Film: Man of Steel

Director: Zach Snyder
Genre: Action
Source: USA (2013)
Rating: PG-13
Location/Format: Glynn Place Stadium Cinema
Grade: B-

Major Spoilers Ahead!

Here's the thing: Superman is not Batman. I'm not opposed to making a Superman film more adult and less candy-colored fun than the classic Christopher Reeve films (and I will admit to being in the minority who thought Bryan Singer's Superman Returns from 2006 was actually a whole lot of fun and had some interesting things to say about the Superman mythology), however Zach Snyder and Christopher Nolan have instead created a film that is not overly dark and brooding but also forgets that Superman is in part built on fantasy and fun. There's a lot of action in this film, a lot of destruction, a lot of effects and adventure, but there's not a lot of joy to be had, and the film ultimately felt hard to connect to. Superman would have been a great character to push toward the Iron Man/Avengers route; instead they went with The Dark Knight, and I don't think it fully works. As many other critics have noted, for example, Superman is so wrapped up in his own story he doesn't seem to spend much time trying to save Metropolis--instead he uses it as a battleground. It's super, and it's large scale, but it's kind of cold as well. 

That's not to say there aren't a lot of great elements here. Henry Clavill (though at times very wooden with dialogue) has a great look for Superman, and Michael Shannon was excellent as Zod. Then again, it's Michael Shannon, so what else would you expect. Costner is a solid Jonathan Kent, and while they play up his role in teaching Clark, I think they drop the ball on showing him bonding with the young Kal-el. He is always in "lesson/nagging" mode, and though we understand that comes from a place of love and concern, they could have included a few more scenes of him actually being loving and Dad-like. Amy Adams is a respectable Lois Lane, and all sorts of people pop up in cameos (including A.I./ghost/all-knowing Russell Crowe) but the film seems to be in a hurry to get through so much plot, I don't feel like we really know anyone, and that includes Clark/Kal-El/Superman. They play up his alien and outsider status a lot, but they don't really show why he loves/should love humanity. His arc is overly-simplified in that it's not really an arc. It's a path: step A and then step B. He's mopey and confused, and then he's heroic. Also he has a magic key.

Which brings me to a bigger problem: goofy plot holes galore. I really don't think the story line will stand up well in time. First, massive space opera aside (and we spend a lot of time getting to know Kryptonian politics, etc.), how does A.I. Jor-El know so dang much about Clark's time growing up and human society, etc? It's like you plug in your Jor-El USB stick and suddenly it knows what you've been doing for the last 33 years. And really? All purpose USB sticks--store your holographic dead father, magically pilot any vehicle, save to the cloud? And why did the colonizing ship sent thousands of years before Kal-El landed on Earth have a Superman suit ready and waiting inside of it? Also, why is Superman's suit red and blue when EVERY OTHER KRYPTONIAN wears black? Also, why does he bother wearing the suit at all? He just has an imbedded Kryptonian fashion sense? Why does Zod need Kal-El at all? If the DNA of all of Krypton is in his cells, and they already have a blood sample, can't they just do their Krypton recreating thing already? Why do they need to kill Kal-El to make it happen? 

The more I think about it, the goofier this movie is. Even if I think playing up the alien side of Superman in the first Superman movie in an anticipated series is a bad idea, at least do it better than this. 

And let me just say this: Bryan Singer got a lot of crap for playing up the Superman = Jesus angle to heavy handed-ly, what with the cross pose, the kryptonite hand piercing, the Superman hearing prayers (basically) and so on and so forth. But Zach Snyder gives us the cross pose again, he emphasizes Kal-El's 33 years (Christ figure alert!) and he gives Kal-El a speech where he decides whether or not to save humanity while standing in front of a stained glass window of Jesus. Do I need to repeat that? Half the screen is Kal-El, half the screen is Jesus! At least Singer made you work for it a little bit.

There's plenty to like here--Snyder does good spectacle, and he creates some great imagery, and the final battle with Zod really did feel "super" to me. But this film is so focused on getting through its dense plot and on action and destruction that it forgets the number one thing that makes Superman such a great hero: heart. He sees the best in people, and he acts toward them accordingly. This Superman is so lost in himself that he forgets to really think about others. And that's unfortunate. 

In some ways, this would be a better second Superman movie than a first. As a franchise reboot, it's not all I hoped it would be. Still, Michael Shannon. Put that guy in more movies.

Alternate Film Title: "Obligatory Gritty Superman Reboot"