directed by Zack Snyder
starring: Amy Adams, Lawrence Fishburne, Henry Cavill, Kevin Costner, Christopher Meloni, Diane Lane, etc.
I went to the theater on Saturday to go see Man of Steel. I didn't have any expectations for the movie. One thing it had going for it was that Superman didn't have a mullet. It's interesting that he didn't have an "S" curl, either, but it wasn't wanting. The plot is that Krypton is destroyed. Kal-El survives, but so does General Zod and his crew. Zod wants to turn Earth, where Kal has found refuge, into a new Krypton and Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman has got to stop him in order to save humanity.
This movie was, generally, good and fun to watch. There were several points, however, that took me out of the movie that felt disjointed from the rest of the film. But first, the good:
I really enjoyed the actor who played Superman, Henry Cavill, and the child that played his younger self. They had similar bright eyes that made it believable for me to think of them as the same person.
I quite liked the flashbacks of Clark's childhood. It focused on a few key moments in Clark's life that heavily impacted his moral beliefs as an adult.
Amy Adams as Lois Lane did a good job, and she didn't even need the dark hair. Since they changed the look of one character, I was happy to see consistency in the form of a non-Caucasian Perry White, played by Lawrence Fishburne.
I loved General Zod's second in command, Faora-Ul. She knew had to kick some serious butt! It was awesome, especially the scene with her lecturing Superman on his fighting capabilities.
Zod was awesome, too.
I really liked the scope of the action in the film. The destruction of buildings and earth was so intense that I felt like I was watching a live-action Dragon Ball Z with the way the characters would get smacked around from one point to another.
I loved the scene where Superman is in custody. It's just so funny how nice he is during it all.
What I didn't like:
I didn't really care for the depiction of Krypton. There was something about the flying creatures, the special effects and the general atmosphere that felt like I was watching a completely different movie.
I really disliked Russell Crowe as Jor-El. I think that role would have been better played by someone less famous. I kept looking at him as Russell Crowe, not Jor-El. What made it worse was that when he plays back his messages to Kal on the ships, he looked too solid for me to believe that he was merely a message. It was too jarring.
I absolutely hated the people of Metropolis: Oh look! Buildings are collapsing all around me! Let me just stand here and watch. >:P
Superman yelled a lot. After the big confrontation with Zod, I can understand the need for him to yell, though, because it's a mixture of emotions he must be feeling at that point in the story where everything has boiled over. Superman is truly alone in that one moment and it's difficult but there's relief, too, because it's all over.
I thought it was funny how Superman would fly around to save Lois. It was weird how quickly their relationship formed, yet I also found their instant connection kind of sweet.
I thought it was strange seeing Clark work on a ship, near the beginning of the film.
So, there wasn't a ton of things I didn't like about the film. I'd give it four out of five stars. The action and adventure are what make it shine, and the heart that comes from the loving Kent family that is also at the root of who Superman is rounds the film out very nicely.
There was no special preview for the Lone Ranger at the end of the film. That's okay with me. That Hobbit trailer looked very awesome.
-O.Pelaez
