Man of Steel

In a regular revamp for the new millennium, Kal-el has set off in the right direction (destruction!) balanced between a realistic approach and a sumptuous fantasy watch. The hero is an unbalanced foreigner in a country that has no understanding for him (Cavill is wonderfully alien, occasionally a little conceited, occasionally naive) and the flashbacks pile up the layers of a torn character who daddy Kent (the excellent Kevin Costner) tries to channel into one - it’s a shame that there aren’t more moments like that and the narrative structure isn’t chronological, but is presented jumbled up throughout the picture. However, Snyder balances the doses of emotional forming of the hero with the action and at the end he lets loose an all-encompassing inferno and Metropolis (and maybe even a few acres of India) is reduced to ashes. Powerful dialogs (with a compulsory dose of pathos) which are more than just the dumb joking around that we know from earlier recreations of this flying cape-wearer, but meditation over the direction taken by nations, their conceit and, at the ending, also stupidity that leads to the end of civilization. The introductory twenty minutes on Krypton is like out of Avatar and the lightly illustrated government disputes are far more interesting than any of Clark searching for his origins. Zod with Michael Shannon’s ugly mug has depth to him and isn’t utterly evil, but he’s just doing what he has to and Superman understands this. And that makes the finale even more crushing. The two fellow countrymen are fighting for a chance for an inferior race (us) and the only thing that stands between them is a difference of approach to the problem. The verbal disagreements between Zod and Jor-el are nicely gradated and fateful, like everything in the movie, in fact (yes, this is at the expense of humor and irony, but that doesn’t matter at all). One thing that matters sometimes is the unnecessarily “realistic" camera which focuses, jumps and shakes. I really like this approach sometimes, but I would also like to stop and enjoy the shot of the ship as it falls without having to search for the ship on the screen, because it is shot from so far away. The fights with collapsing buildings and general destruction don’t disappoint and there is some invention in the beating (like in the Matrix, we don’t start flying till the very end). Hanz’s music is the diametric opposite to Williams’s and it suits the spirit of the movie perfectly. It’s not so bombastic as they promised us in the trailers, but still, it’s a marvelous new approach that makes sense for this type of character and I’m really looking forward to the next part. (2013-06-20)

A new generation is entitled to a new beginning, and thus the semi-divine orphan once again descends to us earthlings for the first time. I am glad that he succeeded in a way that only does justice to Kal-El, but as a fan of the more innocent and human adventures of the Man of Steel, I was hoping for something a little more different. I admire Zack Snyder for daring to rearrange the chronology of the sacred origin story, but there were simply too many technical tricks or destroyed blocks for me. Superman has always been different for me precisely because he is well aware of his almost painful superiority and does not fight in a destructive way that you tend to see in superhero movies. I can watch their methods from morning till night, but the savior with the S on his chest naturally flies a class above. The perfect casting, led by the fascinating Russell Crowe as Jor-El, partly mitigates these criticisms, as do those sentimental insertions that may have caused some discomfort in other viewers. But when the screenplay touches on the humanity of the central hero, that's when I almost immediately soften. On my way out of the cinema I ultimately felt a conflicting satisfaction. Due to the devilish pace of the second half, I can't shake the feeling that I was riding an express train rather than a full-fledged reboot, but there were surprisingly enough attractions waiting for me in it. So keep flying, Clark. I hope you'll fly far enough to keep the memories from turning bitter. (2014-01-31)

Man of Steel doesn’t follow the path of Whedon’s Avengers or Nolan’s Batman, it goes its own way with a tone that is very different from other major comic book films in recent years. I can’t express in words how much I liked it. It has an incredible pace, spectacular action scenes, perfect casting and even pretty interesting storytelling. The only thing that disappointed me is that it’s not at least an hour longer so there wouldn’t be so many plot jumps, which would slow down the intergalactic pace, but also would allow time to get deeper under the characters’ skin. Regardless, Man of Steel is hands down the best blockbuster of the year (proof of which are also the mixed responses – exceptional films never satisfy everyone), it’s far better than the third Iron Man and the second Star Trek… and though this afternoon I was still convinced that the “biggest” film of the year would be Pacific Rim, now I’m not so sure. Nothing will prepare you for this level of >super< action. Zack Snyder has my admiration and with this movie, he’s probably the best action director alive. 10/10, I hadn’t left the cinema so happy in a very long time. PS: Hans Zimmer also hits all the spots with his soundtrack. (2013-06-18)

I have to admit that the Man of Steel made me quite happy. At a time where every other franchise gets a restart, I would expect anything from this film except for proper filmmaking craft. Although, in the end, it is pretty logical – what else should they use to interest the audience, if not a quality camera, action and great shots, right? However, there is always a but. In this movie it is the story, which was sometimes difficult to handle. While Henry Cavill is a good Superman, I can’t help it, but his transformation into Superman took a hell of a long time. For example, I was really angered by the fact that he takes flight for the first time only after half of the movie. The creators did not explain a lot of things and simply stretched the script as they deemed fit. Well, okay, I enjoyed the film as a whole, but I won’t necessarily watch its second instalment as well. It doesn’t change the fact that there has been too many of these movies recently. Unnecessarily too many. (2014-06-21)

I've never been to a Superman movie; the capes, red panties, and blue leotard... well, it's not my cup of tea. So I went into it expecting nothing, and didn’t really get anything – just a nice guy acting like a savior. The effects didn't blow me away, the story didn't either, but in a way it was watchable (not so much to listen to, sometimes those speeches sound better on paper) and you were really interested in a scene here and there. I don't know why, but I enjoyed Kevin Costner the most. I must be getting old. A weaker 3 stars. (2014-12-28)