MIB41 and Emeraldknight 47 's MAN OF STEEL Review and Reactions...

[emeraldknight47]

It's 1:31 Saturday afternoon and MIB41(Tom) and I are in the brand-spanking new Cinemark Mall St. Matthews XD 3D theater for the 1:40 showing of MAN OF STEEL. Full reviews will follow when we get out of the movie. The theater is currently about 30% full with a few more folks coming in...

[MIB41]

I have a great many thoughts on this film. Rather than give it one whole rating, I think it's better served to rate the parts on a scale of 1-10.

***Spoilers ahead*** so avoid if you haven't seen the movie yet.





1) Henry Cavill as Superman - 10. Cavill is perfect. He was everything I could possibly hope for and I look forward to seeing him again. He showed PLENTY of heart and was anything but a "soulless" hero as so many critics had depicted. A nice update for modern audiences.

2) Overall Concept - 8 - I thought the story, overall, was quite good. I liked the fact the script did not try and get muddled in back story, so much as offer the origin as supportive material to drive Clark's present day state of mind. Offering a more in depth study of Krypton was an utter joy to watch and gave a richer texture to the Superman origin. I also thoroughly enjoyed the motivations of Zod to find Clark and the means in which he did.

3) Execution of story and changes in the myth - 4 - The death of Jonathan Kent was a tectonic shift from the popular legend of Superman and I did not agree with it. Jonathan's original death by natural causes was always a pivotal moment for Clark, because it taught him a valuable lesson about the vulnerabilities he shared with all people regardless of powers and the importance of LIFE. Allowing Jonathan to willingly die (to save the life of a dog no less) was, at best, a bizarre notion since Clark's super abilities were already the talk of the town as a child. How is Jonathan's life disposable over something so pointless and completely devoid of principle? At best those witnesses were preoccupied with their own mortality during the tornado and would not have seen Clark saving Jonathan at super speed. A very irrational and forced moment that didn't work. That in turn made Superman's killing of Zod completely irrelevant since he had already abandoned good reason in letting his earthbound father get killed. The so-called preservation of life was already a dismissed notion for him.

There were also many rules of physics established in this story that got violated. When the black hole was opened, it was sucking all matter in. How was it that Lois kept falling away, when ships 100 times her size were losing the battle? And if Clark essentially lost his earth bound powers when he entered a Kryptonian environment (which pretty much served as Kryptonite in this story), how was it he was able to utilize his powers where they should not have existed? Lastly why were the military already tracking Superman just after the events of this major disaster where he had clearly saved everyone and established a trust with the military? How did they even have time to worry about that after such wide spread devastation? Some additional information surely would have helped here to explain what point that took place after the attack. So that was pretty choppy.

Summary:
Overall I enjoyed the film and the ideas set forth. But some of the key changes in the Superman myth did not work for me because the chain of reason didn't fit. I wasn't concerned about loyalty to the comic so much as making a rationale that worked in making those changes. But as far as Cavill goes, we have a new Superman and I loved him. He did a fantastic job and I look forward to seeing him in another film and hopefully some day in the Justice League. It was a good time overall.

[B-Lister]

Fair deuce. I got immersed in the world and completely suspended disbelief.

[MegoSteve]

SPOILER ALERT!

And if Clark essentially lost his earth bound powers when he entered a Kryptonian environment (which pretty much served as Kryptonite in this story), how was it he was able to utilize his powers where they should not have existed?

I agree it was a little inconsistent the way they dealt with the breathing issue. Like, when Zod's mask came off in Smallville, he should have had trouble breathing but was instead felled by sensory overload.

The way it worked on the ship, in my mind, was that Jor-El's consciousness reprogrammed the environment of the ship to make it more like Earth's atmosphere (he even said he'd do that, remember). That gave Superman enough strength to break his bonds. I know it was a little shaky the way they showed it, but it made sense to me.

[Earth 2 Chris]

^Yes, and it seemed conditioning had a lot to do with Kryptonians reaction to Earth's environment. The Phantom Zoners got progressively more powerful the longer they were on Earth, and especially out of their environmental suits/helmets.

Chris

[StrangeVisitor]

Allowing Jonathan to willingly die (to save the life of a dog no less) was, at best, a bizarre notion since Clark's super abilities were already the talk of the town as a child. How is Jonathan's life disposable over something so pointless and completely devoid of principle?

** Spoilers **


While I agree with you about Jonathan's death, I can see what they were going for. Earlier after saving the busload of kids, Jonathan admonishes Clark about exposing the secret of his powers.

Jonathan Kent: You have to keep this side of yourself a secret.

Clark Kent at 13: What was I supposed to do? Let them die?

[brief pause]

Jonathan Kent: Maybe...

The later tornado scene isn't about saving the dog, it's more to show that Jonathan was very principled, willing to die to protect Clark's secret when he (Clark) wasn't ready to be exposed.

The drone scene may have been months after the devastation of Metropolis.

I am however very worried about that black hole apparently still over Metropolis.

[madmarva]

I think your points about the internal science of the film and it's adherence to them are Dead on and valid. With super powers, I think it's always dicey when an explanation is given because it's never going to hold up to scrutiny of actual science or even the film's internal science and it backs the writer or director into a corner.

I think the creators need to be as simple as possible and not use it as crucial plot points as Goyer and Snyder chose in MOS, but I think the audience needs to give a ton of latitude to creators on these areas if they want to be swept up by this film because the scope of a character like Superman's powers can never be explained.

For me, I just kind of have to just go with it or ignore it like a minor moldy smell at grandma's house or a slight headache. You can let it ruin an experience for you or you can just move on. Now, that's just me and they way I deal with such stuff like that in films I like.

Now, I freely admit my view is a bit flighty and even hypocritical in many instances, but it allows me to enjoy things that wouldn't otherwise.

I had trouble with Jonathan Kent's death as well. I had to do some mental gymnastics to make it work for me, which obviously means the scene didn't work. It was an example of selflessness, sacrifice and heroism for Clark and it did show that Clark truly trusted his dad despite the fact he had just been arguing with him. I'm guessing Pa Kent's rational had to do with the timing of when to reveal his powers and that a natural threat - even one as grand as a massive life-threatening tornado - wasn't enough or that he needed to wait until he had a better grasp of his powers. It was an emotional scene, but it didn't work for me, either, or at least not smoothly.

[emeraldknight47]

Although MIB41 has already posted his review, I have decided to withhold my own review until I can see the movie at least one more time, this time WITHOUT the headache inducing 3D glasses, which will allow me to actually absorb more of what's actually going on in the movie and less thinking about "Wow, my head REALLY hurts, but I can't take off these glasses or everything's just fuzzy." From what I saw, MOS, like TDKR, required no 3D enhancement and, IMHO, the whole process actually interferes with the enjoyment of the end product...

[Hector]

I also gets headaches watching movies on 3D, I hate it.

I read all the spoilers, and have not seen the movie yet (I'm counting the minutes to Tuesday), I don't care, I actually welcome spoilers, I wanna absorb everything, lol.

[emeraldknight47]

I also gets headaches watching movies on 3D, I hate it.

I read all the spoilers, and have not seen the movie yet (I'm counting the minutes to Tuesday), I don't care, I actually welcome spoilers, I wanna absorb everything, lol.

Here's a BIG spoiler for ya, Hec: Superman is REALLY Clark Kent!!!

[Hector]

Damn you!!!!!