Man of Steel review - WITH SPOILERS

[Brue]

I love Supergirl because Helen Slater is just too adorable, yes, horrid movie, but she makes it very watchable for me, lol.

Smallville is the worst...simply because it's not Superman to me...never will.

true Slater is the saving grace of the movie.

and true- Smallville started with the hardline premise it wasn't superman -I viewed it as an Elseworld's storyline.

[B-Lister]

I liked a few episodes of Smallville. Not because of Welling, but in spite of him.

Same goes for Lois and Clark.

But both suffer from a campiness that wasn't fully shaken until MOS. for that, I am thankful.

[RickD]

Out of the recent DC films.....

The dark knight is a far superior than MOS.

The Dark Knight is still the one beat!

[StrangeVisitor]

7. I didn't care much for the indigenous flying creatures on Krypton. With all that technology...why the need for airborne horses...you have hovering gravity-defying mechanical contraptions that can take you anywhere. Felt kinda like Lord of the Rings to me, lol.

I thought of the flying creatures as a tip of the hat to all the Kryptonian creatures that would show up in Silver Age stories:





A minor quibble I had was that Clark's saving Pete after the bus crash has such an impact on Pete that he stops bullying Clark, becoming at least sympathetic towards him (Pete helps Clark up when the jocks are harassing him), but as an adult tells Lois, a reporter, about Clark's powers, something that the Kents presumably had long denied.

[B-Lister]

Yup. Tons of SA Easter eggs. Such as the moon Jax-** blew up.

[Nostalgiabuff]

really enjoyed the movie but I thought it was a bit too long. great effects. finally some great knock down drag out fights. could not believe the amount od destruction they did in Smallville and Metropolis. it's interesting, in the post 9-11 world, that no mention is made of the tens of thousands of people that would have died with all those buildings going down

[johnmiic]

OK, finally saw it yesterday. I have to say I liked it and it's a difficult admission. It's a pretty good film. The only thing that makes my admission easier is Zack Snyder said in an interview that he wanted to make a film that was very classic take on Superman and DC stepped in to tell him no. They wanted him to use the new 52 costume and keep the character in line with their new reboot. So if Snyder could've done things his way we might have had a reboot of the true character and not this 52 version. That's a negative to me but overall the film is a very good Superman film.

The changes made, such as the new costume, weren't necessary. The film's plot, over-all doesn't depend on cosmetic things like the change of costume just like they didn't need to make so many cosmetic changes in the Star Trek reboot films. If it ain't broke-don't fix it- but DC must have its way. They're going to shove New 52 down our throats. Fans be damnned! They will undoubtedly point to the success of this film as proof the New 52 is a good idea but that's not the case. The success of Man of Steel does not depend on the New 52 or the bad costume. The costume only registers as black and scaly on screen. It's not impressive at all. The cape was pretty impressive. Only in a few close-ups did I catch a hint of blue and red. It's a Kryptonian designed suit and maybe by the film's end they should have shown a switch over to something less dark and scaly to show he has fully adopted Earth, (and wants to promote a friendlier image to people), since he does tell Zod in the film, "Krypton had its chance.".

What I have against the film is the way the story is presented. This film doesn't flow. The presentation on screen is choppy. It's like someone strung together dozens of little installments and put it up on the big screen. That would be the biggest flaw in my mind. It can be a jarring experience like watching Oliver Stone's JFK or Natural Born Killers. I wasn't always comfortable watching it because of that. Even the Nolan Batman films don't have that problem. They flow better.

I didn't have a problem with Jonathan's death. I don't think it was so much that Kal/Clark just let him die. He was restraining himself because he knew there was a crowd witnessing everything and his father seemed to accept his fate at that point because he didn't want Clark to reveal himself. It was a sort of weak plot device but it's still in line with the Donner film's message: I have all these powers yet I couldn't save him. Truthfully he could have saved him but then he is revealed. His hands were not as tied as they were in Superman The Movie and in a real life situation I don't think Jonathan would have accepted his fate nor would Clark have let him die. His last exchange where he tells him, "You're not my father!" and feels guilty afterwards seems too Spider-Man to me. He's going to carry a lot of guilt and I'm not sure that was the right message. I think it should've been more that he will be help-less in some circumstances; like you may have all these powers but some things will be beyond your ability to fix. The Donner film drove that home better but the message still comes accross.

I'm not too upset about the Zod murder either. It's a reflection of the times it seems. It's the whole big argument from the Kingdom Come min-series. Sure it could have been done differently. Zod should have been sucked into the Phantom Zone too. Just because he's a few feet further away and buried under some rubble shouldn't have made a difference. It's bad story logic but I have no problem with Zod being killed. You could also chalk it up to someone who was raised in a normal family being thrust into extra-ordinary situations. In both cases these can be regarded as his mistakes and he will learn from them and do a better job next time.

Zod is, like Kal-El's biological parents, a product of genetic engineering. He has no purpose in life except the one he has been bred for. Like the Daleks in Doctor Who tho this genetic manipulation seems to have gone awry. He believes this because he was bred to believe it or because he is comfortable with the notion and will not accept any other alternative? I think the latter applies more. What Jor-El said to Kal in the scout ship makes more sense; that Kal's parents could not leave Krypton because they were tied to its fate. What could they possibly contribute when they were a product of a flawed society? They too were bred to fill some specific roles, (tho it's not revealed exactly what-scientists?), and would probably fall prey to the same pit-falls. It's a tidy way to explain why they had to perish too.

The portrayal of Krypton seems totally John Byrne to me. It doesn't match his Man of Steel comic series but the designs take inspiration from his art. The big difference is they are not whit-antiseptic and he portrayed Krypton. The film presents a cold, dark, metallic and dirty world.

Dr. Emile Hamilton is the live action counterpart to animated character from Justice League? Can we expect them to adapt the Project Cadmus story arc for the sequels? I felt the World Engine and some of the Kryptonian tech is more in line with that of Darksied and Apokolips and also ripped from the series finale` of the Justice League cartoon-like the devestating super-battle in the city. Nice to see these in live action but I think some things were grafted on. Plus they have to save something for the sequels. I understand this film had to give it more than 100% to capture audiences, (and maybe out-do The Avengers), but it approaches the over-kill limit.

Some details bother me.

Was Jor-El's intent to have Kal rebuild Krypton on Earth the same as Zod would have? Only he wanted to give Kal the choice to do it rather than force it on the world as Zod would? His computer consciousness tells Kal, "I wanted you to see what it was like to be human first.", but his intentions were not so different from Zod?

So why would Kryptonian armor be resistant to Earth's military weapons when Kryptonians use energy blast weapons and not projectile weapons? The Kryptonians are protected from bullets, which they themselves don't use, but vunerable to their own energy weapons. That seems a bit of a lapse in logic to me.

Tho we have seen the Wayne Ent. logo in the film it doesn't necessarily mean Batman will meet Superman. Nolan's intent was to keep them separate. It might only mean Bruce Wayne exists in the Superman universe but not necessarily Batman.

[Operation:Mego]

I'm not really sure how to word this, so I'll let the video speak for itself (skip to around 4:40).

I will say however that that reaction is exactly what you would want to happen, and I completely agree with it.

[Brue]

I liked a few episodes of Smallville. Not because of Welling, but in spite of him.

Same goes for Lois and Clark.

But both suffer from a campiness that wasn't fully shaken until MOS. for that, I am thankful.

I am also glad the campiness was removed. Camp basically says we are embarrassed of our movie please excuse it. It is insulting. (Hackman - a great actor playing a ruthless enemy was a low point of other wise great movies). Injecting some well place humor is good though.

[Brue]

I thought of the flying creatures as a tip of the hat to all the Kryptonian creatures that would show up in Silver Age stories:

Nice! Thanks for posting that

[madmarva]

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansit.../news/?a=82082

Interesting and entertaining take on Man of Steel from screenwriter Max Landis.

[B-Lister]

I am also glad the campiness was removed. Camp basically says we are embarrassed of our movie please excuse it. It is insulting. (Hackman - a great actor playing a ruthless enemy was a low point of other wise great movies). Injecting some well place humor is good though.

Agreed.

[palitoy]

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansit.../news/?a=82082

Interesting and entertaining take on Man of Steel from screenwriter Max Landis.

Oof, his point about a rock star would have been more effective were he not trying hard to be one himself.

[madmarva]

^ yeah, he's pretty full of himself.

[Hector]

Oof, his point about a rock star would have been more effective were he not trying hard to be one himself.

Exactly, lol.

He's nothing but a pretentious artsy fartsy hipster, who annoyingly keeps flinging his greasy hair back, while yapping about how everything is bad, except for his own work, he's nothing but a pretentious ******bag, lol.