Man of Steel review - WITH SPOILERS

[Earth 2 Chris]

Saw it for the second time today with my son again, and this time wife and daughter, at our hometown theater, where I saw Superman I-III. I liked it even better the second time, without fearing it wouldn't live up to the hype.

It reinforced my feeling that a lot of the criticisms leveled at the film are unwarranted. Sure, it's not perfect, but it's a good movie, and my always-opinionated wife agreed.

A few things observed on the 2nd viewing:

1. The actual destruction was rarely Superman's fault. Only really in that opening fight scene in Smallville did he himself cause the damage. Most of the time it was Zod knocking him around through buildings. There seemed to be little chance for him to take the fight away from Metropolis as well.

2. There were NO babies in that scout ship. Period.

3. That Christopher Reeve thing HAS to be intentional. In that sequence it shows up 3 times...and the most pronounced is as the angle of the shot changes from waist up to an extreme close-up of his face. This part isn't even in the clip floated online that I posted here last week. My wife, son and I all noticed at at the same time.

4. My son says there was a Brainiac symbol, ala STAS/JLU on the World Engine right before Superman plowed through it. I didn't see it myself, but he swears it was there.

Chris

[Operation:Mego]

Saw it for the second time today with my son again, and this time wife and daughter, at our hometown theater, where I saw Superman I-III. I liked it even better the second time, without fearing it wouldn't live up to the hype.

It reinforced my feeling that a lot of the criticisms leveled at the film are unwarranted. Sure, it's not perfect, but it's a good movie, and my always-opinionated wife agreed.

A few things observed on the 2nd viewing:

1. The actual destruction was rarely Superman's fault. Only really in that opening fight scene in Smallville did he himself cause the damage. Most of the time it was Zod knocking him around through buildings. There seemed to be little chance for him to take the fight away from Metropolis as well.

2. There were NO babies in that scout ship. Period.

3. That Christopher Reeve thing HAS to be intentional. In that sequence it shows up 3 times...and the most pronounced is as the angle of the shot changes from waist up to an extreme close-up of his face. This part isn't even in the clip floated online that I posted here last week. My wife, son and I all noticed at at the same time.

4. My son says there was a Brainiac symbol, ala STAS/JLU on the World Engine right before Superman plowed through it. I didn't see it myself, but he swears it was there.

Chris

I saw that too. I thought it was a nice nod and a cool potential set-up for the sequel.

[sprytel]

I finally saw MOS on the 4th... and now have slogged through this thread. Oh, the trolling that I missed!

I really enjoyed the film. I know a lot of people are saying this movie is "dark". While it is certainly serious, I thought it was hopeful and inspiring. To me, the heart of the movie was this father-son bond between Supes and his two fathers. Watching him develop into his own man, but guided by the best of his families' values... for some popcorn action blockbuster, I thought it was surprisingly touching.

But enough about that... I am posting here for an important reason...

How can we have 28 pages of comments, and nobody comments on the fact that the Phantom Zone cell / rocket thingies totally look like penises?

"Zod, as punishment for your crimes, I sentence you to the Phantom Zone. Sure... by blasting you into space, this likely means you are going to survive the imminent destruction of Krypton. But hey, it will be totally worth it just to turn you into a giant penis-cicle."

[Earth 2 Chris]

^Ha! But I think someone DID mention that, or maybe it was somewhere else online...

[madmarva]

^^the common name for those rockets on Krypton was erectile projectiles.

[huedell]

1. The actual destruction was rarely Superman's fault. Only really in that opening fight scene in Smallville did he himself cause the damage. Most of the time it was Zod knocking him around through buildings. There seemed to be little chance for him to take the fight away from Metropolis as well.

... then (my opinion is) he should have acknowledged that ala Supes II. Additionally, I don't remember anyone in this thread blaming Superman for damage being caused in a fight we all obviously know he didn't start.

[Bruce Banner]

Specs for the Blu-ray and DVD release of Man of Steel:

“Man of Steel” will be available on Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack for $44.95, on Blu-ray Combo Pack for $35.99, on DVD 2-disc Special Edition for $28.98, and as a 3D Limited Collector’s Edition for $59.99. The Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack features the theatrical version of the film in 3D hi-definition, hi-definition and standard definition; the Blu-ray Combo Pack features the theatrical version of the film in hi-definition and standard definition; the DVD 2-disc Special Edition features the theatrical version in standard definition; and the 3D Limited Collector’s Edition features the theatrical version of the film in 3D hi-definition, hi-definition and standard definition, and also includes a limited release metal “S” glyph with lucite glass stand. The Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD 2-disc Special Edition and 3D Limited Collector’s Edition include UltraViolet* which allows consumers to download and instantly stream the standard definition theatrical version of the film to a wide range of devices including computers and compatible tablets, smartphones, game consoles, Internet-connected TVs and Blu-ray players.

BLU-RAY AND DVD ELEMENTS

“Man of Steel” Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack and 3D Limited Collector’s Edition contain the following special features:

· Journey of Discovery: Creating “Man of Steel” – This immersive feature-length experience allows you to watch the movie with director Zack Snyder and stars Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Diane Lane and others as they share the incredible journey to re-imagine Superman.
· Strong Characters, Legendary Roles – Explore the legendary characters of the Superman mythology and how they have evolved in this new iteration of the Superman story.
· All-Out Action – Go inside the intense training regimen that sculpted Henry Cavill into the Man of Steel and Michael Shannon and Antje Traue into his Kyptonian nemeses. Includes interviews with cast and crew.
· Krypton Decoded – Dylan Sprayberry (Clark Kent, age 13) gives the lowdown on all the amazing Krypton tech, weapons and spaceships featured in “Man of Steel.”
· Planet Krypton – The world’s first exploration of Krypton and its lost society.

“Man of Steel” DVD 2-disc Special Edition contains the following special features:

· Strong Characters, Legendary Roles
· All-Out Action
· Krypton Decoded

[Operation:Mego]

Additionally, I don't remember anyone in this thread blaming Superman for damage being caused in a fight we all obviously know he didn't start.

That end battle looked like it took place at 2 pm on a workday. So many citizens just walking around the city, working, and dying by falling debrie because two god-like creatures just toppled over yet another building or crashed into and through a high-rise dropping glass, steel, and concrete on the unsuspecting masses below. By the time that last fight was over, Metropolis looked like a pile of rubble. That's like the police department blowing up a bank with the hostages inside in order to stop a robbery in progress. (Lex Luthor to the rescue on the rebuild in part 2 anyone?) Anyway Superman could have flung Zod out over the ocean or to the desert or to anywhere that's not a major populated city during the endless last battle. In one of the movies few attempts at lightening the tone they followed this bazillion dollars in damage and countless (unseen) loss of lives battle up by having Superman destroy a military drone that was following him around and getting yelled at by the Army General because it cost "12 million dollars." What kind of reprimand did he get for destroying a city the equivalent of Manhattan and directly causing the (still unseen) deaths of countless civilians?

Only because you asked.

[Operation:Mego]

I could see a sequel featuring Luthor coming out against Superman like in the Azzerello Luthor mini series, or for a World's Finest film, have Batman come out of the shadows of Gotham to try and take down the alien menace that is Superman, but after meeting him begin to have a trusted friendship, which could spill into the Justice League.

My fanboy wish now is a Krypton prequel starring Crowe and Shannon.

Perhaps this is WHY he develops the No-Kill rule. Him killing Zod was absolutely necessary. There was no other way to stop him. Plus, that is what he did in the comics.

Man, all of you guys must physic or something.

[huedell]

Only because you asked.

Despite my point being Superman-sympathetic, it still supports the rant from where it was taken (and actually amplifies it)... spacecaps just isn't as sympathetic as I am with letting Supes run wild (sans reprimand) in the name of protecting the city... that's OK

[ctc]

>What kind of reprimand did he get for destroying a city the equivalent of Manhattan and directly causing the (still unseen) deaths of countless civilians?

That's an old superheroism though. As long as they pay some sort of lip service to the hero saving bystanders the topic NEVER gets dealt with. (It takes the fun out of the fight scenes.) In the old shows and movies there's always a scene where the building is on fire, and apparently the ONLY person left inside is a kid.... whom the superhero flies in and rescues, returning them to their mom on the ground. Nobody asks if there are more folks inside, nobody asks why mom ran off and forgot the kid....

It's one of those weird, post-Wertham things that kiddified the heroes of the 50's. It's also one of them things that's tough for the superheroes to shake. Tricks like that work fine on kids, but when you have an older audience it raises some doubts. Like how folks keep pointing out the potential death toll in this film. (Which; oddly, they didn't in the Avengers.)

Don C.

[Operation:Mego]

[huedell]

Like how folks keep pointing out the potential death toll in this film. (Which; oddly, they didn't in the Avengers.)

Making a better movie goes a longer way. Man Of Steel just didn't hit the number of sweet spots Avengers or BB/Dark Knight did. Something felt "notably off" about this version of Superman... but, at least it'll float a franchise.

[ctc]

>Something felt "notably off" about this version of Superman

A friend of mine pointed out that a lot of the DC movies seem apologetic. That's why you get stuff that's sort of superhero, but not quite. So they play up the sci-fi angle, or you get the Smallville thing where they're superheroes without costumes, or they HAVE to add some weird subplot for the normals in the sudience. (Like Supes not paying child support....) The Marvel stuff tends to not do that. So you get the Avengers, that absolutely LAUDED in the superheroness. (Arrow takes out flying aircraft carrier? Check. Hulk punches out flying cyber-whale? Check. Superhero misunderstanding and resulting fight scene? Check.)

>Making a better movie goes a longer way.

That's one of the weird, sticking points I have with a lot of these films. The ones everyone considers bad don't seem that much worse than the ones everyone loves.

Don C.

[boynightwing]

It's funny that you mention how DC movies seem apologetic. I feel that they are almost embarrassed by their own product. Hence why Superman was "the blur" in Smallville or why they just call Green Arrow the Hood or Hooded Vigilante and why they call the show Arrow. Be proud of your characters DC! Don't hide them in realism or under other names. They seem especially worried about the name Superman. He was called it once in Man of Steel.

Marvel really does seem to have a better pulse on their properties. My whole life I've been a DC guy but lately, Make Mine Marvel. I can watch the Avengers over and over again. Same with the first Iron Man and Thor.