Movie Review: Man of Steel (2013)
Written by Anthony Sargon
"Man of Steel" is arguably this summer's most anticipated movie. Directed by Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) and produced by Christopher Nolan ( The Dark Knight Trilogy), the movie has a lot riding on it. It's intended to be the launching pad for DC's own cinematic universe, one they hope can rival Marvel's when it comes to boxoffice receipts. So does "Man of Steel" live up to the immense hype, or does it crash under the weight of its lofty ambitions? While the movie does more right than it does wrong, it's not the home run many - including myself - were hoping for.
The movie opens on a dying Krypton. Jor-El (Russell Crowe) and Lara (Ayelet Zurer) know that the only way their race can survive is by sending their son, Kal-El, to Earth. Kal-El is no ordinary Kryptonian though, and he's been imbued with the planet's codex, which contains all of Krypton's knowledge. When General Zod (Michael Shannon) fails to capture the codex, he's sent into exile along with his crew of conspirators. The rest is pretty straightforward; Krypton blows up, and Kal-El reaches Earth and is found by Martha (Diane Lane) and Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner), who raise him as Clark Kent (Henry Cavill). We're taken on Clark's journey of self discovery, and eventual face-off with General Zod, who finds his way to Earth to destroy the last son of Krypton, and retrieve the codex.
Let's start with the good; the movie looks gorgeous. The scenes of Superman flying around are insane, the action sequences are epic, and we finally get a badass Superman who kicks serious ass and beats bad guys to a pulp. Snyder has always been a very visual director, and he nails the film's look. Hans Zimmer's score is hands down this summer's most memorable, and one of the best scores I've heard in a long time. The cast is also superb. Henry Cavill is a great Kal-El; he's earnest and reserved, and delivers when it comes to action scenes. He doesn't get much of a chance to evoke a lot of emotion due to Zack Snyder's focus on action, but he delivers when he does. Michael Shannon is serviceable as General Zod, but he's somewhat upstaged by one of his coconspirators, Faora (Antje Traue). Amy Adams is a great Lois Lane; she's tough, proactive, and contemporary. Kevin Costner provides some of the film's more emotional and ponderous moments as Pa Kent, and my only wish is that there was more of him. Much of the film's focus is on Russell Crowe's Jor-El, and while Crowe pulls the role off brilliantly, his character may have slightly overstayed his welcome.
What bothered me the most about the film was its structure; the story isn't told in a very direct way as Snyder and Screenwriter David S. Goyer chose to rely on flashbacks to explore Clark's origin. While it's nice that they're trying to change up the origin movie formula, the film felt clumsy and a little sloppy as a result. We keep moving from time frame to time frame, even when it doesn't make any chronological sense. The movie feels like we're watching snapshots of Clark's life instead of a coherent story, and that's disappointing.
Another choice that I found to be quite questionable is Snyder's decision to shoot the film with a handheld camera. There's too much shaky-cam as a result, and it can be distracting and annoying. Some action scenes also go on for way too long, and the audience isn't given much of a chance to recuperate in between all of them. It would have been nice to see some quieter moments where we can get to connect with Clark and his struggles to find himself and understand his purpose. Like I mentioned above, his relationship with his Earth parents wasn't as deeply explored as it should have been. Kevin Costner is the film's heart, yet he barely gets any screen time, and Diane Lane only gets a scene or two to establish her relationship with her son, and we're supposed to assume the rest.
One final point: If DC is serious about setting up its own cinematic universe, they need to lighten up just a tad. The movie's entertaining, don't get me wrong, but it's also joyless. It's a two and half hour sci-fi drama that involves very few laughs or moments of levity, and while that works for a standalone franchise, this is Superman we're talking about, and he's eventually going to be sharing the screen with some ridiculous looking people (Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, etc.). Unless DC plans on making all of its superheroes angry and depressed, we're in for a very dark "Justice League" movie.
Anthony's Verdict:
"Man of Steel" squanders a lot of its potential, but that's ok. It's still an entertaining flick, one that does a good job of reintroducing Superman to a new generation of viewers while establishing him as a modern badass. It wasn't the movie I thought it should be, but I'm still excited to see where the character goes next, and so should you.
Numerical Score: 7/10
Read the Original post on A Geek's Blog
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://cdn.naharnet.com/stories/en/87076 |