3D Blu-ray Review Man of Steel 3D Blu-ray Review (2 Viewers)

[Todd Erwin]

Man of Steel 3D Blu-ray Review

Man of Steel had some big shoes to fill, as did everyone connected with it. After all, Richard Donner’s 1978 Superman: The Movie is still considered the blueprint and litmus test for which all other comic book adaptations are compared to. Zack Snyder’s darker re-imagining of Superman’s origin succeeds as a visual feast.

Studio: Warner Brothers

Distributed By: N/A

Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1

Audio: English 7.1 DTS-HDMA, Spanish 5.1 DD, French 5.1 DD

Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French, Portuguese

Rating: PG-13

Run Time: 2 Hr. 23 Min.

Package Includes: Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, DVD, UltraViolet

Disc Type: BD50 (dual layer), DVD-9 (dual layer)

Region: A, 1

Release Date: 11/12/2013

MSRP: $44.95

The Production Rating: 3.5/5

The origin story of Superman is fairly well-known, first told by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in Action Comics #1 in 1938. Hollywood has told the story numerous times, as a series of 17 animated short subjects by Fleischer Studios in the early 1940s, a 1940s radio series, matinee serials in the late 1940s and early 1950s, a television series starring George Reeves, and, most famously, in Richard Donner’s 1978 classic, Superman: The Movie (which would prove to be the benchmark for superhero films). After the disastrous box office of Superman IV: The Quest For Peace and tepid results of Superman Returns, Warner Bros. brought in Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer, the team responsible for the successful Dark Knight Trilogy, to commission a reboot of the franchise, and Zack Snyder was subsequently brought in to take over the director’s chair for Man of Steel.Starting from scratch, Goyer’s screenplay changes Krypton's fate from the red sun going super nova to the planet imploding due to the Kryptonians depleting the planet of its natural resources. Much of Superman’s origins are told in flashback, very different from the storyline we’ve grown up with. Overall, the film was given a much darker tone, both in theme and color pallette (the bright blue spandex suit replaced with a much darker, almost scale-like leather). I’ll be brutally honest, I went in to Man of Steel with pretty low expectations. Partly because I have not been a huge fan of Zack Snyder (I found Watchmen to be completely unwatchable), but also due to a lot of the bad word of mouth I had been hearing and reading from major fans of Superman (specifically that it did not follow the Siegel/Shuster origin story). I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked and enjoyed the film. Henry Cavill dons his best American accent, and pulls off Kal-El and Superman with ease (the verdict is still out on a grown-up clark Kent). Amy Adams is a feisty, modern-day Lois Lane. Michael Shannon is a sympathetic villain as General Zod. Kevin Costner and Diane Lane are both very believable as a much younger Kent couple. Russell Crowe was a brilliant choice as Jar-El. And Laurence Fishburne was an interesting casting choice as Daily Planet editor Perry White.The film does have its problems, though. Hans Zimmer had the unfortunate task of trying to score Man of Steel without using any of the themes made famous by John Williams, which was almost a no-win scenario. What Zimmer brings can best be described as experimental. The biggest complaint, though, is the running time combined with uneven pacing, action sequences that go on too long, and way too many endings to the film itself.

Video Rating: 4/5 3D Rating: 3/5

Warner’s 1080p transfer, which retains the film’s 2.40:1 aspect ratio, may not be to everyone’s liking. As stated in my review above, this is a much darker film than previous Superman films, with muted colors leaning to a more greyish-blue and hyped detail. Some may consider the 2D version to be reference quality, worthy of demo material for your HD display. Colors are consistent, and black levels are excellent (although there is some crushing, but that was purposeful).As for 3D, I have to agree with Ron Epstein, our resident HTF 3D Addict, that the decision to complete the film in 2D and convert to 3D may not have completely paid off for the studio this time. There is some sense of depth throughout much of the film, but there are never any protrusions from the screen (or anything close to it). On the plus side, I did not experience any noticeable ghosting or crosstalk.

Audio Rating: 4.5/5

I remember many people commenting on how loud the mix for Man of Steel was during its theatrical run, and especially in IMAX and RPX/ETX/XD screens, the exhibitors do like to show off how the amps in those theaters can go to 11, while all other screens only go to 10. Having listened to the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix (folded down to 5.1 in my theatre setting), I can see how, if played at excessive volume, a theater patron can think that way. When played back at a comfortable level, this is a very impressive, immersive, and active mix, while at the same time dialogue rarely, if ever, gets lost. This is definitely a reference quality, demo-worthy soundtrack.

Special Features Rating: 4/5

DVD CopyUltraViolet HD Digital CopyMain Feature Disc (2D):Strong Characters, Legendary Roles (1080p; 25:59): Explore the legendary roles of the Superman canon and how they evolved in this new iteration of the Superman story.All-Out Action (1080p; 26:02): The action in Man of Steel soars to new heights with a level of realism never before seen in a superhero film.Krypton Decoded (1080p; 6:42): Dylan Sprayberry (Clark Kent, age 13) gives the lowdown on all the amazing Krypton tech, weapons and spaceships featured in Man of Steel.Superman 75th Anniversary Animated Short (1080p;2:03): A very brief animated history of the evolution of Superman over his 75 year career.New Zealand: Home of Middle-earth (1080p; 6:35): From Matamata to Queenstown, travel with Peter Jackson and his team across the stunning locations of New Zealand, transformed by the filmmakers into Middle-earth.Special Features Disc:Journey of Discovery: Creating Man of Steel (1080p; 2:54:05): Watch the movie with Zack Snyder as he shares the incredible journey to re-imagine Superman.Planet Krypton (1080p; 17:18): A mockumentary on the world’s first exploration of Krypton and its lost society.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Love it or hate it, Man of Steel is an audio-visual feast that attempts to re-imagine and reboot a once-successful movie franchise. The 3D does not add enough to the film to recommend it hands down over the 2D version, but if the price difference is negligible, I say go for the 3D combo pack.

Reviewed By: Todd Erwin

Support HTF when you buy this title:

 

[Brett_M]

I agree for the most part -- great cast hindered by uneven pacing and a non-linear plot. The a/v stuff is grand but the structure of the film is what bothered me the most. Had it a more linear story line to follow coupled with better editing/trimming we would have a better movie experience.

 

[Citizen87645]

 

[Bryan Goldberg]

If you're a fan of 3D version of Man of Steel as I am, this is how you can save TWICE on blu-ray 3D purchase at target.com (worked for me a month ago, not sure if it's still valid):- if you spend over $25 you'll receive a free $10 gift card:ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=6u8GgEN4Bi7ZGZE6ZMgc4A%3D%3D- Target's Cartwheel app has a coupon for an addition 10% offcartwheel.target.com

 

[Dave Moritz]

This version of Superman was the strangest I have ever seen! Grant that the special effects where very good but this movie was all over the place! I hated the back and forth jumping back to his child hood where he is ether being bullied or saved people and told he shouldn't do that because he needs to hide his powers. And then they drop the device to turn earth into Krypton and how long does it take them to decide to try and attack this device? In this version Kent doesn't go from the farm to become a reporter and doesn't even develop himself with doing heroic deeds but towards the end of this version he sure destroyed a lot of things and does something superman has never did, kill someone! I most likely would have preferred to hear a lossless 7.1 track instead of the lossy 5.1 from recording it from a premium movie channel on the dvr. I can not currently see myself purchasing this title on blu-ray or even 4K blu-ray sometime after 12/2015!

 

[Gary Seven]

Actually, the more I watch this movie, the more I like it. I thought it was an interesting take on Superman and liked the fact they went in a more science fiction direction than fantasy. I also liked Jonathan's Kent's caution as it was truly a man with wisdom in understanding the social ramifications of there being a person from another planet (that by itself would be an interesting movie). In earlier tellings, Clark Kent is the secret identity while the modern telling has Superman as the secret identity. So in essence, it's an emphasis on the Man rather than Super, as he grows into the character everyone is familiar with.

Also, as I understand it, Superman did kill Zod in the comic book (modern age) which was the catalyst for Superman vowing to never kill again. A polarizing movie it is, no doubt.

 

[Mike Boone]

Todd Erwin, I think you wrote a pretty good review, and you got the idea across that Man of Steel is a somewhat uneven film.

Plus, I sure can't be the only one who's getting tired of film makers constantly resorting to the mass destruction of buildings during the climax of their movies. Whether it's destruction in The Avengers, this film, other super hero films, Godzilla, or any of the 4 Transformers films, sure makes it seem like Hollywood has reached a creative dead end.

Here's something strange, though. Before my dad died in Jan. 1990, I remember him saying "Everything in today's movies is about destruction." Well, he never saw anything compared to the level of destruction presented today. Comparing movies made before 1990 with those made now, is like comparing auto racing to a demolition derby. And here's the weird thing, both my dad and my older brother worked in the World Trade Center in the late 70s and during most of the 1980s. (I'm originally from Long Island)

9/11 actually caused me to make a rather naive, not to mention wrong headed, statement about movies. Shortly after those awful events, I mentioned to friends and family, that with all of America having just seen real explosions & fire, plus people running from buildings coming down, you could just bet that Hollywood would really be cutting back on including big explosions in its movies. Well, looks like if I'm ever moved to offer stock market predictions, the rest of you folks would be well advised to steer as far clear of my financial advice as possible.

Anyway, in the spring of 2009, to help promote and publicize his new film Transformers:Revenge of the Fallen, director Michael Bay was actually bragging in interviews, that viewers of his film would witness the biggest explosion ever created for a movie. What an advance in film making!? Sadly, though, the movie was the biggest box office hit of 2009 in the U.S. (Avatar, which was released in Dec. 2009 was a bigger hit, but it did most of its business in 2010.) Interestingly, according to a reviewer for HighDefDigest, it's hard to find people, even among kids, who admit to liking Fallen. I've never seen the movie myself, but if Megan Fox's costumes had been considerably skimpier than what was displayed in the trailers, then it might have been worthwhile to have been tempted into a rental.

 

[Dave Moritz]

I ended up getting this title after all and in 3D along with X Men Days Of Future Past in 3D and will most likely try out 3D on my the 4K UHD/3D TV for the first time since I purchased it almost 9 months ago. Would still like to see how this title looks in 4K.