Man of Steel (2013)

Faster than a speeding bullet, here comes the brooding alien with steel abs! The co-destroyer of everything in sight.

Zack Snyder has got style, that's for sure. But my problem with him is that his movies are all gloss and pretty pictures, but lacking in substance. Maybe it's his trademark, but this is the reason why it's hard for me to warm up to him. Too bad, because I was expecting something that will raise the standards & revitalize the inexplicably humdrum trend of the Superman franchise and I thought the time has come. Not this year. Man of Steel is simply another superhero/blockbuster movie that's high on repetitive explosive action and booming sound effects, but sadly low on any lasting impact. 

Directed by:  Zack Snyder (300, Sucker Punch)
Screenplay by:  David S. Goyer (Blade trilogy, Nolan's Batman trilogy)
Music by:  Hans Zimmer (The Lion King, The Dark Knight)
Cinematography by:  Amir Mokri (Taking Lives, Transformers: Dark of the Moon)
Starring:  Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon
Running Time:  143 mins
Budget:  $225 million
Box Office:  More than $660 million

Let me put it this way. Say you go to a restaurant and order the "special meal of the day", you're hungry and you're drooling with anticipation. The waiter arrives and you see your special order. It's visually pleasing, it's aroma is mouth-watering, you can practically see the herbs & spices meshed perfectly into a meal that's fit for a king. You take a bite. It's tasty... but something is missing. 

This movie has a compelling roster of stars, a huge budget, a talented team in charge of the screenplay/music/cinematography, and a director known for his attention to detail & his unwavering need to feed the insatiable God of Fanboyism. What could go wrong, right? 

Amy Adams is truly disappointing. She's as boring as a dead toenail, and surprisingly wooden. My newly-adopted kitten has more spunk than her. My dog and my cat have more chemistry than this movie's Lois Lane and Clark Kent - and believe me, Cuervo & Kitty are not the best of friends! (SPOILERS) And what's up with her knowing who the real Superman is? Isn't part of the fun in watching Superman movies/shows seeing how clueless the feisty, nosy reporter is? And by the way, why did Zod want her in his ship, did he say? (update: a fellow blogger answered the last part for me. Didn't catch that probably because I was drifting to sleep - not blaming the movie entirely though lol.)

It's not a good sign when this scene has more spark and it's not between Lois & Superman -_-

Russell Crowe, Diane Lane, and Kevin Costner gave off good performances. Michael Shannon as General Zod, at first came off a bit, hmmm, I don't know, campy maybe? There's this scene where they were sentenced & banished to the Phantom Zone, and he vengefully declared to Kal-El's mom that he will find him. He will.. find.. him. Yes he will find him!!!!! I found that scene funny and unforgettable. Probably gonna be a classic scene/delivery where it's so bad it's so good. But I like him as Zod.

But aside from that probably unintentionally funny acting, Shannon did okay with what script or characterization he was given. I especially liked his speech during the climax.

Henry Cavill, physically speaking, is the perfect choice to don Supe's red cape. Like the Captain said, he's kinda hot. In some angles I saw a bit of Christopher Reeve, Dean Cain, & Tom Welling. Acting-wise, he was okay. I'm not saying he should be nominated for Best Actor, but I expected less, and while in most scenes he just stood there with his bulging biceps, at least in his own way he convincingly pulled off the portrayal of a darker, Nolan-esque Kent. Jesus Christ with rock-hard abs in a blue suit & red cape, actually. Tsk tsk. Snyder needs to learn the art of subtlety.

And while I adore Hans Zimmer, I just couldn't say that he did a great job in MOS. But maybe because I'm comparing it to John Williams' which I am humming right now, it's that unforgettable. I just wish they could have done some sort of homage to William's score. Could have played it in the post-credits. Or during one of Kent's too many brooding scenes.

Lastly, I find it really funny (but not amusing) how the ever so pacifist Clark Kent could be so indifferent to all the destruction he and Zod is causing. It's just so "un-Kentlike" for him to allow that to happen. I mean my golly wow those action scenes are too much! Talk about overkill. An exaggeration, in my opinion, but of course, typical of a summer blockbuster. Typical of Snyder.

Again, it all goes down to Snyder's fixation to overindulge his audience of mind-numbing action sequences, but depriving them of character & story depth. Somehow, the latter half felt like I was watching a Michael Bay film without the robots and a scantily-clad female protagonist. I did like the more personal scenes, and the fact that they started with a different take of an origin story and not starting with Kent as a clumsy, bespectacled reporter at the Daily Planet. Though I was looking for his trademark curled hair on his forehead. lol.

Here's to hoping that the sequel is better.

My Rating: 
4/5 if we're talking about the visuals. 
2/5 - This movie had all the ingredients to be another benchmark for superhero movies that could have redefined the Superman franchise. But unfortunately, it's just another explosive movie that relies heavily on CGI & mindless action to cover up the fact that it's riddled with plotholes & boring one-dimensional characters, massacring its source material. Didn't live up to expectations. It's as boring as that neck snap. It has its good points, but like its poster, this movie is all just a blur. 

Poster Rating: 2.5/5 - it's also not a good sign for a movie when its poster has a higher rating than the movie itself.


Tonight's million dollar question:  Who's your favorite Superman/Clark Kent?



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