Man of Steel: A Retro Review

I've been cleaning out my archives and discovered that I never posted this review of 2013's Man of Steel. Well, better late than never...

It’s been a few weeks since Man of Steel came out and from what I saw, it was fantastic. The film’s made over $530 million worldwide and yet it’s been panned by critics and viewers alike. I think the trouble was that this Superman isn’t just 'not your dad’s Superman', he’s not really the Man of Steel you remember growing up with.

The Henry Cavill Superman is essentially the New 52 Superman with tones of Superman: Earth One and New Krypton Superman thrown in.

This Superman isn’t quite so concerned about his secret identity. The world’s got more serious problems these days and trying to keep a pesky girl reporter from finding out who you are when the cape comes off is not one of those problems.

Now, does that mean this Superman wants to be found? Absolutely not! But since this Clark Kent is still trying to find his place in this world, he’s more free to run when his powers are reveal to the public then to try and fool the public with robot look-a-likes or blaming swamp gas bouncing off of Venus for what looks like a young man pulling a tractor off Old Man McGregor.

People gave Cavill a bad rap for not separating his Kent and Kal-El personas. But, at this point in Superman’s career he’s always been Clark Kent and only now finding out he’s from Krypton.

The casting is spot on for the most part. Kevin Costner and Diane Lane are the perfect models for Ma and Pa Kent. Laurence Fishbourne is a fantastic Perry White, who does such a great job that you don’t hear people yelling at the screen “Perry’s a white guy in the comics!” With the actor, race doesn’t matter and he transcends the role. Russell Crowe’s Jor-El is quite good, but he’s even better as a ghost acting as the AI tutor to Clark as he discovers his Kryptonian heritage.

The biggest problem I had was with Amy Adams. She’s not bad as Lois Lane, but she’s not great either. I think some of that problem has to do with her acting chops. Fishbourne’s Perry White is black, yet he’s got the role of Daily Planet Editor down pat to which fans have correctly overlooked this. Adams’ Lane is gutsy but she’s just a little too aloof an actress to play Lois Lane as opposed to Margot Kidder or even Teri Hatcher. There’s just a little chemistry missing in that part.

And where the heck is Jimmy Olsen???

Lastly, let’s talk about the villain: General Zod. This Zod has been bred for war and to protect Krypton at all costs. He blames Jor-El for his planet’s demise and since Jor-El is dead, then naturally, the general sees that the sins of the father is past down to the son.

SPOILER- I’d heard how Man of Steel ends and I thought to myself, “Superman doesn’t kill.” But I was happy with the ending because Zod placed Superman in a Kobyashi Maru situation. He could either submit to Zod, thus dooming planet earth or allow Zod’s heat vision to turn a family of four into charcoal brickettes. Superman had to kill Zod, but you can tell he had no choice and thankfully, they show Superman in a moment of pain after everything transpires. They don’t have him shrug it off and fly out into the sunset.

In the end, I was very pleased with Zack Snyder’s efforts and I commend him. Good job. The only problem is now how do you follow up with s sequel. You can’t just focus on Lex Luthor, who thankfully was absent from a Superman film for the first time in history. To focus on a villain any lower than Brainiac or maybe a Luthor/ Brainiac team-up will just be an understatement.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice

Today I took my godson to see the highly anticipated Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. I've spent the last week staying away from spoilers and reviews, but it's been hard. I know that the critics have hated the movie while most fans loved it. That is, with the exception of some DC fans, who just hate it to no end and have even started an online petition to get director Zack Snyder banned from directing the Justice League film due out next Thanksgiving. 

   So what did this Madman think of Dawn of Justice?

   In terms of the cast, I thought it was great. Henry Cavill returns as the Man of Steel. He's okay as Superman but I love his Clark Kent. The same goes for the much maligned Ban Affleck. His Batman was pretty good but his Bruce Wayne was superb. Generally, the previous films get the Dark Knight right but give very little care to getting his billionaire alter-ego right. Not this time! Rounding out the DC trinity is Gal Gadot who appears as the first ever cinematic version of Wonder Woman. She was pretty kick-ass but since there's a bit of mystery about her yet to be determined until her solo feature comes out sometime next year, I wasn't 100% sold on her... YET!

    The role of Lois Lane, played by Amy Adams, whom I hated in Man of Steel was actually better this time around. So was Fishburne's Perry White. But the supporting characters that steal the show are Jeremy Irons and Jesse Eisenberg. 

   Jeremy Irons plays Batman's long-suffering faithful butler Alfred. He's a little gritty and a tad grumpy but he has good chemistry with Affleck. Jesse Eisenberg's character doesn't really work well with anyone. He's really bat-crap crazy and is obsessed with destroying Superman. His Lex Luthor is nothing like that in the comics or other films but as a loose canon type of character rebooted as a kind of evil Mark Zuckerberg- it kinda works.

   The plot of the film in a spoiler-free nutshell is that after the events of Man of Steel, the world is reeling from the total destruction of Metropolis at Superman and Zod's hands. Bruce Wayne is convinced that the Last Son of Krypton is poised to be the end of society and takes it upon himself to bring him down. Added to the mix is Lex Luthor who seeks to use the US government and a newly found glowing green rock as a means of taking down the Man of Tomorrow.

   That's really all I can say about the film without giving away some major spoilers. There are cameos galore and this film does act as an introduction piece for the Justice League films. But DC tries a little too hard to cram about 5 hours worth of film into 2.5!

   DC is behind Marvel when is comes to establishing their cinematic universe. But why does DC have to go the movie route? Their 'Arrowverse' shows are so good, whereas Gotham is wicked fun and Supergirl has that Otto Binder oddball charm. With the DC cinematic universe- something is missing.

   I read that it took Kevin Smith needed2 showings to discover that Dawn of Justice actually has heart. I don't have the money (or time) to go see this film again so soon. But, I would have to agree with Smith, that this film has heart. What is lacking is soul! 

   One reason I love the DCTV programs is that they take me away from the troubles of this screwed up world. With crumbling buildings, terrorist attacks, untrustworthy leaders, and a film-long debate over the roles of God and Man- Dawn Of Justice felt like I was watching the evening news! I thought Marvel was supposed to be the more realistic comics universe...

   Another thing missing from this film is a sense of humor. I love that the DCTV shows can laugh at themselves. Once Batman and Superman were able to start cracking wise I felt like things finally fell into place during the last 45 minutes.

   So, what does the future hold for me and the 'Snyder-verse' as these DC films are referred to? I'm pumped for next year's Wonder Woman. What teasing was done for that film in BVS was awesome! Justice League? I can't give up on my favorite superhero team! I've been a DC person ever since I started reading my dad's old Jimmy Olsens and Lois Lanes when I was 3 or 4. Yes- this film isn't my dad's DC but it's also not something that's unfamiliar to me either. I think like with this film, it's going to take time for everything to finally achieve synergy! 

   And yes- It's worth the wait!

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10.