Man of Steel

Over the weekend, Man of Steel pretty much made all the money. It seems sort of pointless to even waste my time writing about it, especially since I am going to be quite negative, but here goes.

I don't think I need to give any plot, really. Everyone knows the story of Superman: he is essentially an alien from another planet who crash lands in a Kansas corn field where he is raised by humans (Kevin Costner and Diane Lane) despite being pretty much indestructible. Essentially, he is perfect: he can fly, he can't be hurt, he has super human strength, he is good looking and clean cut; the All-American boy type. And yet we are supposed to feel sorry for him because he doesn't fit in. Sorry, but no. Anyway, eventually, he grows up to be super hot (Henry Cavill) and finds out about his past from the ghost of his dead father (Russell Crowe) and becomes a superhero and has to fight off General Zod (Michael Shannon!!), a military leader who escaped from his planet before it was destroyed. He also falls in love with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Lois Lane (Amy Adams).

So, this movie has so many problems, I don't even know where to begin. First things first: this movie has absolutely no sense of humor about itself. There is no joy to be found anywhere in this script. It takes two hours and twenty minutes for anyone to crack a smile (and the movie is only two hours and twenty five minutes long). The thing that made Christopher Nolan's Batman series work so well is that, eventhough it's dark and gritty, it at least has a sense of humor about it. Man of Steel is missing that completely. In fact, there is only one scene where there is any sort of emotion at all. Since I don't want to give away any of the spoilers, I will only say that it is the tornado scene. Without that scene, there is a complete lack of any emotion. This movie just takes itself so damn seriously.

Then there is the problem of Henry Cavill. Or maybe it's just Superman's character in general. Maybe since he is an alien, he doesn't need to be exciting. Maybe aliens speak in monotone. Whatever the case, Cavill has absolutely no personality whatsoever in this role. And it's a shame because this is his first big movie role, his chance to be famous (and he will be famous) but because of this, some people who never watched The Tudors may think he can't act. And that's not the case. It's just that this role maybe demands its actor to be boring and bland. This cast is full of great actors but even the great Michael Shannon can't do much with this script. It's like he is above this, really. The only way for him to perform his role effectively is to be over the top and hammy and I think that is a comment on the material because everyone knows Shannon is spectacular and explosive, even in crappy movies. The only actor who really escapes this mess alive is Amy Adams who manages to turn Lois Lane into a fierce, independent woman. So, kudos to her for rising above the limitations of this script.

Another big problem is director Zack Snyder. Sure, he has a few really great moments in this movie, which actually surprised me. More or less, when he stops to breathe, he can really capture beauty, such as a shot near the end with a young Clark playing in high weeds with his dog while wearing a red sheet as a cape. That imagery is gorgeous, and there are a few other moments like that as well. But mostly his hyper shaky, jerky camera technique is distracting and annoying.

I could probably complain about this movie a lot more, but I will end with a note about the over the top action scenes. I guess this is the new norm. The Avengers final fighting scene was crazy. The Iron Man 3 final fight scene was ridiculous. The final fighting scenes (there are about 3 of them) in Man of Steel are just bonkers. I can really only watch two or three or four guys flying through buildings and throwing each other around like footballs for so long before I feel like screaming ENOUGH. If this is the new norm, then I'm bound to hate every new action movie that comes out in theaters.

So, it seems like all of America loved Man of Steel. The audience I saw it with even clapped for it after it finished. I'm glad the movie is successful since I've always been a DC girl anyway, but Man of Steel just wasn't for me. I was actually excited for this movie and it just disappointed me time and time again. It's too long, too serious, and too messy. But, I guess 125 million + in ticket sales can't be wrong, right??

Grade: D