Man of Steel - quick review (1 Viewer)

[RobertR]

My review:

I was curious to see this in Dolby Atmos, so I wound up seeing it in 3D. The viewing confirmed everything I don’t like about it. Dim, low contrast picture. Not good. Also, filmmakers these days are quite enamored with a picture that has little color in it. Then there’s the shaky cam combined with the closeups. Quite tiresome, but tolerable (barely).

Krypton looked more interesting than in the 1978 film. Russell Crowe did a good job as Jor-El—dramatic and convincing. Cavill was good as Supes—great physique, loved the “I grew up in Kansas” dialogue with the general. I also liked his Welling-ish grin at the end. Looks like he’ll fit into the role well.

I thought the “Superman as Christ” storyline was blatant in the ’78 film, but this one topped it. “Go save them, my son”, followed by a crucifixion pose? Jesus (pun intended)!

The all-out action at the end was too much. There should have been more character moments, not to mention a little humor. I never heard of Antje Traue before, but she was great as an icy, menacing superbitch. Shannon was merely ok as Zod, but not memorable.

The music was meh. I’m not a big fan of Hans Zimmer. I can’t remember a single theme from the movie. Anyone who was hoping there would be something to match the iconic, heroic John Williams theme will be disappointed.

 

[DaveF]

I agree. The music was completely forgettable. No theme to grab hold of.

 

[Stephen Brooks]

Give the music one more chance. It really grows on you the second viewing. It doesn't have a theme, but it has "atmosphere", if you will. The violin as Krypton is exploding was a particular standout for me. I rewatched Superman II today, and I gotta say...complaints about Zod's death in MOS are starting to seem really hypocritical. Supes MURDERS Zod in Superman II. Zod is depowered and no real threat to anyone, he could easily be taken to jail, but Superman crushes his hand and then chucks him into the abyss with a smirk on his face. Compare that to MOS, where Zod presents a real and immediate threat, so Kal-El does what he must do even though he obviously hates doing it. If we're going to complain about a movie having Superman do something "out of character", then for me that movie is Superman II, not MOS. Sent from my SCH-S738C using Home Theater Forum mobile app

 

[Stephen Brooks]

And in response to the question of how Kal-El managed to defeat Zod, I get the distinct feeling that Zod actually WANTED to die. His planet, people, and whole reason for existing were gone. The only thing left for him is a warrior's death, and Kal-El is the only person on Earth who could provide that. So he deliberately pushes Kal-El to the point where he has no choice. That's how I interpret the final battle. Sent from my SCH-S738C using Home Theater Forum mobile app

 

[TravisR]

The music was meh. I’m not a big fan of Hans Zimmer. I can’t remember a single theme from the movie. Anyone who was hoping there would be something to match the iconic, heroic John Williams theme will be disappointed.

I was talking to a friend and he was complaining how the music was wall to wall and I hadn't even noticed because it was so completely forgettable. It's not fair to ask for something as good or rousing as John Williams' Superman theme so I'm not trying to compare the two but the MOS score was so generic that it might as well have not even been there.

 

[Dave Miller]

Saw it Saturday with the wife in Real 3D. We both really enjoyed it, but we both really enjoyed "Returns" too. Cavill is right for the part along with Crowe, Costner & Lane. Shannon was also good as Zod. Loved the "Dune" look of Krypton as well as the settings of Smallville and Metropolis.

One negative thing "MoS" shares with "Returns" is the miscasting of Lois Lane. Amy Adams isn't working for me. I wasn't buying her freely roaming around the cargo plane in the jumpsuit like she knew what she was doing nor the alien ship for that matter. She's a very good actress, but I did not find her convincing in this role. My wife agrees and said she was waiting for her to bust out into the "mahna mahna" song from the Muppet movie.

I will say a hearty "Amen" to whomever mentioned that they thought this script lacked charm. I walked away thinking this was a very good movie, but it lacked something and that was it. Cavill has it in him to pull that off and we saw glimpses of it, but I do hope in the next installment we will see more charm and inexplicable destruction. For the record, I also hope they don't over correct too. There is a balance between heart and adventure that a Superman movie needs to pull off, IMHO.

I think I read this entire thread and I don't think anyone mentioned this, but did you notice during the fight seen between Supes and Zod in Metropolis, one of them kicked around a tanker truck that said "LexCorp?"

Peace,

DM

 

[TravisR]

...did you notice during the fight seen between Supes and Zod in Metropolis, one of them kicked around a tanker truck that said "LexCorp?"

I caught that too. I'm guessing there's more DC references but I didn't notice any others.

 

[Don Giro]

Also..... has anyone wondered just how he managed to shave?

Raul

Depicted within a graphic novel published back in the late 80s, coincidentally titled "The Man of Steel," Clark shaves using his heat vision and a curved, mirrored fragment of the ship in which he arrived on earth. He aims his vision at the fragment and it reflects back to his face...

 

[Edwin-S]

I know you wanted to use The Pitchman Of Steel joke (which is pretty amusing) but I wouldn't even remotely call it obtrusive. While Snyder is just covering their use of product placement, he's still right when he says that the world is littered with logos and so it makes sense to also see them in a movie. It takes me out of a movie more when I see "BEER" rather than a brand name on a can.

Ha ha. Yeah, I couldn't resist. I don't have a problem with product placement as long as it is used in context with the film. Your example of holding a can of beer is good. It's the ones where they place the product in such a way as to deliberately draw your attention that are annoying. Like having a can of Coca-Cola on the table and then shooting the scene in such a way that the product can't help but be noticed.

 

[Virgoan]

Isn't there a way to write a Superman script without having either General Zod or Lex Luthor in the mix?

 

[RobertR]

Isn't there a way to write a Superman script without having either General Zod or Lex Luthor in the mix?

Brainiac would have been a nice change. Luthor is tiresome. I'm not that familiar with the other Superman villains. They'd pretty much have to be super-powered to present an adequate challenge.

 

[WillG]

If we're going to complain about a movie having Superman do something "out of character", then for me that movie is Superman II, not MOS.
Sent from my SCH-S738C using Home Theater Forum mobile app

As I mentioned in one of my other posts, don't forget about Supe's revenge on the Diner bully. At least Zod fully deserved his fate in SII.

I caught that too. I'm guessing there's more DC references but I didn't notice any others.

I believe there was a shot of a "Wayne" satellite in one of the space scenes.

I will say a hearty "Amen" to whomever mentioned that they thought this script lacked charm. I walked away thinking this was a very good movie, but it lacked something and that was it.

I believe I used the words "Charm" in one of my assessments. The movie was fine. I accept it has flaws, but was able to enjoy it on a "popcorn" level. I never had any expectations for Snyder/Nolan to try to rehash the Donner/Reeve take on Superman. But I have to imagine (I was too young to know myself) that people walking out of the theater for S:TM must have felt like they just saw the greatest (or close to) movie they ever saw. MoS doesn't even provide a shred of that feeling (IMO at least).

Krypton looked more interesting than in the 1978 film.

The music was meh. I’m not a big fan of Hans Zimmer. I can’t remember a single theme from the movie. Anyone who was hoping there would be something to match the iconic, heroic John Williams theme will be disappointed.

I'm with you on your feeling over Krypton. Seemed more elegant in Donner's version whereas the MoS Krypton doesn't really look like all that nice of a place.

As for the music, also agreed. By the time I got to my car, I wouldn't have been able to accurately recall one cue to save my life. I listened to, I guess, the main theme later that day (the one that opens with the repeating piano notes) and that seemed more melancholy to me. No one was going to top Williams, but doesn't seem like there was much effort to create something even remotely iconic.

 

[RobertR]

As for the music, also agreed. By the time I got to my car, I wouldn't have been able to accurately recall one cue to save my life. I listened to, I guess, the main theme later that day (the one that opens with the repeating piano notes) and that seemed more melancholy to me. No one was going to top Williams, but doesn't seem like there was much effort to create something even remotely iconic.

The more I think about it, the more I think this is a big deal. Music does a great deal to set the emotional tone of a movie. This is definitely no rousing, heroic tale emotionally speaking.

 

[Brandon Conway]

I quite like the music, and I've been thinking of the music from the trailer since I heard it. The music compliments the film well, but I agree that it doesn't have a theme that will permeate pop culture like Williams'. I also think that Zimmer may have intentionally avoided attempting such a thing. Why play in that field? He was in a lose-lose situation no matter what he did.Sent from my VS920 4G using Tapatalk 2

 

[Simon Massey]

I think the music has its moments in the film notably Superman's first flight and the final sequence, which are also coincidentally the last two tracks on the album. To be honest, I quite liked the music, knowing it could never compete with the Williams' original, but it does little to distinguish itself from other Zimmer scores - the two note motif seems eerily reminiscent of what he did in The Dark Knight, just with a more upbeat and urgent backing. It's fine music for a superhero film, nothing more.

 

[RobertR]

I quite like the music, and I've been thinking of the music from the trailer since I heard it. The music compliments the film well, but I agree that it doesn't have a theme that will permeate pop culture like Williams'. I also think that Zimmer may have intentionally avoided attempting such a thing. Why play in that field? He was in a lose-lose situation no matter what he did.Sent from my VS920 4G using Tapatalk 2

Essentially, I think this says that Zimmer just isn't in the same league with Williams.

 

[DVDvision]

Delete the whole Indian Ocean sequence as it adds absolutely nothing except one long ridiculous CGI battle which could easily have been staged in Metropolis. And we had already had the battle of superheroes throwing each other through buildings etc in Smallville so why do the same thing with the final battle? Much better to have Superman take the battle away from the city straight away and still have that final moment where he has to make a choice.

I've just seen it this morning, and I have no idea what scene you're talking about. I just forgot!

Anyway, for ETs who take the trouble of adressing earth people in all their original languages, I wonder why at no point in the movie, the fact that they speak english on Krypton is adressed. Just a McTiernan 13th Warrior style switch would have been enough. in Star Trek, they always explain the languages. They used to 50 friggin years ago. Also

Spoiler

how Kent can demolish a truck without anyone hearing it from inside the diner?

There's some good in the film, but so much wrong ...

First for the Man in the title, there's no exploration of his humanity. You expect Batman Begins, but this is Thor. Bunch of sci-fi shlock martians fighting each other. The movie ends where it should begin.

The climax last action

Spoiler

The moment he kills Zod

should be the beginning of the second act, and the movie about how supe deal with it.

But no, quickly done, quickly forgotten. Because of Superman, half of Metropolis is destroyed, and god knows how many dies, and all they do is put a satellite surveillance on him after this? In current America, he would have been executed, sent in exile in space, picked apart by scientists... America would destroy this man or try to the world would fear him. This is what this movie should be about. Not destroying CGI buildings with fake CGI explosions for 120 minutes.

Remember how much the Supe in chains image is used in the promotion? It's over and out in 3 minutes. David Goyer needs to retire, I'm not kidding. This movie is going to be panned hard, the Superman aura won't be enough to save it.

There's the Nolanite curse all over this (dialogue read by the actors based on the concept notes and movie themes and mechanics instead of showing it). It's non stop action ID4 and 2012 style without one standing out sequence. (I mean a "classic scene", you know, the precinct in T1, the canal chase in T2, the Harrier in True Lies, the fall of the tree in Avatar -- there's zero movie moment in that movie.

Iron Man 3 pisses all over this mess.

You can save the Kent scenes thought. The super child scenes are no longer than in the trailers. Costner was great, but

Spoiler

dying just because "it's not the right time" make no sense. Pa Kent can't be that idiotic. Or maybe the kansas sun shined too hard on his skull all these years?

 

[Scott McGillivray]

I really enjoyed this film. I thought it was done quite nicely. I am glad that they didnt dwell on the origin story for too long. It is SUCH a well known story. I thought they did it well and kept it brief. I dont get that their Codex is an old skull...not sure what that was about.

I really enjoyed the rest of the movie. I was never bored or laughing at the wrong times. It had heart. The death of Pa Kent was touching.

My complaint with the movie is the big final battle. Several have already touched on some of the problems. Why didnt Superman take the fight outside of the downtown core? Why did he not seem concerned that BILLIONS of dollars of buildings were being destroyed and THOUSANDS of lives would be lost? I thought the fight was far too similar to Neo versus Agent Smith in the Matrix finale. This was even stranger since Lawernce Fishburn (Morpheous) was in the scenes!
Also, when they fight and head out into space...they fall back to Earth in the exact same spot? Come on!

After the big moment and Zod is defeated, Lois walks in. How the blazes did she get there that fast? The whole downtown destroyed and she just zips right in there.

Its little things like that which take me out of a film. All it takes is for someone to write the ending a bit better to tighten things up.

Overall, I give it an 8/10. Well worth going to see in the theater!

 

[WillG]

The death of Pa Kent was touching.

You know, regarding that

Spoiler

It's gotten to bug me in movies that people needlessly die (or at least, nearly get killed) because they're trying to save a dog. I know we all love our dogs, but in this case what would you imagine being more traumatizing to Clark, losing the dog or losing his (Earth) father (the only father he's ever known at that point in his life)? Especially given the fact that Clark could have easily saved him. Snyder himself is also guilty of this in his Dawn of the Dead remake. Only in that movie, it gets other people needlessly killed.

 

[Bryan Tuck]

I enjoyed the movie overall. I liked it, but wanted to love it. Like others, I thought it got a little lost in the 3rd act, and there wasn't a lot of buildup to the action sequences. It was basically, "FIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!! Stop. FIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!! Stop..." and so forth. Still, it never completely imploded; I liked a lot of what the actors were doing, and I thought the tweaking of the Clark/Lois relationship actually worked really well. For the most part, the good outweighed the bad for me.

Part of that bad, though, was the score, which I thought was downright awful. I wasn't expecting (or necessarily wanting) a Williams-style score for this particular film, but I've honestly heard generic trailer music with more character and coherence than what we have here. The "theme," such as it is, sounds like a 10-year-old sitting down at the piano and discovering intervals for the first time, before leading into a mishmash of synth and electric guitar effects and processed strings repeating the same four bars over and over and over and over and over and over again.

I could go on and on about how bad the score is, but the biggest problem is that it doesn't say anything about the characters or the world they inhabit. It just reiterates, on the thinnest surface level possible, what we're already seeing on the screen. It's so relentlessly simplistic that it counteracts some of the nuance the actors were trying to bring to their performances. I think it's actually worse than Zimmer's Batman scores.

Sorry for the rant, but that was the most glaring flaw to me.