviews!

[Gopher]

It's been a few days since I've seen it, and I'm left with mostly positive thoughts and a strong desire to watch the film again. There are some editing issues and moments where more contemplative character drama was probably cut out for the sake of making the second half a nonstop action film. IMO Batman Begins weaved the origin story into the main villain stories cleaner because pretty much everything in that film was told linearly. There was no reason we couldn't have gone straight from the action on Krypton to Clark as a child. If you need to segway to him on the oil rig as an adult, that's fine, I'd still like to see everything with Kevin Costner first (and more of that, because he's awesome and gets the best scenes in the movie). I wanted more successful Lois/Clark banter and some more of Zod's motivations for destroying Earth in favor of the survival of his own race. When he tells Superman late in the film he's fought all this time to protect his people and now he has no people, it's such a human moment for Zod and a great dramatic beat for Shannon. I just wanted more of a buildup to that moment. 

Edited August 6, 2013 by Gopher

[Darth Homer]

So is it true that

Clark lets his father die in a tornado rather than reveal his powers? Because that almost makes me not want to see the movie. One of the most emotional parts of Superman '78 was always when Pa Kent dies of a heart attack and Clark says "All these powers, and I couldn't even save him". To change that to "I could have saved him but I didn't want to" seems an even bigger mistake to me than changing Uncle Ben's death in ASM. I hope I'm wrong.

[Gopher]

You should really just see how they do it. It totally worked for me.

[mcclaine]

This movie rocks. This is the first Superman film that i like. 

The narrative style, the storyline, the FXs, the cast...everything worked freaking great for me.

There were just a few minor things that could have been improved (two fighting scenes seems a bit longer for my taste, and sometimes the over abuse of the shaky cam, for example).

But the things they got right, are near perfect.

 

The motivation for each of the main characters are so clear and well crafted that is a major upgrade from all other Superman films.

 

I hope people like it as much as i did.

[AdamKendall]

Short review for now ... because I'm watching the Heat-Spurs game.

 

A-/B+

 

I can see why it got C type ratings ... it's really loud and has some repetitive action ... and some characters just don't get the time needed to connect ... BUT DAMN ... I really had a great time.

 

The ending with the trailer 3 music leading to the glasses was great. 

[Blankments]

There's definitely some pacing issues in the first act, but after that, it's a nonstop thrill ride with some of the best action I've ever seen. All the acting is well done; Cavill impressed me. Zimmer's score was freaking phenomenal. Although there was the pacing issues, the movie overall just has a feeling of awe and inspiration that I can't give it anything but A. Never seen critics so wrong in my life.

Edited September 1, 2013 by Blankments

[The Dark Alfred]

It's a great, entertaining ride. You can see Nolan's footprints all over it, but I'm not sold how obviously dumb and Hollywoodian they made certain parts. Do they really have to state the obvious with lines like "He saved us" "I think they've gone"? Save those for the Marvel comedies. Had a tad too much generic shots, but it's really just a small portion of the otherwise really well made film. Still it's huge, action-packed, epic and well acted. It's just not the BB of Superman.

 

A-

Edited June 14, 2013 by Alfred Beyond The Pines

[druv10]

I thoroughly enjoyed it. Shannon was great as Zod. His monologue before the final fight begins was awesome. Set pieces and action sequences were very well done. Amy Adams looked hot and played Lois very well. Costner and Crowe both were great in their limited role. Crowe even had time to showoff his fighting skills. Negative: pacing was off for quite a bit of the movie. Screenplay was lacking, both problems can be solved by getting rid of Goyer and bringing in someone who can write a tight script.

 

B+, right now but will see again over the weekend for a more concrete score.  

[Cmasterclay]

I think it was a mixed bag. Loved the tone, really, really liked the first half, loved the direction of non-action. I thought it succesfully blended an epic, sci-fi scale with a serious, poignant character study, for the most part. It was almost like Independence Day had a baby with Batman Begins. Very interesting. But that third act.....sheesh. Unbelievably repetitive and mind numbing. The whole bit with the machines ran long and montonous, and didn't add much, and the fight....oh, the fight. Michael Shannon, love him to death, but I wasn't floored. I don't know if it was his voice or his dialogue, but something seemed a bit......off. Actually, if you would have switched Cumberbatch's performance as Khan into this role, it would have been pretty fucking awesome.  All that said, the flashback scenes were terrific, and the score was truly fantastic. Some good acting from Cavill, Adams, and Costner too. I thought it was flawed, but it was audacious and daring in many regards. But that fucking third act killed it. 

 

 

Edited March 25, 2016 by Cmasterclay

[Kvikk Lunsj]

I highly enjoyed this film more than I thought I would. The movie does having pacing issues. The screenplay is weak in the first act. The film jumps around too much. Some characters are not given much development like General Zod. The flashbacks provide good insight into childhood of Kent Clark.  As a child Kent knew he was difference and he would learn to save people.  The one time he does not is when he loose his father. His father choose to be a hero. Pa Kent wanted to protect his son due to the fear that of what society would do to if they discovered him. He does not want to saved by the tornado because there is a huge crowd in the bypass that is watching. This serves as a emotional death in the film.  The best part of the film is the action. The shows the destruction of Metropolis. You see death of civilians as well. Which is one of the reason why the third act in Man of Steel is better than the Avengers. This shows the power of the battle. The action scenes are done well and are fun to watch.  Superman kicking ass and getting his ass kicked is fun to watch. A surpising moment in the film is Superman kills General Zod.    Superman does this in order to protect three people that Zod is about to kill. It is a nice change in a Superman movie to see Superman tested during the film.

The acting in the film is great. Cavil is a great superman and supporting cast does a good in it. The score is amazing. Zimmer's best work in years and the best score of the year so far. The CGI was good but nothing new.  The cinematography was good in the film as well. 

This film does its good and shows a new superman. I think Goyer should step down as the writer for the next film. Snyder can stay on as the director, I enjoyed his style with Man of Steel. 

[baumer]

I guess Im the first one here not to like it.

[RobinHood26]

I can't help but be disappointed. The film lacked an identity. While the action and CGI are insane. The stakes are as high as any movie, yet there was no suspense, all that action yet none of it was as powerful as the Semi flipping in the TDK. 

 

With that said the scale and destruction shits on the Avengers & Transformers 3. The pacing is poor, and the music is repetitive. We stay on Krypton 20 minutes to long.  

 

I think my problems lie with Snyder. Yet the positives all lie with him as well. The very end was fantasic though I love the way they used Clark Kent reporter in this, perfectly done.

 

While I can bury this with negatives yet it was still a lot of fun and worth a watch on the big screen. And boy did Dolby Atmos sound ridiculously good. 

 

B- 

[StarSaber]

I was exhilarated when watching this. The actions, set pieces, and CGI were incredible. The scope is massive and several times throughout I was just awestruck by the grandiose size of it all. The music aided everything very well; it was a great score.

 

I do feel the that beginning was too long and could have been faster but it wasn't enough to take away from my experience the rest of the movie.

 

Also the end caught me by surprise. Whether Superman would really do that or not, I don't care, the end was unexpected and almost bittersweet (in tone). I really liked it.

 

"Welcome to the planet," was also a great line, I loved it.

 

I was very impressed!

 

A

Edited June 14, 2013 by StarSaber

[StarSaber]

I can't help but be disappointed. The film lacked an identity. While the action and CGI are insane. The stakes are as high as any movie, yet there was no suspense, all that action yet none of it was as powerful as the Semi flipping in the TDK. 

 

With that said the scale and destruction shits on the Avengers & Transformers 3. The pacing is poor, and the music is repetitive. We stay on Krypton 20 minutes to long.  

 

I think my problems lie with Snyder. Yet the positives all lie with him as well. The very end was fantasic though I love the way they used Clark Kent reporter in this, perfectly done.

 

While I can bury this with negatives yet it was still a lot of fun and worth a watch on the big screen. And boy did Dolby Atmos sound ridiculously good. 

 

B- 

I completely disagree when you say the action is not as memorable as that TDK scene. While these did seem like a lack of suspense because of the nature of Superman's powers (although I'm not saying that that is a reason not to do suspense) I wasn't particularly bothered by it. The fight scene in the town between Clark and Faora had something similar, but the need for him to overcome something and I was waiting and waiting and it took awhile to happen so I felt tension there, not necessarily suspense but tense nonetheless.

You should really just see how they do it. It totally worked for me.

Very emotional part of the movie for me. I was led to believe that the movie was devoid but that scene was definitely powerful.

Edited June 14, 2013 by StarSaber

[#ED]

Pros:The action was amazing. By far the best I have seen from any blockbuster.Superman's origin story was great.Cons:It felt like some of The movie was cut out. Rushed production.With that cast, this movie had so many possibilities at Oscars.B+8.5/10

Edited June 15, 2013 by #ED

[baumer]

The only part of the film that I loved was Costners death. It was beautifully done and it made sense.

[Caboose]

I have to wonder how many innocent people died during Supes' fight with Zod.

 

Superman just gave no fucks.

[dashrendar44]

But in 2013, how the hell are you going to keep SUPERMAN's identity to wearing the cheesy glasses and not expect the people of Metropolis not to know who the hell he is?? In 1978, that all worked fine and dandy cause we didn't have Social Media and people back then were more kind to this, but in present day when this movie is supposed to be a modern spin, how are they going to explain this???

 

It seems even dumber than 1978, IMO. (Even if Reeve sold so well his concealed disguise for comedic effects despite being ridiculous on paper you could believe people not making a direct correlation because DP's Clark showed up in Metropolis as such a clumsy and ankward dork, people would barely acknowledge his presence and give two sights on him so when Superman makes his first appearance, no one would ever guess at first sight it is that almost invisible dork that works at Daily Planet. And people act like 1978's Lois was a total dumbass all along the series but she eventually found out at the beginning of Superman 2)

 

Now in MoS, Clark Kent spends a whole movie without disguise, dons the suit before the eyes of the whole world and Metropolis. And at the end, only Lois would know Clark is Superman just because he got glasses even if everyone saw his face on TV before he worked at the Daily Planet? That makes 2013's Metropolis people even more stupid than 1978's with modern technology, when people film everything with smartphones to twit it in real time but not smart enough to put 1+1 right. Plus the fact that Lois keeps shouting Clark and not Superman when he is in costume when she's surrounded by people.

Edited June 14, 2013 by dashrendar44

[The Dark Alfred]

You guys are dumb and now little about the whole mythology of Superman.

Edited June 14, 2013 by Alfred Beyond The Pines