Man of Steel Review

 Written by:  Jon Guzik

 

 

“One of the saddest things in life…is wasted talent.” This quote from the classic movie “A Bronx Tale” was going through my mind the entire time I was watching “Man of Steel”. Directed by Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen), written by David S. Goyer and produced by Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Trilogy), the anticipation for this film was at such a high level, especially when you factor in that this is supposed to lead eventually to a Justice League movie. Even the trailers that have come out over the past several months just had a “shut up and take my money” quality to them, making it look like the Batman Begins for Superman, which is not at all a bad thing. But watching the film, it’s hard to get invested in Clark Kent’s/Kal-El’s (Henry Cavil) story like you did with Bruce Wayne.

This is not to say MOS doesn’t have its moments, because it does. There are flashes of a great movie in there somewhere, but the execution was flawed to say the least. The film starts with the birth of little Superman on the planet Krypton, and his father Jor-El (Russell Crowe) and mother Lara Lor-Van (Ayelet Zurer) and must save him from the evil General Zod (Michael Shannon). They put baby of steel in a spaceship for Earth. This is where the movie starts having problems. Instead of guiding us through his childhood with his adoptive parents Jonathan and Martha Kent (Kevin Costner and Diane Lane) while learning how to adapt to his powers and live amongst humans, it cuts back and forth between the present and past, making the movie feel awkward and unbalanced. It definitely would have benefited from a more linear narrative.

For a movie that is 2+ hours long, you almost wish it would slow down to spend more time with character interaction and development.Lois Lane (Amy Adams), while very good in the role, is pretty wasted here, and her relationship with Clark really comes out of nowhere, and snowballs fast. And General Zod as a villain is absolutely unengaging. I almost don't remember any of his motivations or cared why he was a bad guy. For most comic book movies, it usually rests on the villain and the challenge they give our hero on whether or not the movie will be good, and in this case boring villain equals boring movie.Even the amount of time it takes for him to put on the cape and suit, seems rushed and uneventful.Some saving graces for the film are Hans Zimmer’s powerful score, and the special effects are top notch.But when we care little to not at all about the characters, then these are wasted.

Stop. Just stop.

 

 

Other distracting elements in the film, such as the product placement, are really annoying aspects of the film. Now I know most summer blockbusters have product placement, this one seems overboard. You’ll start thinking to yourself during big action scenes: “Why does Superman keep fighting in and around IHOP?"

“Man of Steel” went from my most anticipated film of 2013, to one of the biggest disappointments of the 2013. Don’t get me wrong, the film isn’t all a swing and a miss. Crowe, Cavil, and Adams all do great with the roles, but not so much for anyone else. And the special effects and score like I said really carry the film, and I would wonder how much worse the movie would be without the standouts of all these elements. Maybe I’m being a little harsh on it, but at the end of the day, with the amount of talent involved in the making of the movie (especially Nolan), the execution just comes up short. I really hope however the film does well box-office wise just so we can get to see our “Justice League” movie go head-to-head with The Avengers. If the do go forward, here’s hoping that they learn from Marvel (and Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy), and make it more about the characters, and not smashing up 7-11’s and IHOPS.

Grade: C-



P.S.--No after credits scene?! Way to get us excited about future installments and movies leading up to Justice league...