'Man Of Steel' Movie Review

Man Of Steel Review: 

Mostly Flies, Almost Soars         

BY IAN TAN

Zack Snyder’s ‘Man Of Steel’ is the retelling of the Superman origin story from a more modern day / grounded perspective, ala ‘The Dark Knight’ films, which is no surprise as Christopher Nolan himself produced and helped shape the story for this blockbuster. Comic book fans as well as general movie buffs are eager to see the result of Snyder, Nolan and David S. Goyer’s (the screenwriter) work. So, how does ‘Man of Steel’ fare with today’s audiences who would like to see a more believable take on the original superhero?

The answer is actually hit or miss, with divided opinions from critics and audiences alike. In my opinion, this film fails to fire on all cylinders but definitely hits the mark on several instances.

The opening sequence of the film starts out epic, Zack Snyder style, showing the planet Krypton on the brink of pure destruction beyond salvation. It is here we witness the birth of Superman, or Kal-El, as he is known as for most of the movie, whose parents Jor-El (Russel Crowe) and Lara Lor-Van (Ayelet Zurer) are given no choice but to place him as well as the Codex, a life giving piece of McGuffin, into a capsule and set a course for it to Earth, all before the menacing General Zod gets his hands on the latter to use it for purposes that wouldn’t go down well with Jor-El and the Kyptonian leaders. Zod swears that “he will find him (!)” and the Codex to revive Krypton… and so begins our ‘Man of Steel’ journey…

Pa Kent, the best part about this film.

The performances in ‘Man of Steel’ are the real driving force of this movie. Russel Crowe puts on a regal performance as Kal-El’s biological father while Kevin Costner and Diane Lane provide the film with some of its most heartfelt scenes and serve as the story’s emotional core as the foster parents. Henry Cavill breathes new life into the iconic character and gives it his own sense of humility and vulnerability, creating a likable lead and take on the man of steel. Amy Adams seems to do more as Lois Lane than previous entries in the franchise have allowed her character to, giving her room to find her place within the story and to help progress it. Michael Shannon delivers a performance that seems a notch below what it could have been with his performance as General Zod; that’s not to say that he didn’t do a good job, he just didn’t live up to the villainous standards Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dark Knight’ villains had with The Joker (Heath Ledger, may he rest in peace) and Bane (Tom Hardy). But then again, Nolan was not directly involved with this movie.

Grr

The story for this movie follows a non-linear narrative, developing the titular character’s backstory through flashbacks with his foster parents and his struggle finding his place in this world, having to deal with such supernatural abilities. Those scenes are definitely what makes this movie work and are effectively and well placed within the course of the movie. In fact, those are the best parts of this reboot. The scenes in the present day are sometimes a little too rushed, in order to give way for the film’s spectacular Snyder-trademark visuals, which sort of gives audiences a hard time digesting several plot-points. The supporting characters, mainly Lois’ colleagues from the Daily Planet, are given shallow character development, which does not help when they are placed in perilous situations towards the climax of the film as we barely know them well enough to actually support and care for them in such circumstances.

Wait, Laurence Fishburne is in this movie?

Now for the highlight of the film: the special effects. As expected from Zack Snyder, who helmed visually bombastic films such as ‘300’, ‘Watchmen’, ‘Sucker Punch’ and ‘Legend of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga’hoole’, ‘Man of Steel’s visuals are a wonderful feast for the eyes. The more punctuated bits of the visual effects are towards the film’s opening sequence on Krypton, where we are treated to vast landscapes, exotic creatures and Kryptonian technology; all of which were impossible to create years ago with previous ‘Superman’ entries. As great as the effects and pyrotechnics are, it does seem a little too self-indulgent during the climactic showdown between Kal-El/ Superman and Zod. The fight sequences are terrific, but repetitive, with both super powered beings super-punching each other to a pulp and smashing through building after building, after building. Also to note is that the destruction level in this film is MASSIVE; a wee bit over-the-top for a first film that is likely to spawn sequels with double to triple the amounts of mass destruction this movie had. Fortunately though, unlike recent blockbusters ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ and ‘Iron Man 3’, where the 3D stood out for only a scene or two, Snyder’s ‘Man of Steel’ boasts an aggressive no-holds-barred 3D conversion that elevates the scale, scope and immersive depth of pretty much every scene, and is definitely worth the extra top up price for 3D and truly complements the director’s visual talents.

All in all, Zack Snyder’s version of ‘Superman’ does not quite soar to heights fans were expecting it to. With that being said, the film does contain bits here and there that seemed that if given a little more time to work on, with some restraint on the use of digital special effects and a more emotional connection between its flashback and present day scenes, this could have been the masterpiece ‘Superman’ film comic book fans and movie junkies were hoping for, instead of the ‘good enough’ film it is.

 7.7 out of 10 stars.