Man of Steel

By: Zach Goodier

The long-awaited return of Superman is at hand, and the big question is, "will this be the movie we've all be hoping for?" Well, Zach Snyder definitely has a resume to bring forward when heading to the theatre, but that's not all this movie has.  A strong cast brings a lot of talent to the lineup, and we see all the familiar names, and most are backed up by some highly renowned names.  So is Man of Steel the Superman we've been hoping for? Or is it just another bird or plane going over our heads?

It's a bird... It's a plane... Oh, you get the point.

In short, this movie is pretty good.  Now you might note that I didn't use any long or exciting words to praise it, that's because it doesn't really earn one from me.  Was it long? Oh yeah, it's listed as 2 hours and 23 minutes, so there's plenty of quantity there for your dollar, but it's the quality that starts to nag at me.

Kneel before Zod!

The pacing felt very rushed, we are hurried along almost from the moment the opening credits are done as Krypton is faced with cataclysm.  While this is obviously no surprise in terms of the story, it only takes a few moments for the action to pick up, and we hardly have time to set our feet on the ground and settle in.  And even afterwards when Clarke is living his life on Earth, with no real idea of who or what he truly is, the narrative is still hurrying along in an attempt to carry us onto the next big plot point. 

I was pleasantly surprised by how substantial Jor-el's presence was in this movie.

The only way we get to glimpse Clarke's back-story is through flashbacks that occur sporadically throughout the film.  While some of these are tastefully done, it really felt like they wanted to try to skip along most of the childhood material, only showing a couple of highlights.  I found this disappointing because with origin stories there is almost as inherent demand for lengthy scenes filled with emotional depth to add some life to the character, bringing them closer to us as human beings before making them into the larger-than-life people they eventually become.  While all of those elements are worked into the narrative, they feel sporadic and almost feel like an afterthought, like they didn't consider we might be interested in seeing Clarke's childhood until they had their first draft and said, "whoops, people might still want to see what brought him to this point as an adult."

The childhood is only really covered in flashbacks, and rarely in any extensive detail, or at least as extensive as I would have liked.

Another issue one might have as a comic purist was that the writers decided to change up the story by having Lois Lane discover Superman's identity before he ever thought of working for the Daily Planet.  This changes up a lot of the story, but it does allow for some interesting changes to keep you engaged in story and keeping the feeling fresh.

However, these are relatively minor issues.  When it comes to Superman, we want to see him leaping tall buildings and flying around beating up Zod, right?  Well, there's plenty in that department, and the special effects are very well done.  The action is top notch, and you truly feel like these guys are gods when compared to you or me.  Towns get leveled, and beams, vehicles, and landscape become handheld weapons to these characters on-screen.  It all comes off very well and makes you really feel like things are authentic, and not the usual clumsy look that comes with mixing actors with CGI-heavy stunts and scenes.

While I couldn't find a picture from the parts surrounding this still, there are a lot of explosions and carnage.

All in all, this serves as a competent, even good, origin story for the Superman name.  While my lack of emotional investment, or "soul," to this movie prevented it from being everything I hoped it would be, it was still an enjoyable thrill ride that had solid execution on screen, but feel short off the camera with writing and direction with some of the characters and story.  I feel like this movie should have somehow been broken up, with Zod being introduced in the Kryptonian intro, but left for a later installment.  

I would have liked a more down-to-earth look at Clarke growing up, with him making the emotional transition into Superman without being rushed along by the conflict with General Zod.  I mean, let Superman start out with a few bank robberies, would ya?  Then you can slowly work him up to bigger villains like Zod and Lex.  Oh, and that reminds me, there are quite a few easter eggs that hint at possible story elements to be worked into future movies. They should have built up to Zod in a future installment as a final test of Superman as a hero, let him start with some good ol' fashioned bank robbers first, then end the movie with a known villain, like maybe start Superman's conflict with Lex rather than come out swinging with one of the baddest and toughest villains Superman has ever faced, and Lex could have provided more towards the sentiment that Superman didn't belong with humans.

Good:

-Solid action, with great visual support to make things feel as grandiose as they should.

-While this Superman seemed a little tense, and even stale at certain points, he does a surprisingly good job with the role.

-Outstanding cast adds a certain element of quality to the story and characters

Bad:

-Pace felt rushed at times, dragging you along this roller coaster and never allowing you to take everything in.

-Writing was not as good as it could have been, the backstory of Clarke's childhood felt like an afterthought more than a substantial story element.

-I feel like Zod came in too soon as the big villain for Superman to overcome.


Scully Rating: 8 out of 10