Man of Steel

[Benny Holiday]

Oh man . . . what went wrong here? I was really looking forward to this one, but it was just . . . what? Too much? Over the top?
It seemed to lack soul. Sure, Superman has always begged for great modern special effects, but this is too re-imagined for me.
I liked Henry Cavill as Superman, he looked like Superman. At times he reminded me of Tom Welling from Smallville a bit.

The whole Krypton thing just looked spooky though. Where were the crystals? No trace of humour at all? Too heavy, too dark, methinks.

What did you all think?

 

[dhermann1]

Wow, I can't wait to miss this one. And from what little I've heard about the new Lone Ranger film, that goes double for that one.

 

[Touchofevil]

Wow, I can't wait to miss this one. And from what little I've heard about the new Lone Ranger film, that goes double for that one.

Captain Jack Tonto Sparrow. I don't know.

 

[flat-top]

Man Of Steel was ambitious. The Smallville scenes were done well and I wish there were more. The action scenes were WAY over the top and destructive, and make Superman's determination to save a tiny handful of people seem ridiculous.
I guess in 2013 it's tough to make a Superman film. The writer's attempts to make him "edgy" totally undermine what makes Superman SUPERMAN.
I didn't hate this movie, but it's hard to love it.

 

[vintageTink]

I guess in 2013 it's tough to make a Superman film. The writer's attempts to make him "edgy" totally undermine what makes Superman SUPERMAN.

Superman said he fights for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. There is nothing edgy about or wrong with that!
Wy do they have to make all these characters so dark and brooding?

 

[DamianM]

If anyone has read the comics so far this was the superman depicted.
He left the "american way" long ago because it was not enough to save the world.

The golden age superman is dead, he died in an actual comic storyline "infinite crisis".

The new comic storylines are similar to what we saw in the movie.

I loved the direction of the film.

 

[Benny Holiday]

The writer's attempts to make him "edgy" totally undermine what makes Superman SUPERMAN.
I didn't hate this movie, but it's hard to love it.

Kinda sums it up for me too.

 

[ofcoursemyhorse]

Could have been worse, the last Superman movie that was almost made featured a mulleted Nic Cage.

To be fair, these movies are directly addressing the glaringly obvious question of just what type of psychological disorder must a person be suffering from to don a costume, pretend to be someone else and risk life and limb for perfect strangers, when they could have easily made the far more reasonable decision to be a firefighter or a policeman.

While I agree that Superman flying though a building causing all sorts of collateral damage and deaths along the way is tad odd. At least it's realistic as to what would happen if two impervious beings decided to duke it out in the middle of a city.

Not too mention the fact that Superman is an orphan who has been adopted and raised by what is to him, an alien species. If theres anything that could make someone justifiably brooding, that would certainly be one of them.

 

[Chasseur]

I'm biased I just do not find Superman to be an interesting character. I grudgingly saw that last one"Superstalker Returns" and it was bad enough. I think I'll miss this one entirely it looks like a special effects mess.

But as I said I'm a tough sell, I think the only thing worthwhile that Superman did was getting beaten up up by Batman in Dark Knight Returns...

 

[Bruce Wayne]

He broke rule #1. He killed Zod.

 

[Feraud]

I saw the film with my 19 year old who enjoyed it tremendously. He appreciated the overall theme of being a good citizen in the face of adversity. Particularly when that adversity comes from your neighbors and people you are trying to help. Any film that gets a young person to think about these themes is o.k. in my book.

Man Of Steel was ambitious. The Smallville scenes were done well and I wish there were more. The action scenes were WAY over the top and destructive, and make Superman's determination to save a tiny handful of people seem ridiculous.

Yep, I agree with this. The Smallville scenes were good, Diane Lane and Kevin Costner were well cast as Clark's parents.
The actions scenes were way too long and destructive.
In the aftermath of the thousands of deaths suffered as a result of Superman fighting Zod I imagine someone is going to ask, "Why didn't we give that alien back to the other aliens?!?".
I didn't feel the film was un-necessarily dark. Kal-El's journey to assimilate in an alien culture that mostly fears him is an understandably dark one.

He broke rule #1. He killed Zod.

I thought it was the best outcome. Does Superman have rules? Like the Laws of Robotics or something..? My only issue with the end was the horribly over-used and cheesy "neck break". Hollywood must drop that right now!

 

[Edward]

Do they deal with the Tarrantino concept of Superman? I think it was Bill, in Kill Bill Part 2, that expounds on that one. Essentially, Superman is who he is, Clark Kent is the cover. But it's more than just a cover or a disguise: Clark Kent is his judgement on us - which is not always pretty.

If anyone has read the comics so far this was the superman depicted.
He left the "american way" long ago because it was not enough to save the world.

The golden age superman is dead, he died in an actual comic storyline "infinite crisis".

The new comic storylines are similar to what we saw in the movie.

I loved the direction of the film.

If it's heading in the direction of the comic books that can only be a good thing. I tired of the character on screen years ago... two-dimensional, goody-goody, with nothing interesting about him. I much prefer someone a bit more conflicted, if not outright psychotic (for an example of the latter, see any decent incarnation of Batman).

I'm biased I just do not find Superman to be an interesting character. I grudgingly saw that last one"Superstalker Returns" and it was bad enough. I think I'll miss this one entirely it looks like a special effects mess.

I'm not in a hurry to see it in the cinema (cinema is just too damn expensive these days to go and see something there's a fair chance I might not enjoy), but I'll give it a go. Hollywood in general has become far too dependent these days on sfx, but at least this sounds like a much less 'flat' Superman than he has always been on screen before. Can't possibly be as bad as Superman Returns, with its poor story and clumsy messiah complex.

 

[DamianM]

Do they deal with the Tarrantino concept of Superman? I think it was Bill, in Kill Bill Part 2, that expounds on that one. Essentially, Superman is who he is, Clark Kent is the cover. But it's more than just a cover or a disguise: Clark Kent is his judgement on us - which is not always pretty.



If it's heading in the direction of the comic books that can only be a good thing. I tired of the character on screen years ago... two-dimensional, goody-goody, with nothing interesting about him. I much prefer someone a bit more conflicted, if not outright psychotic (for an example of the latter, see any decent incarnation of Batman).



I'm not in a hurry to see it in the cinema (cinema is just too damn expensive these days to go and see something there's a fair chance I might not enjoy), but I'll give it a go. Hollywood in general has become far too dependent these days on sfx, but at least this sounds like a much less 'flat' Superman than he has always been on screen before. Can't possibly be as bad as Superman Returns, with its poor story and clumsy messiah complex.

He doesn't kill but he sometimes is pushed to that extreme and is left with no choice. He grieves his enemy's death and understands his failure. You see his defeat for killing Zod. He pleaded but he was given no choice.

The film is headed in the direction of the comics.

Its not black and white anymore. There are massive grey areas to cover.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

They could of done like in Batman Begins.

"I won't kill you. But I don't have to save you."

 

[DamianM]

They could of done like in Batman Begins.

"I won't kill you. But I don't have to save you."

That was something wasn't it. It was a different thing because he needed to save him but he didn't. In the end of Arkham city ( video game), we see batman telling the joker that after all the pain he caused and will cause because he will manage to escape again he would have saved his life.

It might be the reason why Superman wont kill ever again. He must be above that and control the situation before it escalates to that point.
Could also be a premise in Batman's distrust towards him aswell.

 

[dhermann1]

Meh. Where's George Reeves when you need him?

 

[DamianM]

Meh. Where's George Reeves when you need him?

That's funny.

I do appreciate the origins and incarnations for the times they where presented.

I do like the origins of how superman came to be as well.
Pretty interesting really.

 

[Benny Holiday]

I'll tell you what would be cool, and that's if someone did a 1938-era Superman, throw some groovy art deco in there . . .

Moody, dark, edgy, a bit messed up in the head . . . that belongs to Batman and Daniel Craig's Bond. It's getting overdone, which is why, I think, Marvel's Avengers have been so successful: they're all different and individual characters. You've got Downey Jnr's playboy-genius-little bit dysfunctional Tony Stark, Thor the valiant warrior Viking, Captain America the all-American earnest good guy, and David Banner who is scared of what he becomes. It's interesting and fun. Oh yeah there's Scarlett Johanson in a tight outfit too! Gotta love that. lol

I enjoyed Superman Returns. I like that it referenced the Christopher Reeve movies and I like that the special effects were used to show Superman doing what he does best, saving people. I thought the scene in which the robber fires a bullet right onto Superman's eye, which just crumples and bounces off, was brilliant. That's just the kid in me, though.

Of course the movies are action-based but in Man of Steel it was so overblown it bordered on the ridiculous.

I like my Superman idealistic, raised on a farm by caring foster parents who instilled good honest values in him. Yes there's a time and place for him to brood and contemplate his place in the world, but ultimately he's just an old-fashioned good guy. There's a place for them even in 2013, I'd like to think.

 

[DamianM]

I'll tell you what would be cool, and that's if someone did a 1938-era Superman, throw some groovy art deco in there . . .

Moody, dark, edgy, a bit messed up in the head . . . that belongs to Batman and Daniel Craig's Bond. It's getting overdone, which is why, I think, Marvel's Avengers have been so successful: they're all different and individual characters. You've got Downey Jnr's playboy-genius-little bit dysfunctional Tony Stark, Thor the valiant warrior Viking, Captain America the all-American earnest good guy, and David Banner who is scared of what he becomes. It's interesting and fun. Oh yeah there's Scarlett Johanson in a tight outfit too! Gotta love that. lol

I enjoyed Superman Returns. I like that it referenced the Christopher Reeve movies and I like that the special effects were used to show Superman doing what he does best, saving people. I thought the scene in which the robber fires a bullet right onto Superman's eye, which just crumples and bounces off, was brilliant. That's just the kid in me, though.

Of course the movies are action-based but in Man of Steel it was so overblown it bordered on the ridiculous.

I like my Superman idealistic, raised on a farm by caring foster parents who instilled good honest values in him. Yes there's a time and place for him to brood and contemplate his place in the world, but ultimately he's just an old-fashioned good guy. There's a place for them even in 2013, I'd like to think.

that would be awesome but thats why I watch the old cartoons you can buy on dvd for like 5 bucks.

The problem everyone had with the movie is that it wasn't like the other movies, but the other movies are nothing like the comic book version of superman

 

[Benny Holiday]

that would be awesome but thats why I watch the old cartoons you can buy on dvd for like 5 bucks.

The problem everyone had with the movie is that it wasn't like the other movies, but the other movies are nothing like the comic book version of superman

Would you believe I only noticed the other night that I've got eight 1940s cartoons included as extras on my Superman The Movie DVD? If I hadn't been discussing Superman with my 9-year-old, I might have missed them a while longer. I'll give them a viewing very soon.