Now, I am aware that this film has created a lot of controversy among the comic book fan community. I know comic writer Dan Slott has been very vocal of his distaste for this film, criticizing the film's dark tone, abundance of messianic elements, and especially the end where Superman kills General Zod, not to mention the massive amount of collateral damage.
Man of Steel is most certainly a unique cinematic depiction of Superman, likely influenced by the enormous success of the extremely dark Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy. I like dark, gritty, serious movies (horror is my favorite genre after all). But I feel what works for one character doesn't necessarily work for all. Ever since Guardians of the Galaxy came out in 2014 Marvel Studios' films have been steadily ramping up the humor and jokes of their films, and well, let's face it, the majority of today's audiences have told the movie studios that they want to laugh in these films.
A DIGRESSION
Super Hero films now dominate cinema as the Western once did. Film historians have noted that the fall of the western genre coincided with the injection of humor into the films, a result of movie studios desperate to recapture a shrinking audience. While those films were successful at the box office it ultimately didn't save the Western from dying out. Isn't interesting that, with the Marvel Studios films, they keep getting funnier and funnier with each film? For me at least, the humor is quickly losing it's novelty.
It isn't that I wish everything to be humorless, dour, and frightening. Only that, like life, there is a balance of humor, that the right characters are funny, and the serious moments are serious. Too much of one or the other can cause an imbalance. Humor can be very powerful, just as powerful as drama. But too much of one or the other and the effect can lose it's potency. I like to laugh and there are a good number of comedies that I love (mostly 80's stuff). But personally I tend to gravitate toward more serious stories. That's just me though. I prefer to laugh in life, but in the fantasy worlds of comics, movies, and video games I prefer the opposite. I'd rather be thrilled in films than scared in real life. Of course sometimes preferences change.
That being said, I feel a good example of finding the correct balance would be Captain America: Civil War. The majority of the humor came from characters like Spider-Man and Ant-Man. Occasionally other characters like Falcon or Black Widow would have a line here or there but that's it. In the case of say Avengers: Age of Ultron there was far too much humor, especially from the central villain. Again, I place a lot of the blame on Guardians of the Galaxy's tremendous success with the humor, but that's my personal opinion. Obviously I'm in the minority as the rest of the world has made it quite clear that they want more humor.
BACK ON TOPIC
Batman is easily my favorite DC character, but I've made it no secret I'm more of a Marvel Comics guy. But within that I am not your typical Marvel fan. Spider-Man and the X-Men, for the majority of Marvel fans, are the favorites. And I am self-aware enough to know the power of those characters and the appeal. They're amazing and uncanny characters and in reality probably Marvel's most well developed. And yes, I do like them quite a bit myself. But my personal tastes are somewhat odd and sometimes from out of left field (I mean, c'mon, I said my favorite genre is horror).
That in mind, the same can be said for DC's characters. I haven't spent nearly as much time with them as I have Marvel's characters, but I can tell you, with the exception of Batman, the characters that seem the most intriguing to me, based solely on visual appeal, would be a lot of the lesser known characters like Etrigan, Raven, Jonah Hex, and such. I have read some very good Green Lantern and Flash stories written by Geoff Johns and Green Arrow by Kevin Smith was really good too. I am also a fairly big fan of the Teen Titans.
The appeal of Superman has always alluded me for some reason. I've read Kingdom Come, Red Son, Earth One, Superman Unchained, Superman and Wonder Woman, and the Death of Superman and they were really good. Again, I am self aware enough to realize the impact Superman has had on comics and super heroes as a whole and I'm extremely grateful for his existence. To me Supes stands for the American Ideal and the example of everything that's good and right. Truth. Justice. And the American Way. He's the example of everything we wish we could be and strive for. What's more endearing than that? People who've never read a comic book love him. People who generally don't care about super heroes or comics love him. His appeal in undeniable, far-reaching beyond just America to all walks of life.
The legacy of Superman in film is a great one too. Christopher Reeve and Richard Donner created a legendary film that many consider the pinnacle of the genre. Sure, some of the sequels may have gotten lost along the way but even within those films the power and appeal of Superman is present. Here again is where I show my personal odd tastes, I enjoyed Superman Returns. Sure there are aspects of it I wish were different, but overall I enjoyed Brandon Routh's portrayal.
Now, my younger self may have been more vocal about my personal lack of appeal towards Superman. A lot of that was the impetuousness of youth and ignorance. For the record, I don't hate the character at all. I actually admire the influence and broad appeal of him. Where my younger self was quite vocal, and this opinion that hasn't changed within me, is my lack of interest in the character. When a character is so overly powerful and godlike, it can be difficult to find interesting stories to tell. Character struggle is the core of a compelling story. Obviously Superman has plenty of character struggle given he's endured for 80 years fighting villains, dying and returning, and much more. I must say, the arc that writer Frank Miller put Superman through during The Dark Knight Returns and The Dark Knight Strikes Again were pretty ingenious.
Oh my gosh, this is a long setup for the Man of Steel, but bare with me.
Anyway, the struggle for Superman's character isn't as obvious as the struggles of others. For myself personally, it's difficult to look at a problem and not instantly arrive at a solution before I even open the book. But remember, I haven't read the character extensively and don't know him as well as many comic readers. All in all, this is how I feel about the character and where I am approaching the movie, MAN OF STEEL, from. I don't have any hardcore attachments to the character or his immediate universe (Lois Lane, Lex Luther, Jimmy Olsen, and so forth).
THE PLOT
During the destruction of the far off planet Krypton, Jor-El sent his only son to the planet Earth. Years later the son of Jor-El, Clark Kent, searches for clues to his heritage and the struggle to whether reveal his abilities to the world or stay hidden. When the last survivors of Krypton arrive on Earth, the ruthless General Zod and his soldiers, Clark is forced with another choice: help the last remnants of his Kryptonian people start a new life on Earth or side with the Earthlings and save the planet from annihilation.
WHAT I LIKED
The Action. Remember what I was saying about struggle, finding legitimate threats for Superman to face? Superman facing an army of Kryptonians? Now that sounds like a legitimate problem. I loved the high speed action and the collateral damage. With that much power unleashed you bet there'd be a ton of destruction! I mean, Superman is supposed to dwarf the Incredible Hulk in strength and this movie shows what that looks like. On top of that I love the character of FAORA! She was so hardcore from her fighting down to her simplest expression. I recognized the actress from the sci-fi horror film PANDORUM, Antje Traue. She was awesome in Pandorum and she was so cool as Faora.
Full Tilt Science Fiction. This movie really embraced the sci-fi aspects inherent in the character. One of the great things about this movie is the visual design of the film. Zack Snyder is an incredible visual storyteller. The whole opening sequence on Krypton, coupled with Russell Crowe being an awesome Jor-El, was like Final Fantasy set in the DC universe. I loved every moment of it. The costume designs and architecture of the Kryptonians was so interesting and eye-catching (almost H.R. Giger-like). Later, the shot of Faora and the tall Kryptonian walking down a the street looked crazy good. But one of my favorite moments in the entire film was the appearance of the Kryptonian ship in front of the moon and the world-wide blackout followed by General Zod's message the Earth. That moment was pure science fiction glory.
Henry Cavill. That man is handsome. I'll admit it. And he's such a beefcake. I liked his performance as Clark Kent and thought he did a wonderful job. I liked Michael Shannon as Zod, or rather I thought he was a tremendous jerk, and that was perfect. As I said earlier, Russell Crowe was great as Jor-El and Diane Lane was good as Martha Kent. Overall I thought the casting was well done and really sold the story. I also enjoyed the quick origin story at the beginning. I thought it was a nice way to cover the material without bogging down the film too much.
NITPICKS
Jonathan Kent. Kevin Costner was great but I found it a little strange that he'd tell his son to let people die. I kinda thought that Superman was a truly good person because of his midwestern upbringing, his salt of the earth parents with good moral centers and sense of right and wrong. I thought Clark received all that from Jonathan and Martha. Here it's Jor-El who's the most encouraging and idealistic. Jonathan Kent is quite the debbie downer here. I get it though, he's just trying to protect Clark and keep the world from turning on him. But still, of all the super heroes out there with daddy issues, I always thought Supes was the one who didn't have problems with his father. But now he's just another one of the multitude.
I could've done without all the messianic allusions. He's not Jesus. But now that I think about it both Supes and Jesus are Jewish, yes? I'm not a fan of Amy Adams. I can't really articulate it well, I just don't care for her. Carol Ferris, why was she there? She looked nothing like I'd expect a future Star Sapphire to be.
Superman Killing. Talk about shocking! I get it. Zod placed him in an impossible situation, leaving only one option open. But was there really only one option? Supes could've stuck his hand in the way, forcing Zod's heat vision back in Zod's own face blinding him. Or he could've poked Zod's eyes out with his fingers. I don't know, I'm not in charge and I have weird tastes (so it's probably good I'm not in charge because I'd have Supes do something crazy like fight I giant space starfish or something). I don't personally mind him killing Zod but something just feels off about it. Having Supes kill, isn't that the antithesis of who Supes is?
Again, I haven't done my Superman research that thoroughly so I may be way off.
THE VERDICT
I came out of Man of Steel thinking it was pretty awesome. I liked the action, still some of the best of the DCEU films (the only one rivaling it is the "Batman rescues Martha Kent" fight in BVSDOJUE). The visual presentation of the film, costume designs, alien architecture, and so forth are really cool and a feast for the eyes. I felt it was an accurate presentation of someone with power on those levels too. Storywise there were a few beats I didn't enjoy, Jonathan Kent's pessimism, Supes killing Zod, the messiah complex stuff. Overall I thought it was a very good movie and definitely my preferred film in the DCEU. The more I watch this film the more I like it.
THE FOUNDATION FOR THE DC EXTENDED UNIVERSE
It's easy to go back four years later and tear movies apart after seeing others come along and achieving success or vice versa. Now that we've seen two movies born from Man of Steel, I almost have to question DC and Warner Bros.' decision to make Man of Steel the foundation of their cinematic universe. I think it's great that the DCEU begins with Superman, as it should be, just like the MCU began with the Fantastic Four, Spidey, and the X-Men... no wait, that didn't happen. Anyway, while it's great that Supes gets the ball rolling for the DCEU I can't help but feel that starting your universe with your symbol of light, hope, and perfection killing someone isn't right.
Now, I'm not particularly drawn to perfect characters, one of the reasons why I have trouble really engaging with characters like Superman. Maybe that's why I enjoy Man of Steel so much, the filmmakers made Superman flawed. But Superman is supposed to be the one truly perfect hero and the example for everyone else, right? (Or am I totally misinterpreting the character? I could be, I don't know Superman very well)
If Superman is willing to kill and he, of all people, can't find another way then killing shouldn't be a problem for anyone else in the universe since no one else has as many powers and abilities at their disposal as Superman. So if killing is something Superman is willing to do and has done then how dark do your vigilante heroes have to go to separate themselves from the light heroes? As evidence of this, when we meet Batman in BVSDOJ he is branding and killing people. It also sets up a tone of "It sucks to be a superhero" which BVSDOJ ran with. Now, depending on your personal feelings toward the DCEU films maybe this is good or bad. I like the seriousness of the DCEU films but they seem to err too far on the side of seriousness... so serious that it can be ridiculously serious at times.
Man of Steel is a fine film and experiment with the Superman character, but the world it created, I'm unsure if it's a world that I would want to spend several movies within.
Overall Ranking: 7 out of 10
For all the other DC Extended Universe films check out my reviews below!
Soon we'll add Wonder Woman to the list and later this year Justice League!
For my favorite DC characters check out the post below too!
