A Write Teacher(s) Review: MAN OF STEEL

Hello Friends,

Being a parent often means sacrifice. Sometimes that sacrifice is huge, like a career or outlandish dream, and sometimes it’s much smaller, like a favorite shirt covered in spit-up or watching the “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” in lieu of, say, the Mets… losing… again. And then sometimes that sacrifice is so monumental it means life or death for millions of people.
… but we’ll get to that.
More often than not, though, that sacrifice is personal time.

In the years before fatherhood I went to the movies pretty regularly. Once a week, at least. Even if I wasn’t particularly interested in a film, I’d still check it out. Hell, I’ll watch anything at least once. I just love being a part of something so much larger than I am. Nowadays, however, with little man around, I have to be much more selective with my free time. It’s so precious. Going out in general is a treat, let alone going to the movies, so for me to use that personal time just sitting silently in a theater when I could be reading, writing, playing video games, or freaking sleeping, it has to be a damn good flick that I’ve been dying to see.

Enter MAN OF STEEL.

I grew up reading comic books, specifically Superman titles. He was, at the time, far and away my favorite. These days I’m entirely too jaded to buy into the whole Boy Scout routine, but as a child that just somehow made him even cooler. Shame I can’t feel that way anymore. On a bad day Superman symbolizes all the virtues we should strive for as a collective society, but are entirely too cool to ever even attempt achieving. But whatever, we’ll try to save the world another time; today we’re discussing something so much more important.
Movies.
And the new Superman movie, at that.

Now before we begin, it’s important to note that there are only three previous Superman movies.
Only. Three. Understood?
There is SUPERMAN, SUPERMAN II (preferably the Donner cut) and SUPERMAN RETURNS, and that is it.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Wrong, Steve. You forgot about SUPERMAN III and IV! Duh.”

To which I’ll reply, whilst fighting the mounting urge of defenestration, that there is no SUPERMAN III or IV. So much so that I won’t even hyperlink the titles. They do not exist. Or at least think of them as you think of the first rule of FIGHT CLUB, or of Lord Voldermort, or of the wood-dwelling creatures in THE VILLAGE, we simply do not speak of them. That was the very purpose of SUPERMAN RETURNS, after all. To erase those two awful sequels. And despite not being a very good film itself, it essentially fulfilled its obligation, leaving us with what many now refer to as the Superman Trilogy.

And now there’s a fourth Superman flick, MAN OF STEEL. A reboot with an entire DC Comics movie franchise riding on it. And for the most part, much like RETURN OF SUPERMAN, it fulfills its obligation, only this time making for a much, much better film. With a story created by the amazing Christopher Nolan, a script penned by the brilliant writer (but equally awful director) David S. Goyer, and direction by the visionary Zack Snyder, MAN OF STEEL had a lot going for it from the start. And, as stated before, for the most part, it certainly does not disappoint.

The film plays out like any fan might expect a Superman origin story to unfold. The ultimate sacrifice of Kal El/Superman’s parents. The destruction of Krypton. The refuge of Earth. Ma and Pa Kent. Young Clark coming to grips with being different. But then, just as we expect the formulaic transformation from Clark to Superman, certain liberties are taken by Snyder and team, most of which work quite well. Perhaps this is most evident in the impressive implementation of folklore into the canonization, as reporter Lois Lane (played by the always beautiful Amy Adams) is hunting down a mysterious small-time hero. The buildup of information accumulated in her search makes for the stuff of grand urban legends, ensuring their first face-to-face encounter to be all the more dramatic.

From there the plot takes something of a typical, comic book route. The world is in immediate danger from a force larger than [human] life, and only Superman can stop it. But with Snyder at the helm it somehow manages to still be impressive, despite such superhero clichés. And also despite the fact that the film somehow manages to progress too quickly and, yet, too slowly at the same time. Still, Snyder’s flair for inspiring cinematic beauty is apparent each step of the way. From color schemes to angular tight shots and vast wide shots, it mirrors the vision that helped make 300 and [the very underrated] WATCHMEN so effective.

In fact, the only gripe I can take in Snyder’s direction is the same fault he carries like a scar to every set: his penchant for the grandiose. He makes things too overly dramatic. And when coupled with screenwriter Goyer, a marvelous mind often saddled with the same flaw, we get a film about a superman that takes itself entirely too seriously. The movie should be fun, or at least as fun as its absolutely dazzling special effects. Which, in turn, are more than enough reason to catch MAN OF STEEL on the big screen. When I say that the ending makes Marvel’s THE AVENGERS climactic New York City scene seem like an episode of  “Tintern Abbey”, I mean it. Although, afterwards, you may find yourself wondering how many people Superman actually didn’t save.
… and if this happens, friends, if you start to think this way, don’t. It’s a dark avenue to venture down during the credits.

Adding to the film’s strength is a relatively superb cast. Henry Cavill shines as the title character, even in a deeply brooding capacity that reveals just how writer author Stephanie Meyer could have originally based one Edward Cullen on the actor. Amy Adams comes across as relatively strong and stubborn as Lois Lane should be, and Laurence Fishburne is great… although utterly pointless to the film’s specific plot. Amongst the scene-stealers, though, are Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner as Superman’s respective fathers. Each bring a heartbreaking simplicity to their roles, and such apparently honest love for Cavill’s character, that I actually felt teary-eyed at times.
… although, in my defense, that may have also been because I ran out of Reese’s Pieces.

But, above all other, perhaps the best performance came at the hands of Michael Shannon and his fierce depiction of General Zod. Whether it was his frightening eyes, the emotion in his voice, or the passion of his delivery, Shannon constantly left me wanted more screen time of him. Not in the same manner that Benedict Cumberbatch’s Khan in STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS or Heath Ledger’s Joker in THE DARK KNIGHT did, but enough to take him serious enough as a definitive force to be reckoned with.

And kudos to the production team for not taking the easy way out and making Lex Luthor the villain. Again. Fans want to see someone Superman can fight physically, not a metaphoric battle between mind and brawn. Again. Someone who can take a super-punch and not leave with a concaved face. An actual villainous threat where mankind’s very existence is threatened, not another Luthorian realty scheme (oh no, he’s trying to acquire land that isn’t his?! Heavens to Betsy, the horror!).  And MAN OF STEEL pulls this off quite nicely.

Just as it pulls off most of its efforts successfully. Is it the greatest superhero movie ever made? Nope, not even close. But it is worth seeing, an adventurous and visually stunning twist on the Superman story, and a movie that could [finally] set up a potential Justice League film. Which, if done right (and if DC can finally get their shit together), could be just as entertaining, expansive and profitable as Marvel’s ever-growing film world. And if that happened, wouldn’t you want to say that you saw where it all started? A fine film with great acting, amazing visuals and a plot good enough to make you forget how much you hate your job for a bit?

Final Verdict: 3½  exploding Kryptons out of 5.

Live, Love, Learn,

Steve &