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SimplyScripts Screenwriting Discussion Board    Reviews    Movie, Television and DVD Reviews  ›  Man of Steel Moderators: Nixon
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  Author    Man of Steel  (currently 4511 views)
Heretic
Posted: June 18th, 2013, 11:00pm Report to Moderator
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Fucking garbage. Avoid. I'd bash it but it's not worth the time.

Zimmer's work was awesome, obviously.

Double featured this with This Is The End and man was that film better in every conceivable way. And I don't even like those guys.
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nawazm11
Posted: June 19th, 2013, 2:19am Report to Moderator
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Haven't watched it just yet but judging from the reviews I've seen, I'm actually a little disappointed. Zack Snyder is a very talented director, one of my favourites in the business right now. Makes me a little reluctant watching it now but I know it's just impossible for me to not see this.

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nawazm11  -  June 19th, 2013, 5:58am
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Eoin
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*Spoilers*

I was disappointed - I hadn't read any reviews, as I wanted to just go and watch this cold, without any preconceived notions.

Visually, there were parts that were impressive. But, there were also parts that were a bit OTT and WTF. Jor El riding a flying quadra winged creature? Where are we, The Never Ending Story!? Silly stuff like that, just didn't seem like a good fit, especially when you have General Zod piloting an attack vessel.

The story had flashback overkill. To me, it interrupted the flow of the story. I would have prefered either as little flashbacks as possible, or to start in the correct chronological sequence and move forward.

I also didn't buy Jonathan Kent going out in the middle of a Tornado, risking his life to save a dog - sorry

Too much of the story felt rushed and incomplete. Superman just seemed to stumble upon a buried ancient Kryptonian scout ship, as opposed to actively seeking it out. Odd.

When he does board the ship, it also just happens to have a suit with the S from the house of El, how convenient.

And, why did they insist in giving the suit a honeycomb texture, he's not Spiderman, make it look unique!

The one positive, is the change in Lois Lane and Superman's relationship. She finds out who he really is with some investigative journalism - I just wish after all of that they didn't go down the lame glasses only disguise when he joins the Daily Planet.

When Jor El sent his son to Earth, he also sent the Codex with him, the key to the entire Kryptonian race. It's hidden in his DNA. When Superman boards General Zod's former prison, now ship and becomes human (something to do with the atmosphere on board the ship apparently) his blood is extracted - yet they can't get the Codex from his DNA they need Superman's body.

Okay.

Some of the battle scenes were a bit tiresome at times.

My biggest grip was that we never saw Superman overcome a major personal flaw or obstacles. There was something lacking in his development.

Eoin

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Eoin  -  June 19th, 2013, 6:10am
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INTS
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It's funny to me 'cos  some of the members are surprised that MAN OF THE STEAL is not good.  ARE YOU SERIOUS?
There are  maybe 3  mainstream movies a year which are decent.  Don't want  to bee rude here but big budget mainstream movies are made by greedy bastards for majority who happens to be idiots.  I never expect them to come up with something original.  I rather whatch some independent undergraduate stuff.  PRIMER,  BLAIR WITCH,  BOONDOCK SAINTS etc....  I try to watch Russian,  franch,  japanese,  Spanish movies they got loads of original ideas and I love when someone fucks with my mind not this avenger,  super man shit
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Eoin
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Quoted from INTS
It's funny to me 'cos  some of the members are surprised that MAN OF THE STEAL is not good.  ARE YOU SERIOUS?
There are  maybe 3  mainstream movies a year which are decent.  Don't want  to bee rude here but big budget mainstream movies are made by greedy bastards for majority who happens to be idiots.  I never expect them to come up with something original.  I rather whatch some independent undergraduate stuff.  PRIMER,  BLAIR WITCH,  BOONDOCK SAINTS etc....  I try to watch Russian,  franch,  japanese,  Spanish movies they got loads of original ideas and I love when someone fucks with my mind not this avenger,  super man shit


Perhaps you could stay on topic. The thread is for film reviews. You seem to have posted in an effort to suggest anyone who watched Man of Steel, or mainstream films in general is cranially challenged.

We thank you for your enlightened exposure to films across a broad geographical span . . .
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James McClung
Posted: June 19th, 2013, 1:40pm Report to Moderator
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I gave this one a serious try. I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to but I was a little intoxicated so maybe that explains a lot of it.

Anyway, plot holes and spoon-fed exposition was rampant throughout (including characters saying "what does that mean?) but I tried my best to ignore all that, keeping in mind what the film was supposed to be (poor form though). The number of inane IHOP appearances, I couldn't ignore. How condescending to an audience can you get? But again, big blockbuster flick. Fair game, I suppose.

That said, there were some real problems with the film that I couldn't shrug off. Surprisingly, a lot of them came from the Superman mythos itself and not this particular film. But I digress.

The flashback structure in the first half of the film was extremely poorly-handled. The transitions were awkward and the overall narrative left me wondering what was what was going on and where things were going. I don't think the plot really caught on until perhaps 40 minutes into the film (or longer considering how long the prologue was). There was no reason to do things this way. I think they could've easily stuck to a linear storyline, which would've worked out fine. The first act was a mess.

Onto exclusively Zach Snyder problems... or rather one problem: Zach Snyder can't do subtlety. Now, there are things Zach Snyder can do very well and Man of Steel isn't without those things. If the guy stuck to projects that didn't require any subtlety, that'd be fine (something Michael Bay has the common sense to do). Unfortunately, there's a strong emotional component to Superman and even more so, everything in the film's all Chris Nolan'd out so there's something of an expectation that that component deliver.

And it does, to a point. Unfortunately, I think Snyder doesn't have a very good handle on actors so a lot of the more emotional or even philosophical exchanges come off either extremely forced or stilted and awkward. Many of the flashbacks had these issues. Fortunately, I think these problems weren't as rampant as I'd expected them to be. I chalk that up to better, more experienced actors appearing in the film than perhaps has been the case with Snyder (e.g. Kevin Costner).

Now, this being a Zach Snyder film, mayhem and destruction is at an all time high. In this case, all time high is not an expression. I don't think I've seen a city get more laid to waste than in this film, beating out the Avengers, respectively. Death toll in the millions aside, it's Superman. I'll bite. Some of the action was quite well done/entertaining. Unfortunately, a lot of it is lost in a blur of shaky cam and rapid changes of location. For many of the Superman fights, you just completely lose track of what's going on, with characters crashing through multiple buildings literally within seconds. I think it might've been a good idea for someone to reign Snyder in. Lord knows he can't do it himself.

What's worse is the fact that the action towards the end lasts for 40+ minutes and is completely unrelenting. I think the only breathers we got were perhaps two minute standoffs between Kryptons and humans, which are completely meaningless given the humans literally don't stand a chance (that or humans trying to escape the mayhem, in which they also don't stand a chance). Anyway, the explosions get bigger and bigger, louder and louder, and in more and more rapid succession... about 20 minutes in, I was numb, exhausted, and just didn't give a fuck. Just wanted to movie to be over.

Now, as for my biggest problem regarding the whole thing overall... the Superman mythos just isn't very good. I mean, I like the backstory but other than that, let's face it. Superman is indestructible, stronger than the Earth itself, and can basically be all places at once. The film proves that beyond any doubt. Incoming message board faux pas... BORING!!!

Why are we bothering to watch any of these fights? Nobody's going to win. If you can crash through buildings and get blown up by trucks and not get a scratch, where are the stakes? Non-existent. If Kryptons are bulletproof, why do we watching humans face off against them? It's totally pointless.

Obviously, some Kryptons do get killed but the logic behind it is never explained. Now, perhaps logic doesn't have much of a place in the Superman mythos, if a character gets knocked through over a dozen skyscrapers going probably several thousand miles per hour and doesn't get killed yet (or even hurt)... somehow gets killed... you might wanna explain that one, douchebag.

There's a scene where SPOILERS!!!...

Superman gets handcuffed and brought into U.S. custody. I don't even have to say anything... because Superman says it all: they can't do anything to contain him.

END SPOILERS

Again, where are the stakes? Okay. I guess now you have to fall back on Superman's emotional growth (that's a lot of stakes lost by the way)... except after he grows up, Superman's basically a perfect person. His moral compass is due North, all his intuition is correct, and his doubts are like leaves in a breeze. Who cares? Throw a bland (albeit logical) personality on top of that... yeah. Not a great character.

Anyone who's a fan of the character care to tell me what's wrong with my interpretation, please do. I'm seriously all ears.

So, having written this, I find I like Superman (and by proxy, the film) even less than before. Still, I think there were solid moments all throughout the film and some decent performances (except for Michael Shannon who was badass as usual). Even Henry Cavill did a decent job considering who he was supposed to be portraying. Looked the part too.

Decent, I suppose. Wouldn't recommend though and wouldn't see again.


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Elmer
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I enjoyed the heck out of this movie. I am not beholden in the least to the original film or the comics, and thought this was, as far as summer blockbusters go, very fun and entertaining.

I don't think this was on the level of something like The Dark Knight or even Iron Man, but it was infinitely better than Iron Man 2 and Thor.

Any problems I had with the above mentioned "spoon feeding" or plot holes I forgive on the basis that 1) This film has mass appeal to children and must cater to that to some degree, and 2) It's about a man from outer-space flying around in a tight blue suit and shooting lasers out of his eyes.

I think we all fail to realize that the reason we were so infatuated with certain films (Star Wars, Toy Story, Batman, etc.) is because we were incredibly young when we saw them. I still believe Star Wars and Toy Story are great films that stand the test of time, but they don't give me a sense of awe and wonder like they did when I was a kid. Hardly anything does anymore. That's part of growing up.

Part of being a good critic of film, I think, is understanding that.
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Forgive
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Quoted from James McClung
Anyone who's a fan of the character care to tell me what's wrong with my interpretation, please do. I'm seriously all ears.


Great review, as usual James.

I think this is the difference between the James Bond reboot, and the Superman job. I did feel that he was desperately lacking in character, and they did a better job of giving JB flaws and working on his failings. There's no work been done on character here, and it's a pity because there's a great deal of scope for it. From the interviews that I've read - I get the feeling they were more hung on not having his underpants on the outside than anything else.
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albinopenguin
Posted: June 19th, 2013, 4:21pm Report to Moderator
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Man of Steel, proudly sponsored by IHOP.

I didn't hate this movie, but it had a ton of problems. I actually like Snyder and think he did a fairly decent job with Watchmen. Man of Steel wasn't a disater, but I had really high hopes for the film (especially after watching the trailer). I left the theater saying "meh."

My biggest gripe with the film was that there was so much s hit in the movie that just didn't make sense. Lazy writing all around.

I would recommend seeing this film for Michael Shannon though. He's an amazing actor and probably one of the best out there today. Zod felt like a real threat (as compared to The Mandarin).

In Snyder's defense, Superman is probably the most bland, boring superhero ever created. Then again, I don't need to be beaten over the head with the whole Jesus metaphor. WE GET IT.

C+ for me


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Ryan1
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Ugh, very disappointing.  FX overload, dearth of story.  This may as well have been a Michael Bay film.  It felt as hollow as a Halloween pumpkin with its guts scooped out.

The beginning had promise, with its interesting take on Kryptonian technology.  But Zod's motives behind the attempted coup never made much sense to me.  Neither did the fact that Jor-el his wife and everyone else on the planet stayed there when many of them knew the planet was going to destroy itself.  Hey, hop in a ship, man.  Felt like about half an hour of pure backstory.

The non-linear storyline was a big mistake.  Gave the first half a choppy, random feel to it.  No flow, no momentum.  Comparisons to the original are inevitable.  In that movie, we were better able to follow Clark's progression from the time his parents found him in the crater(a very dramatic moment this film decided wasn't worth showing) to his frustration over getting picked on in high school and onto his decision to head to Metropolis.  It made the anticipation of Superman's debut to the world so much more satisfying.  In the original, he reveals himself by saving Lois Lane and single-handedly lifting the helicopter, to the cheers of the crowd.  In this film, Supes hovers over some random spot in the desert with guns pointed at him.  

Some good action scenes, but Lord does Zack Snyder like repeating himself.  How many times was one of Zod's men about to kill a human when Superman swooped in from the side?  The tentacle thing from the world engine was unimaginative and stupid.  And after you've seen one plane or helicopter crash, you seen em all.

But one of my biggest problems with this film was its near-total lack of humor.  I understand the need to go a little darker, but Goyer and Nolan went way the hell overboard.  This movie was no fun.  The Avengers had fun with its ridiculous premise.  This film takes itself deadly serious... and winds up deadly dull.  
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Andrew
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Don't always agree with the conclusions, but this is an excellent analysis of the film: http://blogs.indiewire.com/the.....#blogPostHeaderPanel


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jwent6688
Posted: June 24th, 2013, 1:30pm Report to Moderator
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Surprised to see so much hatred for this film. I loved it!

I actually enjoyed the non linear story telling because it set itself apart from being a reproduction of the 1978 superman.

SPOILERS

I thought it was a nice character arc for Clarke to go through to wait til the last possible moment to reveal himself. I didn't like that he watched his father die in a tornado, but it was a split second decision that you saw him struggle with and then it was too late.

I know the comic book aficionados went ape shit over the ending. Supes snapping Zods neck. He's only killed one other in his 75yr history if I'm not mistaken. But, with the mass blood shed that had already taken place, which they do not show but toppling buildings equals heavy casualties, I thought it gave a nice dark touch to the reboot of a super hero who is never allowed to tell a lie. And used to spend time rescuing cats from trees instead of getting in the middle of genocidal wars.

I loved it. Just my opinion.

James


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DanBall
Posted: June 24th, 2013, 4:25pm Report to Moderator
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Haven't seen it quite yet. The trailers looked good, but reviews haven't shared that sentiment. The original is one of my all-time favorite all-around great films (if you haven't noticed). Of course I grew up watching it, because that's what good movies do: they grow with you and you with them.

James, for me, the appeal of the original isn't so much the plot or the characters' development/dynamics, but the tone and the mood. It's more like watching Jimmy Stewart in Harvey rather than, say, Brando or Pacino or De Niro in The Godfather (even though Mario Puzo wrote both). Chris Reeve and Richard Donner made you believe a man could fly, but it had nothing to do with the effects work. It had everything to do with making Superman human and relatable. There was an overall approach of verisimilitude, but I think that worked best when they hashed out the smaller details of the movie. As a kid, I knew I'd never be able to fly, but it was still fun to be the kind of nice guy that Chris Reeve/Superman was and walk off into the sunset (as opposed to flying toward it).

Today, I think in everyday life and in movies, we forget what goodness, warmth, and charm feel like. Chris Nolan's done a great job of erasing those qualities from our superheroes and our movies. (Although, I suppose the studios are more to blame, since they're trying to cash in on his formula.) I definitely think there's room for the Chris Reeve/Dick Donner approach, but I don't think the story or the characters have to suffer, either. I just think it takes more of a balanced, well-rounded approach than we're getting these days.


"I remember a time of chaos. Ruined dreams. This wasted land. But most of all, I remember The Road Warrior. The man we called 'Max'."

THE PINBALL WARRIOR (scifi, WIP, ~30 pg.)
A STAND AGAINST EVIL (short, 9 pg.)
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Heretic
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Quoted from James McClung
Again, where are the stakes? Okay. I guess now you have to fall back on Superman's emotional growth (that's a lot of stakes lost by the way)... except after he grows up, Superman's basically a perfect person. His moral compass is due North, all his intuition is correct, and his doubts are like leaves in a breeze. Who cares? Throw a bland (albeit logical) personality on top of that... yeah. Not a great character.

Anyone who's a fan of the character care to tell me what's wrong with my interpretation, please do. I'm seriously all ears.


I don't think there's anything wrong with your interpretation, James, so rather than any sort of rebuttal, I just wanted to say what I see in Superman. NOT in the "Man of Steel", because there's nothing to see there except bad dialogue in desaturated colours. But real Superman. Donner's Superman.

What I see in Superman all rests on his relationship with the audience: he's an expression of the contradictions that face us constantly. What's important about Superman learning to fly isn't the super-ness of it; it's the unbridled joy of childhood, of discovery of ability, of wonderment at oneself. There was a time when we were in awe of the world around ourselves but also at our own place in it, at our own ability to traverse and sometimes to transcend it. The feeling of learning to bike and traveling at that speed in the open air for the first time, or getting confident enough on skis or a board to leave the ground, to hurl yourself into freefall, or even when you suddenly realize that you're older, stronger, faster, that when you sprint you can feel the wind wrap around your back -- that's Superman's childhood, to me. That's the scene where he runs alongside the train next to a stunned Lois, or where he learns to fly.

But he's punished for it, too; and we are, aren't we, punished by jealousy, punished and ostracized more the greater that we are. Everything that makes young Clark Kent amazing is everything that he needs to keep hidden. He'll be distrusted for it, hated for it. And that's the way we tend to feel about our "real" selves, isn't it? We know that there's more to us, a greater person inside, deeper ideas welling, hoping to bubble up, but to reveal ourselves candidly, to be laid open, is one of the great fears of humanity. And that's adult Superman, for me. It's not that he's scared of his hidden self (Superman), he knows it's perfect; but he's scared of what that hidden self means. If people see the other side of Clark Kent, that's the death of Clark, the end of Superman's everyday life as the person he was born and raised. Changing in a phonebooth is nothing, a switch, but changing from Clark to Superman in front of Lois is transcendence, the coupling of two ideas through which only one can survive. And that's a question that faces all of us, I think: what do I lose for my ambitions, for standing up and being the person that I know I have the power to be? Are the parts of me that disappear? Are some of those parts things that I want? And to see Superman stumble back and forth between these extremes -- from revealing himself to Lois, to becoming fully human, and never finding peace -- I feel the schism of humanity. A gap between the human and divine, maybe, or pleasure and ambition, or desire and necessity.

Superman may be the greatness in all of us, but Clark Kent constantly reminds us that the perfect and the divine are inhuman, and that perhaps perfection yearns for humanity as much as humanity does for perfection. He's a reminder of our capacity for good and a forgiveness of our capacity for mistakes. He's a being with the powers of a god who earnestly believes that much of his time is best spent as a bumbling boy scout reporter, and we can believe that maybe he's right.

That's Superman for me, anyway.
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DanBall
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Quoted from Heretic


I don't think there's anything wrong with your interpretation, James, so rather than any sort of rebuttal, I just wanted to say what I see in Superman. NOT in the "Man of Steel", because there's nothing to see there except bad dialogue in desaturated colours. But real Superman. Donner's Superman.

What I see in Superman all rests on his relationship with the audience: he's an expression of the contradictions that face us constantly. What's important about Superman learning to fly isn't the super-ness of it; it's the unbridled joy of childhood, of discovery of ability, of wonderment at oneself. There was a time when we were in awe of the world around ourselves but also at our own place in it, at our own ability to traverse and sometimes to transcend it. The feeling of learning to bike and traveling at that speed in the open air for the first time, or getting confident enough on skis or a board to leave the ground, to hurl yourself into freefall, or even when you suddenly realize that you're older, stronger, faster, that when you sprint you can feel the wind wrap around your back -- that's Superman's childhood, to me. That's the scene where he runs alongside the train next to a stunned Lois, or where he learns to fly.

But he's punished for it, too; and we are, aren't we, punished by jealousy, punished and ostracized more the greater that we are. Everything that makes young Clark Kent amazing is everything that he needs to keep hidden. He'll be distrusted for it, hated for it. And that's the way we tend to feel about our "real" selves, isn't it? We know that there's more to us, a greater person inside, deeper ideas welling, hoping to bubble up, but to reveal ourselves candidly, to be laid open, is one of the great fears of humanity. And that's adult Superman, for me. It's not that he's scared of his hidden self (Superman), he knows it's perfect; but he's scared of what that hidden self means. If people see the other side of Clark Kent, that's the death of Clark, the end of Superman's everyday life as the person he was born and raised. Changing in a phonebooth is nothing, a switch, but changing from Clark to Superman in front of Lois is transcendence, the coupling of two ideas through which only one can survive. And that's a question that faces all of us, I think: what do I lose for my ambitions, for standing up and being the person that I know I have the power to be? Are the parts of me that disappear? Are some of those parts things that I want? And to see Superman stumble back and forth between these extremes -- from revealing himself to Lois, to becoming fully human, and never finding peace -- I feel the schism of humanity. A gap between the human and divine, maybe, or pleasure and ambition, or desire and necessity.

Superman may be the greatness in all of us, but Clark Kent constantly reminds us that the perfect and the divine are inhuman, and that perhaps perfection yearns for humanity as much as humanity does for perfection. He's a reminder of our capacity for good and a forgiveness of our capacity for mistakes. He's a being with the powers of a god who earnestly believes that much of his time is best spent as a bumbling boy scout reporter, and we can believe that maybe he's right.

That's Superman for me, anyway.


Beautiful. Dick Donner captured this perfectly, I think. Few others have since.


"I remember a time of chaos. Ruined dreams. This wasted land. But most of all, I remember The Road Warrior. The man we called 'Max'."

THE PINBALL WARRIOR (scifi, WIP, ~30 pg.)
A STAND AGAINST EVIL (short, 9 pg.)
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James McClung
Posted: June 25th, 2013, 5:29pm Report to Moderator
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I think that's a fair interpretation. I was a fan of the Donner films when I was younger, even before the Batman films, putting me at around five or six. I can definitely relate to those sentiments.

That said, could it be that Superman is just a different animal as far as superheroes go and maybe the action genre isn't the best place for it? I mean, I can buy all the existential stuff but come the third act, Superman has to fight a bad guy and given that he's indestructible, there's not going to be much of a fight at all unless said bad guy is another Krypton/Kryptonian/whatever, in which case they will also be indestructible. Essentially, it's the humans that are Superman's weak spot but I almost feel like for a bad guy to manipulate Superman using humans or Superman to protect humans against the bad guys *and* preserve some sense of stakes for an audience, you'd almost have to resort to some other form of conflict that doesn't involve superhuman fights. But considering Superman is basically the original comic book hero and not intended to be high literature or whatever, that'd just be weird.

Also again, when Superman grows up and goes through finding his identity and all that, the existential stuff goes out the window. Superman knows exactly what he's supposed to do and accepts it wholeheartedly. Even in Man of Steel, which fumbles its way through the character development, this is the case. Again, it almost seems like they have to come up with a whole new way of telling the Superman story from this point on.

I don't know. Maybe I'm over-thinking this (though I doubt it). Regardless, Superman just might not be for me.


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Forgive
Posted: June 25th, 2013, 5:56pm Report to Moderator
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Saw it again tonight because my boy wanted to see it. I fell asleep half-way through and my boy cried near the end 'cause he got scared. He didn't like that Superman killed Zod - that was a shock to him because Superman goes around saving people, not killing people.
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Andrew
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To be fair, I don't think all comic book movies are striving to tap into Nolan's gritty realism - look at the Marvel output... and that's the stuff dominating the box office for the genre. Iron Man THREE grossed 1.2 billion, and I don't think anyone would suggest it's dark.


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Ryan1
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Quoted from Forgive
Saw it again tonight because my boy wanted to see it. I fell asleep half-way through and my boy cried near the end 'cause he got scared. He didn't like that Superman killed Zod - that was a shock to him because Superman goes around saving people, not killing people.


Superman killed Zod in II also, right after crushing his hand into dust.  Of course, it was a thrilling moment because he outsmarted Zod and Luthor at the same time.  That's one of the inherent differences between Reeves' Supes and this newest incarnation.  Cavill's character was presented as humorless and fairly witless.  The big showdown was nothing but a slugfest.  The neck break was straight out of Lethal Weapon and I just didn't buy Superman's yelp of emotional agony afterwards.  I mean, you were trying to kill these guys for the past 45 minutes, right?  

They tried to "Batmanify" Superman into a brooding bruiser, but it just doesn't fit the character.
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DanBall
Posted: June 27th, 2013, 8:56am Report to Moderator
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I've been wondering why Superman's been relegated to being all muscle all this time? Why can't he have a super-intellect too? I know in the Justice League stories, Batman's typically the brain of the group, but Kryptonians have always come across as being intellectual. It seems logical that the learning materials Jor-El gave his son would impart that. That being said, I think it might be more interesting to see stories where Superman's powers get him to a point he needs to be, but his mind/heart have gotta take him the rest of the way. Maybe introduce a little bit of a Sherlock Holmes element to things?


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DarrenJamesSeeley
Posted: June 27th, 2013, 9:46am Report to Moderator
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Quoted from jwent6688
Surprised to see so much hatred for this film.


While MoS had two minor irritations for me (shaky cam action, "he's hot" line) I liked the film overall. I was alright with some of the "contreversial" elements of the film, since I figured the reprucussions might come back to haunt Kal-El in the next film. For all I know, his killing of Zod may be the start of his "code" to not kill again. Not to mention Supey has killed before in comics and film - he let a depowered Zod fall to his death (?) in Superman II, for example. In comics, those he killed were from "alternate dimensions". As for MoS the way I understood it if that he didn't kill Zod, Zod would kill as many people as he could. The fight might have gone on for who knows how long.

While Man Of Steel is getting a bit overrated, I don't think it's a horrible film by any means. There are more strengths than weaknesses.




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Electric Dreamer
Posted: June 27th, 2013, 10:19am Report to Moderator
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Max Landis has some strong opinions about the new Superman...

NSFW due to vulgar nerdgasm...




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Heretic
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Quoted from James McClung
That said, could it be that Superman is just a different animal as far as superheroes go and maybe the action genre isn't the best place for it? I mean, I can buy all the existential stuff but come the third act, Superman has to fight a bad guy and given that he's indestructible, there's not going to be much of a fight at all unless said bad guy is another Krypton/Kryptonian/whatever, in which case they will also be indestructible. Essentially, it's the humans that are Superman's weak spot but I almost feel like for a bad guy to manipulate Superman using humans or Superman to protect humans against the bad guys *and* preserve some sense of stakes for an audience, you'd almost have to resort to some other form of conflict that doesn't involve superhuman fights. But considering Superman is basically the original comic book hero and not intended to be high literature or whatever, that'd just be weird.


Yeah I do agree with you about this James. Technically, there aren't really stakes for Superman because he can't be killed -- unless they bring in kryptonite, which can only be done so many times. I mean, he can reverse time for gosh sakes.

Still, there's something I find absolutely satisfying about watching the Kryptonians fight in Donner's Superman II (Richard Lester can fuck himself). I think it's the notion of gods playfighting through our world. It excites the imagination on a conceptual level, and makes for plenty of explosions and dazzling effects on a visceral level. But on a story level, you are dead right...they're just kinda punching each other, and could continue to do so for fifty years if they felt like it. Humans in peril or kryptonite have to be added to the mix.

So all I can really say is that there's an interesting example here of blockbuster filmmaking where I was able to totally enjoy the film without really feeling the plot's stakes at all.

**

Brett,

Totally excellent. In addition to agreeing with the majority of what Landis said, I'm impressed by and envious of his ability to just sit down and monologue like that, smoothly, cohesively, and with good structure.

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stevie
Posted: June 27th, 2013, 6:21pm Report to Moderator
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Quoted from Electric Dreamer
Max Landis has some strong opinions about the new Superman...

NSFW due to vulgar nerdgasm...




Have no idea who this guy is but he speaks well, and is a funny dude too!



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Electric Dreamer
Posted: June 27th, 2013, 8:11pm Report to Moderator
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Quoted from stevie


Have no idea who this guy is but he speaks well, and is a funny dude too!


Stevie,

That's the son of John Landis.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000484/

Regards,
E.D.


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jwent6688
Posted: June 28th, 2013, 5:12am Report to Moderator
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Can't say I agree with Mr Landis' view, but was interesting to hear. What I loved about this film is exactly what he's bashing. Yes, half the city is destroyed and I'm sure thousands would have died as a result, but to me that's what made this so much darker and realistic.

Superman, as powerful as he is, is a single entity. He cannot save everyone. He can't be everywhere at all times to catch falling people. I find it funny how he compares Chronicle, in which he says only 17-20 people die as if it has more moral value. I don't see it. At all.

This man seems to hate all super heroes except the ones he creates. And I did like Chronicle, I just forgot about it shortly after I watched it.

James


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