The weirdest thing happened to me this weekend. I finished reading Dan Brown’s Inferno the night before I went to see Man of Steel, and all of the messages and themes of population control, fertility, DNA, etc all blended together. There’s one part of Man of Steel where you see, like, a weird sci-fi harvest of babies and it just reminded me of Dan Brown’s book in a weird way. Anyway…
Everybody went to see Man of Steel this weekend. Did you? Probably. It made approximately $113.1 million (probably more because the Sunday matinee I went to was PACKED) and of course it’s the new #1 movie. MoS was actually the biggest domestic June opening in history. I’m glad for Henry Cavill – in his magazine interviews done months ago, he seemed to be holding his breath and waiting to see if this big gamble would pay off. And it did. And I’m sure he’ll be Superman in a second film, and a third and on and on. Would you like to hear my thoughts?
SPOILERS – POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR MAN OF STEEL
I liked MoS. I didn’t love it. It was too long and I could have easily edited out about a half an hour in the second half of the film. The half-destruction of Metropolis was kind of ridiculous, and it was too much CGI and that part of it gave me a headache. Overall, I thought it was solid-to-decent reboot of a beloved franchise and I’m glad they managed to pull it off with such a charismatic, damaged, interesting Clark/Kal/Superman. Here are some general bullet points:
*Henry Cavill is a really handsome dude. I preferred him with some scruff, and I loved all of his shirtless scenes (they’re mostly in the beginning of the movie). For those eagle-eyed watchers, I also loved that his burly chest hair came peeking out of his Superman uniform. Clark is kind of emo at times, but Henry knew when to reel it in so it didn’t feel like Clark is just made of angst. Clark does have some dimension and moral ambiguity, which is mostly thanks to how Henry played it. Also: there are a couple of shots where he strongly resembled Christopher Reeve, and that just made me sad.
*Surprisingly enough, Kevin Costner did not suck. I was expecting him to. I was expecting Costner to be my least favorite part. But there’s one scene where Costner almost made me cry. Damn you, Costner!
*They made poor Diane Lane look like hell! Poor Diane. She was good, though. I liked her relationship with Clark. It felt realistic (as realistic as these films can get). He just seemed “lighter” when he was with his mom.
*Amy Adams is adorable. She’s feisty and she’s a great screamer. I mean that as a compliment – the heroine/love interest’s scream is important! And Amy’s got a great set of lungs. She and Henry had a lot of on-screen chemistry and it just felt… interesting. Like he’s going to show her his Krypton Dong and she’s going to know what to do with it.
*OMG, Russell Crowe!! I get why Rusty took the part as Jor-El. Jor-El is one of the best parts. And Rusty looked really good too – he got to do some action sequences and he got some great lines. I was really pleased with him.
*Michael Shannon as General Zod… I was expecting him to be fantastic and to steal all of his scenes. I was not disappointed but Shannon knew how to reel it in too. He was creepy and violent and crazy, but they also went a long way to explain his motives, and it felt like Michael didn’t want to chew the scenery just to be a BIG “villain”. I thought Zod’s most effective scenes were against Cavill and Crowe, man to man (or whatever they are).
*Christopher Meloni had a great smaller part, and I was pleased to see Richard Schiff in a small role too. Laurence Fishbourne was kind of useless (he played the editor of The Daily Planet).
*The Christ imagery got really heavy-handed at times. There was some Christ-on-the-cross posing and the constant reiteration that Clark was “sent” to Earth to “save” people. There was one point where Clark Kent is literally sitting in a church next to a stained-glass window of Jesus and seriously, you should see how they framed the shot. WE GET IT, ZACK SNYDER.
Here are some photos of Henry, Amy and the gang in Italy (for the Taormina FilmFest 2013) over the weekend.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I loooooooove Henry Cavill. Love love love him. *sigh*
I think the storyline was total cr*p. It was ok until the last half, then it lost me. I totally agree with everything the writer posted here.
I agree with most of your assessment except for the Michael Shannon part. Terrance Stamp still owns that role for me. I liked the movie…didn’t love it. I think the Batman series started the same way. I hope to see more in part two.
yes, Stamp all the way. And I have higher hopes for part 2 as well.
Great review and really matches most of my feelings on the movie. I’ve pretty much ignored all pre-publicity and only went as a Fathers Day outing with the family. Had no idea Russell Crowe was in the film and thought he rocked. Also totally agree that Clark was hotter with scruff!
“*The Christ imagery got really heavy-handed at times.” yeah Zack Snyder isn’t known for his subtlety
Haven’t seen it, and not sure I will. Every review and comment seems to say the same thing- too long, too much CGI, and Cavill has nothing to work with. Still happy for him that movie did well- but appears they have work to do bef the inevitable sequel.
Henry is HOT, and he was great in that role. I agree that the fight/CGI was a little much. I actually just closed my eyes and listened (I needed a cat nap anyway). I really liked the “human” scenes of Clark the best.
I agree, liked but didn’t love. The cast was completely wonderful. Cavill was gorgeous, Adams was perfect, Crowe was the best he’s been in years, Shannon was perfectly scary, and yes Costner was surprisingly lovely. Wow though that last 40 minutes or so went way WAY too long! A shame because it was certainly the best and most impressive effects I’ve seen in any superhero movie. Sensory overload though!
I would sit through the excessive fight scenes every day to see Henry Cavill. He is a great actor and absolutely beautiful.
I watched it, and almost fell asleep. It didnt have the depth of Dark Knight, or the humor/cool gimmicks of Iron Man. I know Superman is supposed to be the Boy Scout of superheroes and unfortunately that made him pretty bland. I also thought him and Amy Adams had the chemistry of two bowls of oatmeal simmering next to each other. I’ve watched way too many superhero movies to be wowed easily 🙁 would not recommend
I agree with this review. It was just ok. Cavill is beautiful, but the acting is not very good. There were parts where me and my brother were laughing at how bad his acting is.
With the not so good reviews I went in not expecting much. Let me first say I never let critics dictate to me which movies I will see. I have to honestly say that MOS was not bad and I did like it. Henry’s acting was kind of stale. The action sequences were definetely an overkill. They really tried cramming too much of it into this movie as if they were trying to make up for lack of good dialogue. Amy Adams was ok, not great.
The movie was dry, no wit. I understand that Superman is not known for being humerous, that’s not his character but at times it almost became boring. Clark Kent is supposed to be this kind of awkward almost nerdy type and Henry couldn’t pull this off. He seems to be bordering on the side of angst. He didn’t have the same appeal as Christopher Reeves had as the character. The kiss between him and Lois just felt like they had to throw that in somewhere and I didn’t buy the chemistry between the two of them at all. It felt forced. Also there was no character development. The flashback scenes just felt rushed and was lacking something. The harvesting of the babies reminded me of the Matrix.
Michael Shannon was definetely the best part of this movie. I saw him in “The IceMan” what a great actor. Christopher Meloni held his own as well and it’s good to see him getting jobs outside of SVU with movies like this and “42.”
IMO Christopher Reeves will forever be my favorite Superman, he brought personality and charisma to that character. CR is to Superman what RDJ will always be to Iron Man, no matter how many times they reboot it.
MOS definetely deserves a sequel and I can see them taking the Lex Luther route. Did anyone notice the truck that said LexCorp?
I have read a lot of reviews that says the movie takes itself too seriously. They said reeve managed the balance between comedy and dark whereas cavill only gets the angst bit. I am still wanting to see it.
Look at that last photo! Michael Shannon is a GIANT!!!
I loved him in the movie. He’s amazing and I must say he’s kinda hot?
Michael Shannon is the new Christopher Walken. Similar looking similar onscreen persona.
The movie baffled me. I still can’t figure out if I liked it or not. Henry and Amy were great, though.
The big fiery snake-like things at the end, and all the Metropolis (and Smallville) destruction were ridiculous, though.
I saw the trailer and that’s enough. I’m over this fad of disturbed naval gazing superheroes. What’s next a movie about Stretch Armstrong and the trouble his moral flexibility causes him?
SPOILER PLS STAHP IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THIS
Clearly understated nerd rage:
To be honest, I’m a Marvel girl. My grandma handed me my first comic which was Moon Knight at age 5. So really the “Mary Sue-esk” quality of Superman never appealed to me. But my husband likes all superhero movies (even if he doesn’t read the comics) so we went.
What Snyder fails to realize is that Superman != Batman. Superman is the “Beacon of Light”. Batman is the “Dark Knight”. It’s why there’s so much conflict from them during their time in the Justice League. The beginning tone was fine–there were a lot of scenes from the “Birthright” comic which I read a few months ago and yes the Jesus imagery was bashed in your head–but the last third of the movie…what?
Superman saved like, three people. Buildings are getting blown up, possibly millions dead and just seemed like he couldn’t be bothered. Disaster porn at its finest (and for the DC fanboys and gals comparing it to the end of the Avengers, stop.) And the neck snap…nothing, nada, zero reaction after the fact could make up for the fact Superman does his best not to kill. He has killed in the comics before, yes, but that’s something Zod would do, not him. Morals, the desire not to harm, to do good, all of that was given to him by mama and papa Kent. And it just got thrown out the window.
TL;DR – Superman ain’t Batman. Not a terrible movie but if I was a Superman fan I’d be slightly cranky.
Fellow nerd girl here.
We made pretty much the same comparison with Batman and Superman, their ongoing conflicts is one of the reasons I love the JL.
Mr Kiki and I let out an audible gasp when he killed Zod, wtf? I would have been slightly more forgiving if they had then explored how the murder affected him etc but they didn’t. Granted it’s something they might explore in further films but I was really unimpressed with that overall. Aside from a few stories Superman doesn’t kill, it’s part and parcel of the man.
I actually really enjoyed the destruction, in that if 2 super powered beings went at it, that’s the kind of carnage I would expect.
ETA: Snyder was really ramming that Christ imagery down our throats, when he fell out of the ship in a Crucifixion style manner I actually cringed.
I love stuff blowing up personally! Avengers had a lot of it, just not as much–then again, those aliens were sent to occupy rather than destroy so there is that. I remember even paying for that heinous 2012 movie just because I hoped the destruction would have out paced the acting.
It didn’t.
I was hoping the consequences would be shown–maybe some Captain America-esk brooding or something but just nope. Briefly disappointed in himself and that’s it. I kind of laughed when my husband looked at me kind of frowning and said, “That’s not supposed to happen right? They spent this whole time building Superman up as Jesus and he just Haidouken-ed Pontius Pilate in the face.”
Haha as if you parted with money for that film!
Lol your husband sounds hilarious but he’s hit the nail on head. I’m really not sure what compelled Snyder to go in that direction aside from it being totally out of character, isn’t this the kind of thing Lex Luthor was always saying Superman would do? I mean if they go with Lex then this is all the ammunition he’ll need.
I really like Amy Adams but I didn’t think her and and Cavill had any chemistry at all, in fact I wasn’t keen on this interpretation of LL at all, I found her to be badly written and badly executed. Smallville may have had it’s problems but Erica Durance as LL wasn’t one of them.
@Miss Kiki: I loved Erica Durance as Lois in Smallville. Flaws or no flaws, I loved Smallville and the whole cast. Tom Welling! *faints*
I felt his anguish after he killed Zod. That was my second teary moment in the movie (Pa Kent and the tornado being the first). Although I agree, I was shocked and would have liked to see his coming to grips with his actions.
I am so full of nerd rage over Jonathan Kent dying in a tornado. In fact, I’m so full of nerd rage over the entire treatment of Jonathan Kent. Why was he such a damn hipster a-hole?
MOnicaQ: thanks for posting it. I haven’t seen it yet, which is surprising (I am going to COmic Con in NYC this year!).
When they started showing the trailer where Superman seems to be from the shore, I got concerned that they would change the whole Superman story to appeal to the masses of people who just enjoy an action movie.
I think that’s what they were trying to aim here. Then, they may think about character development and plot for the sequels. Well, one can hope!
There’s a point of diminishing returns with too many scenes of people punching each other through buildings.
Didn’t see it and don’t plan too. The trailers looked alright, but I wasn’t moved to go see it.
Saw it, loved it, will see it again. Henry was incredible!
I agree I thought it was great!!
I just happened to see an old clip recently of Christopher Reeve. The clip was from well before Reeve’s accident. I had never realized how handsome Reeve was–especially when compared to the frankly goofy-looking pictures above. (I know that Cavill can look better than he does here, but often doesn’t.) I’ve never been a Superman fan, so I won’t see the movie.
Amy Adams and Henry Cavill had absolutely no chemistry. Way too many drawn-out fight scenes, not enough backstory. And I don’t care how weird Clark Kent is – he would have had women THROWING themselves at him – and he acts like Amy Adams is the first woman to ever look his way?
I thought they had tons of Chemistrybut it wasn’t a romantic movie. The theme was about trust. He trusted her and she trusted him.
I saw it today!
It was good but not as good at the Nolan Batman films (my fave superhero series). Henry Cavill was (surprisingly) good, Russell was the best, Zod was okay…
I REALLY disagree with you about Amy Adams though. I didn’t like her in the part at all (and I’m usually a huge fan of Amy’s). She was one-dimensional, bland and didn’t have any chemistry with Henry. I think they could have left out her character altogether and it wouldn’t have made any difference on the movie’s quality.
Lois was the first person to stand for Clark and believe in him. She gave him the courage to come forward by protecting him. She was vital to the movie.
Amy and Henry had great chemistry when they were allowed to actually talk. The excessive action in the final act stunted character development.
Can’t wait to watch it, Henry Cavill is too gorgeous!
As a cinematography student I’ve heard that some of the camera work and scenes are really impressive too, so it’s set to be a beautiful film all round 😉
I went in expecting it to be beautifully shot, but found the camera work surprisingly terrible. There were definite moments that looked beautiful, but as a whole…not good.
I thought I was the rare few who thought so. I have simulator sickness and I spent the first half of the film being uncomfortably queasy. Fortunately once it got to the fighting scene the queasiness eased off.
Rusty did do a great job!
Henry was handsome, but kinda emo.
Costner impressed with his part.
Adams was not feeling her Lois,sorry.
Shannon was okay villian
and “Morpheus” Fishburne was wasted.
I am a DC girl so I liked it, I’m probably gonna get attacked but I think the Avengers was overrated and annoying
I know I wasn’t exactly a fan because you say “space” or “aliens” and I’ve immediately lost interest. But there were lots of plot flaws. Really, after all that fighting and throwing each other into buildings, a HEADLOCK kills him? That was dumb and anticlimactic. Clark could have done that 45 minutes earlier and the storyless fighting scenes would be done. Plus, towards the end there, how is it that Zod and humans can be in the same environment and all of them can breathe without assistance? My dad really wanted to see it for Fathers Day, and even he (a man who is obsessed with Die Hard and loved Olympus Has Fallen) said as soon as we got out, “there was too much action and not enough story.” I’m a Batman girl myself, so I’m intrigued to know what Superman nerds thought.
Thoroughly enjoyed Man of Steel. Henry is the consummate SuperMan. My ONLY complaint is the final action sequence went on about 10 minutes too long but it WAS SPECTACULAR. The casting was perfect. Loved that they assumed you never heard of SuperMan and so they told all of the background story. I think I could go twice…and that’s a huge compliment. Best action movie of the season.
Agreed, it was slightly too long. But, the story of Krypton, Jor-el, the Kent’s, Clark not knowing his identity were all so well done. Then protecting earth from a somewhat sympathetic villain, amazing!
I loved Adams’ Lois. She was smart, feisty and compassionate.
I agree that I would have whittled down the last third of the movie and the pacing was a bit off, but overall I liked it.
I liked the darker tone, too-The Superman origin is very All American, but that isn’t really representative of the time we’re living in and I think if they had tried to go the Christopher Reeve route with this it would not have worked at all. I guess I like my superheroes with a little ambiguity. Having said that, I hope the sequel notches back on the angst-now that we’ve got the origin story down, we can ease up on the exposition and go more for action that isn’t simply destruction.
Loved it. I am not comparing it to any of the other super hero films because I think they can all stand alone (plus Dark Knight Rises stank – for the death scene alone it gets an F). I loved the first two Nolan Batman films and I love Superman (which he produced).
One thing that I really enjoyed about Zack Snyder’s direction of Superman was the strong female characters. Both of his Mother’s, and Lois. They all had jobs and did them unwaveringly and with conviction. I liked that Diane Lane looked like she worked on a farm. That he chose Amy Adams to play Lois (someone with actual acting ability) and not a Model/Actress type. Even the villian Faora.
I liked that the story showed that he was truly an Alien and how he was trying to deal with it wasn’t just “he is just like us”. That he wasn’t born a superhero and had struggles.
I saw it sunday and I loved it. The first two thirds were perfect to me, the last third was too clumsy. I thought the cast and the acting was really good and they have some good bits to pick up on in the sequel. Henry was fab IMO and Amy the best Lois since Margot Kidder.
^ @Angelven: I second the enjoyment of the strong women. That’s a really nice change from so many other superhero stories.
I saw it. I liked it,but I do think it was flawed. I think the actors did a great job considering how awful the script is. There needed to be more focus on the story, and less of the action. I hope they know that and that it is worked on so that the sequel is better.
Henry is a beautiful man. While I was concerned that he was chosen at first (I heard he was a bad actor), he actually did good job and brought a lot of angst to it, in a good way of course.
Also I don’t think it would have worked out if they decided to go with the lighter comical route, I actually wanted to see a darker more realistic Superman for once.
Good popcorn movie. Henry Cavill is easy on the eyes. Didn’t think it was a waste of $12.50
Eh. I’m just not into Superman. Especially after that last movie. *shudders* Maybe I’ll rent it or watch it on the tele but this isn’t one I’m going to rush to the theatre for.
Off topic but since Kaiser mentioned it.. I live in Florence (Italy) and Inferno, last book from Dan Brown, is a pile of crap. It’s filled with so many historic nonsenses and inaccuracies that i felt embarrassed for Dan Brown throughout my read. That book should have never happened.
I think that has always pretty much been Dan Brown’s MO: creating stories: set the story in quasi-historical conspiracy theories. I find his books fairly enjoyable, but not if you try to read anything more into them.
I saw it last night in a packed theater. I liked it, would recommend it, but didn’t loved it. Add me to the chorus of too much cgi and too long. I thought all the lead actors did fine, but I couldn’t help but wonder how Matt Bomer would have done. He’s superior to HC in my opinion.
My 6yo, who came in his superman shirt and cape, gives it two big, BIG thumbs up.
Aww, so pleased your boy loved it. My 16 yo boy did too. I’m thrilled kids will have a new Superman as Christopher Reeve was mine.
And I love Matt Bomer, but he is too small physically. But that face, the man is gorgeous. 🙂
Smile Henri! Damnit! Let it loose already!
I Saw henry on the graeme norton show with amy adams and russel crowe. And he is just not that personable. He is a bit boring and square. I have to say after that i thought i would rather spend and evening with russel crowe. Although he is old and not as beautiful. He just seems like good company. That said i am still gonna see the movie.
Henry is so freaking georgous!! he is my new crush…
i liked the movie; i´ve never feel anything for superman movies.. but i like this one.
ps.. my mom didn´t like the movie she says it was to violent but she fall in love with Superman is so goodlooking she said… i found it hilarious
I totally agree with every single thing you stated! (Especially the Russell Crowe part—I loved the fact he had a chance to show his physical fighting skills. His patented head-butt, elbow-to-the-ribs, one-two-punch moves are what makes him so great. Love me some Russ fighting all bad-ass-like!)
And yes, there were scenes that really made me miss Christopher Reeve. It was odd how those 2-second moments were so emotional!
It was a good popcorn flick, Transformers in Space meeting Independance Day but it was a bad Superman movie…I didn’t see Superman’s soul, charm, heroism in that movie, just a gorgeous cold Alien killing and punching left and right.
Visually stunning, bland story, artistic emptiness.
I thought it was just OK, but it went on far too long! After two hours of talking and some scenes that could have been exciting but ended up dull, I turned to my sister and asked what time it was because I kept on waiting for the confrontation with Zod. The fight scenes were also boring, lots of throwing each other against buildings but no meaningful dialogue in between the characters. The only exciting fight scene was between Theora (?) and Superman. She was badass and the actress was so pretty. 🙂
And Henry Cavill still does nothing for me even after seeing his perfect body. He was either too flat as an actor or that was the best he could do with the material he was given.
Nice to see Chris Meloni though. 😀
I saw the movie and I liked it. It was entertaining, but yeah, if you start picking it apart it has its flaws.
I really enjoyed the movie. It’s not perfect, but I really prefer this version of Superman and Lois Lane compared to the Reeve’s movies. Hopefully, no more dorky Clark Kent and bitchy Lois.
As an aside, does anyone know if Henry and Gina have broken up? She doesn’t seem to be at any of the MOS premieres. I would think if they were still together, she would at least be at some after parties.
I really enjoyed the movie. It’s not perfect, but I really prefer this version of Superman and Lois Lane compared to the Reeve’s movies. Hopefully, no more dorky Clark Kent and no more b*tchy Lois.
As an aside, does anyone know if Henry and Gina have broken up? She doesn’t seem to be at any of the MOS premieres. I would think if they were still together, she would at least be at some after parties.
Saw it last night & I enjoyed it. Superman has always been my favorite comic character & I was excited to see this new version.
I pretty much agree with your review, Kaiser. Too long, but the actors were all great. Even Kevin Costner, who I usually can’t tolerate, did very well with his part. They even had a border collie on the farm!
Superman himself was a bit dull, but hopefully that has more to do with the script than with Henry Cavill. I’m hoping that for the sequel they develop the characters better & they actors can flesh them out. I can see that potential.
So this is the first time I’ve seen Henry Cavill in anything and……WOW.
The dark hair & bright blue eyes combined with muscles is overwhelmingly sexy. For real!
I thought Tom Welling from Smallville was hot, but Henry is a MAN, not a boy.
I hope he can relax a little now, knowing that the movie wasn’t a flop. Sounds like a lot of pressure.
I saw it on Saturday- thought it was good, but the last fight scene between Clark and Zod was about 6-8 minutes too long. Really enjoyed the first half, the destruction of Krypton, Clark’s flashbacks to Kansas, and Clark the fisherman (Henry Cavill in a beard is delicious).
There was a young boy in the seat behind me (maybe 5 or 6?) who clearly wasn’t following the film- he kept asking, “Is he dead?” everytime someone closed their eyes/was on the ground (so he asked the question A LOT).
Too much destruction in the last bit of the movie. It was just noisy and overwhelming to see/hear. And it did not feel fun like the end of the Avengers. I like how we got to know Zod a little, interesting. Have to admit to getting a little teary at the Costner sceans.
nope didn’t see it and wont. hollywoods out of ideas! its either bad remakes or crap that’s been done a thousand times before. or sequel after sequel.
This movie put me to sleep in the middle of it I had to be wakened up. lol. The action scenes where too CGI, I did like the actors but the storyline bored me. I understand that they couldn’t use the same plot from the original but it could have been better. The best scene for me was the last scene. I will go to see to sequel hoping that it will be better.
I’m not interested in reviewing movies and breaking them down, I just want to be entertained. I’m going into this expecting an enjoyable couple of hours. If all else fails, which I’m not expecting it to, there’s always Henry Cavill watching. He’s gorgeous. And then I can wait for the next one.