Man of Steel (2013)

[Jessie]

I though Cavill was good in this. He played a good Superman which is some what of a surprise seeing as he's terrible in every other film I've seen him in.

[Jessie]

B+

 

Man of Steel starts with a great central question for it's character, answers it, and then the bad guy shows up.

 

The action is fucking amazing...but....it's too epic for an origin story (which should be more personal). As such: Man of Steel makes the mistake of trying to make an origin story while trying to tell a story that can only work after an origin story has laid the foundations for it. It would have been better to have Zod be stuck in the phantom prison in the movie's...first act...and not have him come to Earth until movie 2 or movie 3.

 

That would be SR all over again.

[ACCA]

So I finally saw it, and if I could describe the film in one word, it would be SUPER.

 

First off, I saw it in a theater with good picture, and properly tuned sound. For ANY film, it's very important to see it in a theater with good sound and good picture. I also saw the film in 2D, as I personally hate 3D.

 

Onto the film itself, I loved it. Overall I was impressed, and it exceeded my expectations. The critics who didn't like the film are way off. I think they are too fond of Donner's Superman, and expected a Superman close to that.

 

I can also see some of the mixed reviews here in this forum are from those that seemingly are fond of Donner's version of Superman. I like Donner's Superman myself, but it was time for a new take on Superman on film.

 

Going into the film, I knew that it would be a different take on Superman, and it was. I knew it was going to be quite different than Donner's Superman, as it needed to be. The important part is Superman's character was still respected, and the source material of the comics was respected, but they just had a different, slightly more modern take on it. Similar to how Nolan had a different take on Batman with his trilogy.

 

Right from the beginning of the film, I was hooked. It was initally a bit jarring, but then the editing and pacing felt fine. I had no problems with the film's pacing. I thought it fit the superhuman context of the film quite well. I also had no problems with the score or sound design. Since my theater had properly tuned sound, the score was not overbearing. It was a bit loud at times yes, but I never felt like it was too much. Also for me the film had enough quiet moments to breathe in between all the action.

 

Further, I had no real issues with the script. I'm not sure why others have issues with the script, but this is all a matter of opinion. Everything in the movie had sense in context from the first viewing. Everything from the Krypton scenes, to Zod's motivation and why he was the way he was, to Superman's actions in the film... it all made sense.

 

I thought the score worked very well. Yes it had elements of previous Zimmer scores, but it was also different enough to stand on its own, and Superman's main theme I thought was well done. It's a catchy theme that I think matches up well compared to the old Williams theme. The Zimmer theme being stuck in my head all day I think is proof of that.

 

Acting was very solid. Crowe and Costner were excellent in their roles, there were a few tear-jerking moments in the film with some of their scenes. The way Costner dies is a real tear jerker. The film connected with me on an emotional level quite well. Also the rest of the cast was solid. Adams was great, Lane was great, Cavill was great, and Shannon was also excellent as Zod. A lot of Shannon's excellence was in his eyes, and the way he displayed passion and emotion with his eyes. I felt Shannon overall was better as Zod than Stamp. For me he was more memorable as Zod than Stamp.

 

Now onto the action, which is one of the MOST important elements in a Superman film. Flat out, the action was astounding! There truly were a lot of jaw-dropping action scenes, with incredible scale. For the most part, the effects looked very realistic and extremely well-done, in the context of the film. There were only a handful of scenes where the effects looked a bit cheesy, but that's incredible given the scale of the film. In terms of scale and awe, hands down this had the best action scenes in any movie I've ever seen. Superman got his ass kicked, he kicked a lot of ass, and the final fight with Zod was just mindblowing in terms of scale. Overall the action in MoS made the action in The Avengers look pathetic in comparison. The huge post-production schedule they had on Man of Steel was very well used. This was the sort of action I have waited my whole life to see in a Superman film. Snyder handled all the action in the film masterfully.

 

My only real gripe with the film was that a few scenes could have been extended, but that's simply wanting more of a good thing. That, and Snyder zooming the camera in a lot was a bit annoying, but thankfully he didn't do it too often.

 

Also I feel that some people need to realize this film is all about Clark becoming Superman. He only becomes Superman so to speak at the end of the film. Throughout the film, he partakes in a journey and a process of becoming Superman. He makes mistakes, and it's a learning process. I feel the way they adapted Superman and made him more relatable was very well done, while still keeping the essence of the character and the comics in-tact. You could definitely feel Nolan's guiding influence in the story and somewhat in the script.

 

Also the film had it's fair share of laughs. There were enough moments in the film where people sincerely laughed and chuckled with some scenes. I also disagree with those that say the film was "too serious". Firstly, the Earth was under attack; what would you realistically expect in a good film about an Earth attack, one-liners every minute like Iron Man 3? Please. Given the circumstances and context of the film, I thought the mood was totally fine. I also thought they did a great job giving a "positive vibe" to most of the scenes with Superman, mainly through Zimmer's uplifting score.

 

All in all, I had high expectations for this, and was pleasantly surprised to see them exceeded.

 

After careful consideration, there was really nothing glaring that I disliked in the film.

 

I give this a very well-deserved A+. For me it was THAT good. I actually liked it as much as Batman Begins, which I was not expecting going into the film. It was quite a different film than Begins, but just as good in a different way.

 

This is the best film of the year so far for me, and it crushes Into Darkness and Iron Man 3 personally.

Edited June 17, 2013 by ACCA

[#ED]

I missed the Batman Easter Egg. Wtf.

[Plain Old Tele]

It's an entertaining but flawed movie. I felt it had pacing issues through the first two-thirds, Snyder is not nearly as capable as Nolan (or Whedon) in drawing out performances, the dialogue was very on-the-nose in places, almost all the characters are terribly thin in terms of development... and yet it consistently had moments that soared, and the action in the last 45 minutes or so alone makes it worth seeing on the big screen. As a franchise and universe reboot, it stumbles occasionally but gets the job done in style by the end.

 

I'm looking forward to the sequel and other DC movies set in this universe. 

 

B

 

(Okay, I caught the Lexcorp reference. I thought I read somewhere there's a Batman/Bruce Wayne easter egg as well. Did I miss it, or just mis-read someone online?)

[CoolioD1]

It's an entertaining but flawed movie. I felt it had pacing issues through the first two-thirds, Snyder is not nearly as capable as Nolan (or Whedon) in drawing out performances, the dialogue was very on-the-nose in places, almost all the characters are terribly thin in terms of development... and yet it consistently had moments that soared, and the action in the last 45 minutes or so alone makes it worth seeing on the big screen. As a franchise and universe reboot, it stumbles occasionally but gets the job done in style by the end.

 

I'm looking forward to the sequel and other DC movies set in this universe. 

 

B

 

(Okay, I caught the Lexcorp reference. I thought I read somewhere there's a Batman/Bruce Wayne easter egg as well. Did I miss it, or just mis-read someone online?)

When Zod/Supes bring their punch-up into space briefly they were both on a Wayne Enterprises satellite.

[Plain Old Tele]

When Zod/Supes bring their punch-up into space briefly they were both on a Wayne Enterprises satellite.

 

Oh snap! Dammit, now I might have to see it again.

[baumer]

When Zod/Supes bring their punch-up into space briefly they were both on a Wayne Enterprises satellite.

i SAW that the second time...but it is very vague...you can barely see waynes name

[#ED]

i SAW that the second time...but it is very vague...you can barely see waynes name

 

This. 

 

Forget about catching that shit in 3D.

[Jessie]

i SAW that the second time...but it is very vague...you can barely see waynes name

Yeah it was very vague, I only knew it said Wayne because I heard it on here first.

[ACCA]

Yes, the Wayne Enterprises Easter Egg is VERY subtle, but it's there. It's the Wayne Enterprises logo on the satellite.

Edited June 17, 2013 by ACCA

[Omario]

they should have had Zod hurl the satellite to towards the the camera and than the Wayne logo visible for all to see rather than just about making it out from a horrid angle

[Ozymandias]

they should have had Zod hurl the satellite to towards the the camera and than the Wayne logo visible for all to see rather than just about making it out from a horrid angle

 

Na, subtlety is good.  One of the reasons why Iron Man 2 was bad was because of all the references to The Avengers.  It felt  lot like a prequel/setup to Avengers rather than its own movie.

[4815162342]

I was anticipating the rumored Martian Manhunter reference/namedrop but was bummed when it never happened.

[The Dark Alfred]

3D is awful and actually makes the last act less enjoyable, definitely looking forward to check this out in IMAX 2D. Still think that the film works and it's a great effort, but it's a bit choppy.

[ACCA]

3D is awful and actually makes the last act less enjoyable, definitely looking forward to check this out in IMAX 2D. Still think that the film works and it's a great effort, but it's a bit choppy.

 

I saw it in regular 2D, and I definitely want to catch it in IMAX 2D. Only problem is that IMAX 2D showtimes are limited in my area.

[Plain Old Tele]

Only problem is that IMAX 2D showtimes are limited in my area.

 

They're limited in all areas.

[redfirebird2008]

Just got out of my second viewing. Missed the Wayne reference during my first viewing but caught it this time. For those who missed it, pay close attention to the satellite that Superman and Zod are fighting on during the climax. The logo is upside down on the satellite. And it is definitely the Nolanized Wayne logo (bad news for those of us who don't want the Bale/Nolan version in JLA).

 

Meanwhile, it was interesting to hear a couple of ladies talking about it after we walked out of the theater. They both complained that it was too loud. Funny thing is, this theater was nowhere near as loud as the IMAX screening I went to on Friday. That one was straight up ear-splitting. I actually felt this second screening was a lot more tolerable in terms of overall volume, though dialogue clarity was much better in the IMAX version. Can't wait to have this on Blu-ray so I can have the combination of great clarity AND proper volume.

Edited June 18, 2013 by redfirebird2008

[dashrendar44]

I mean, how the fuck are they going to address this??? It is a plausible question???  

 

The military forces know who he is, they know Kal-El's rocket ship they later transform into a bomb to create a black hole(?!) came from Kent's farm. Zod came especially threatening Martha Kent for his son thanks to blogger/Lois Lane and the army leveled out Smallville, as a result. You have the cop bringing Lois Lane to Superman at the farm. Then you got Superman saying out loud to the captain with the chick behind he is from Kansas, America at the end. Plus Pete Ross, his friend and Lana Lang, I think from the day he saved them from drowning in the bus. I even loled when he waits to enter an elevator full of people to put his glasses on, that means that he went up there cycling in Metropolis streets without disguise. No really, if you think the glasses thing was stupid in 1978, I don't know how you can say MoS handles this better knowing how they went out of their way to set a serious and dreary tone to ground this into our reality because you know S1 and S2 were soooo campy because of those stoopid glasses.

Edited June 18, 2013 by dashrendar44

[Hangman]

Option A) Everyone knows that Clark is Superman, but they're scared of him/they want to be nice and pretend not to know

 

Option If you believe a man can fly, you can believe glasses can hide his identity

 

Option C) No one, except the military, got a good look at Superman's face