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I really disliked the movie; it's just as nihilistic as the Nolan Batman movies with its propensity to speak of hope and optimism, but give us lots of violence and destruction for entertainment purposes.
Man of Steel: Have you seen it?
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And while I am on the topic of Superman Returns and Superman in general, I think Kevin Smith can give us some insight into why a lot of super hero adaptations to film suck. Before Marvel Studios was able to get more control over what is put on screen, Hollywood studios called the shots on a lot of stuff that was put into the movies. And Kevin Smith details this when at one point in time he was commissioned to write a new Superman movie.
and for laughs, his thoughts on Superman Returns
and for laughs, his thoughts on Superman Returns
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Very interesting and I agree, more comic studios need to grab a hold of their movie franchises. Having said that, the first 2 Spiderman movies are still among the best.
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I just saw it, and I might write a review because its a "don't get me started" kinda feeling about it. it was okay, but more on the bad side. I will give it credit because there are some beautiful shots so the cinematography is really pretty good, and the special effects are also pretty awesome. i'm also not a huge Superman follower so I was quite confused by the story compared to what I DO know, or thought I knew, about Superman.
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It's better than SUPERMAN RETURNS but that's not saying much. Cavill makes a decent Clark/Kal-El ("Superman" isn't acknowledged in the end titles), and Diane Lane acquits herself nicely as Martha Kent, but Amy Adams is an awful Lois (Lois Lame might be a more appropriate name for her character), and Laurence Fishburne's Perry White (complete with earring!) is more Frank Langella than Jackie Cooper. The one casting choice I had high hopes for was Michael Shannon as Zod, and while he brings a great deal of menace to the proceedings, he lacks the calm, cool confidence of Terence Stamp's interpretation. Perhaps modern audiences expect their villains to be over-the-top bad asses with no shades of grey, and if that's the case, then this new Zod delivers. Christoper Meloni, one of my favourite LAW & ORDER actors, has a nice supporting role as an army officer.
But my main quibble with the film is the way it approaches the action sequences. Perhaps I'm out of step with the times, but I don't see the point in making a SUPERMAN movie where it's painfully obvious all the actors are standing in front of a green screen and the "epic" digital action is out of focus and cut with attention deficit sufferers in mind. When Christopher Reeve played Superman, you could actually see his derring-do whereas in MAN OF STEEL the action is cut so quickly you have to guess. Also, the Kryptonian architects were most definitely inspired by H.R. Giger this time out, so it's little wonder Jor-El and the Missus had no interest in raising a child in such a dark and uninviting environment. One last note: I'm glad they didn't try to tack the Williams SUPERMAN theme onto this as it wouldn't have worked, but Hans Zimmer completely misses the mark with his score for MAN OF STEEL.
But my main quibble with the film is the way it approaches the action sequences. Perhaps I'm out of step with the times, but I don't see the point in making a SUPERMAN movie where it's painfully obvious all the actors are standing in front of a green screen and the "epic" digital action is out of focus and cut with attention deficit sufferers in mind. When Christopher Reeve played Superman, you could actually see his derring-do whereas in MAN OF STEEL the action is cut so quickly you have to guess. Also, the Kryptonian architects were most definitely inspired by H.R. Giger this time out, so it's little wonder Jor-El and the Missus had no interest in raising a child in such a dark and uninviting environment. One last note: I'm glad they didn't try to tack the Williams SUPERMAN theme onto this as it wouldn't have worked, but Hans Zimmer completely misses the mark with his score for MAN OF STEEL.
Yes I saw it and I LOVED it!!! I give it a +
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I find these superman/spiderman/batman whatever films tend to get a bit too serious.. Theyre just comic book films in the end, I think they actually lose credibility and their point if they are made too serious..
Btw - Stigmas are lame.
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Not sure if I made my feelings clear in this thread but MOS ****ing sucked. 3/10
How can someone make something so great like "Watchmen" and then fumble Superman so badly.
I will NEVER waste another 150 minutes of my life watching this movie ever again.
How can someone make something so great like "Watchmen" and then fumble Superman so badly.
I will NEVER waste another 150 minutes of my life watching this movie ever again.
It's one of those movies that remind me of The Avengers. Very entertaining, yes, but not great at all. It is a good movie to keep you entertained, but it does just that.
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Not sure if I made my feelings clear in this thread but MOS ****ing sucked. 3/10
How can someone make something so great like "Watchmen" and then fumble Superman so badly.
I will NEVER waste another 150 minutes of my life watching this movie ever again.
How can someone make something so great like "Watchmen" and then fumble Superman so badly.
I will NEVER waste another 150 minutes of my life watching this movie ever again.
I remember the fight scenes just being a blurry CGI mess where you can hardly figure out what's going on. The Superman/Lois Lane chemistry was just non existent with a cringeworthy kiss at the end. The flashback storytelling that works so well for Batman Begins/ The Prestige doesn't feel right at all for Superman. The successful template was already there with the 1978 version, so why not simply do a modern retelling? The Kevin Costner/ Jonathan Kent death was a LOL moment. The music was a poor poor successor to the grandiose Williams music from the 1978 film, especially the main theme. A very poor outing by the usually brilliant Hans Zimmer. The story was a total mess too, all that Codex nonsense.
The whole thing was just FUBAR.
The whole thing was just FUBAR.
I remember the fight scenes just being a blurry CGI mess where you can hardly figure out what's going on. The Superman/Lois Lane chemistry was just non existent with a cringeworthy kiss at the end. The flashback storytelling that works so well for Batman Begins/ The Prestige doesn't feel right at all for Superman. The successful template was already there with the 1978 version, so why not simply do a modern retelling? The Kevin Costner/ Jonathan Kent death was a LOL moment. The music was a poor poor successor to the grandiose Williams music from the 1978 film, especially the main theme. A very poor outing by the usually brilliant Hans Zimmer. The story was a total mess too, all that Codex nonsense.
The whole thing was just FUBAR.
The whole thing was just FUBAR.
The planet Krypton is dying... and at the brink of their destruction, General Zod makes war against those who are responsible for the predicament that is faced by the entire populous of the planet.
Jor-El, a scientist on the planet has warned the heads of Krypton of this fate, but he was ignored and has become a target of Zod as he has launched his infant son Kal-El to safety where he can hide in peace on Earth.
After Krypton's destruction, Zod makes it his mission to hunt Kal-El across the stars and retrieve a very particular piece of technology that was sent to Earth with Kal-El and destroy Earth to build an new Krypton... but after 33 years of living with Humans, Kal-El, now known as Clark Kent, will have to make a choice...
... to join Zod and allow his people to live again... or stand against the General and his hoard and become a saviour for mankind.
Jor-El, a scientist on the planet has warned the heads of Krypton of this fate, but he was ignored and has become a target of Zod as he has launched his infant son Kal-El to safety where he can hide in peace on Earth.
After Krypton's destruction, Zod makes it his mission to hunt Kal-El across the stars and retrieve a very particular piece of technology that was sent to Earth with Kal-El and destroy Earth to build an new Krypton... but after 33 years of living with Humans, Kal-El, now known as Clark Kent, will have to make a choice...
... to join Zod and allow his people to live again... or stand against the General and his hoard and become a saviour for mankind.
---
Ok... slammed by many, revered by others... scale wise, the second half of Man Of Steel is exactly what most Superhero Movies should be.
Many have hammered the lack of cheese and fun of the other Superman films of years gone by... I say, forget those films for now... Man Of Steel isn't meant to be those films... and many forget that Superman The Movie had almost a musical number stuck in the middle...
... I'd like to see the faces of those slamming Man Of Steel if they'd included a scene like that in this film
There are also a few action scenes that seem to have come from the original Christopher Reeve films Superman The Movie and Superman II... in particular Clark getting bullied by a Trucker and a burly brawl in Smallville between bad guys and the Military.
The other thing... is that Man Of Steel... spoiler alert guys... fits in perfectly with The Dark Knight Trilogy... and a connection is implied within the third act as well
Now...
The epic scale battles and fist fights, explosions, gunfights and other bodyslamming action scenes that make up most of the second half of the film is something that has been missing from a Superman film since, well, ever really.
The overall Global size of the action, I don't think, has ever been seen on screen before in many films apart from maybe 2012 or Independence Day... it's huge.
The kind of scale to expect is something that is normally only seen on the pages of the comics themselves.
Much of the action takes place throughout Metropolis and Smallville... but there are other set pieces included in the destruction when Zod get his plan together that give just that extra touch of epicness that make Man Of Steel stand apart from other Superhero films.
The overall effects department hasn't been spared either. By far the most effective, erm, effects I have yet to see in an action film... Steel almost appears to have rewritten some of the computer-whizz rulebooks, it's that well put together in the CGI and Practical Effects stakes.
It's by far the most destructive film I've seen in a long, long time.
The choreography is also top drawer and backs up the action fantastically and excitingly... with the exception of two things...
1) Snyder's overuse of close-ups during burly brawls between The Supe and whichever evil Kryptonian he is currently trading punches with. It knocks the viewer sideways at times and gets disorientating.
2) Snyder's overuse of fast zooming with a handheld camera whenever something in the distance does anything. Similar to JJ Abrams' fast zooming whenever the Starship Enterprise goes into warp...
Other than those two faults, which don't really take much away from the good points... Steel does have one major problem... most of the first half of the film.
The writing is substandard character wise... the first half is mainly one -long excuse note made up of flashbacks that tell Kal-El's story, Krypton's history, and Clark's early life on Earth with his overprotective father Jonathan.
There's also little audience to character connections... you don't really get to care enough about the leads... especially, sadly, the story between Clark and Lois Lane...
Now, all the actors involved do an absolute top job. They're all giving 101%... but the poor scripting and lack of character building and connection making screenplay within the first half, it makes the whole film feel hollow to an extent. There are some characters that everyone knows and loves that have been rewritten as well and it feels highly gimmicky. Again though, the actors involved are at the top of their game, it's the scripting that lets it down.
It's almost as if character-character and audience-character connection is simply a given and the writers... Goyer and Nolan... haven't really tried to write those connections because they thought that past connections and maybe a touch of nostalgia and knowledge on the audience's behalf would have been enough.
I can see how that approach would work, but it makes some of the character emotions a little non-universal.
However:
Cavill is perfect as Clark/Kal/Superman... I had difficulty at the very beginning seeing him as Superman, but as the movie progressed, I fell in love with this new performance... especially as Cavill appears to be learning the role, as the character learns his new powers. That is one thing that does work well with the writing. Cavill's physique is also bang on the money.
Amy Adams is also on top form... she has less to do than Cavill though, and sadly, like I said, the poor character writing makes the connection between her and Cavill sketchy at best.
Her role within Superman/Clark's life has also been rewritten along with some of the other rewritten characters.
Back up comes from Antje Traue as Zod's right-hand girl Faora... and from Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as Jonathan and Martha Kent... neither are seen enough tbh, I loved them in these roles, especially Costner... they're extremely likeable and are near to being the best written of the lot.
More backup comes from Lawrence Fishburne as a rewritten Perry White and Russell Crowe as Jor-El.
Crowe is mainly seen as a hologram though and his role is very generic throughout. Crowe does a pretty decent job though.
The standout role though is Michael Shannon as General Zod. Shannon absolutely makes this film. He's threatening when needed, holds his weight against Cavill's muscled Super Man... I loved Shannon's take as Zod, he beats Terrence Stamp by miles... that's something I never thought I'd say.
Many have hammered the lack of cheese and fun of the other Superman films of years gone by... I say, forget those films for now... Man Of Steel isn't meant to be those films... and many forget that Superman The Movie had almost a musical number stuck in the middle...
... I'd like to see the faces of those slamming Man Of Steel if they'd included a scene like that in this film
There are also a few action scenes that seem to have come from the original Christopher Reeve films Superman The Movie and Superman II... in particular Clark getting bullied by a Trucker and a burly brawl in Smallville between bad guys and the Military.
The other thing... is that Man Of Steel... spoiler alert guys... fits in perfectly with The Dark Knight Trilogy... and a connection is implied within the third act as well
Now...
The epic scale battles and fist fights, explosions, gunfights and other bodyslamming action scenes that make up most of the second half of the film is something that has been missing from a Superman film since, well, ever really.
The overall Global size of the action, I don't think, has ever been seen on screen before in many films apart from maybe 2012 or Independence Day... it's huge.
The kind of scale to expect is something that is normally only seen on the pages of the comics themselves.
Much of the action takes place throughout Metropolis and Smallville... but there are other set pieces included in the destruction when Zod get his plan together that give just that extra touch of epicness that make Man Of Steel stand apart from other Superhero films.
The overall effects department hasn't been spared either. By far the most effective, erm, effects I have yet to see in an action film... Steel almost appears to have rewritten some of the computer-whizz rulebooks, it's that well put together in the CGI and Practical Effects stakes.
It's by far the most destructive film I've seen in a long, long time.
The choreography is also top drawer and backs up the action fantastically and excitingly... with the exception of two things...
1) Snyder's overuse of close-ups during burly brawls between The Supe and whichever evil Kryptonian he is currently trading punches with. It knocks the viewer sideways at times and gets disorientating.
2) Snyder's overuse of fast zooming with a handheld camera whenever something in the distance does anything. Similar to JJ Abrams' fast zooming whenever the Starship Enterprise goes into warp...
Other than those two faults, which don't really take much away from the good points... Steel does have one major problem... most of the first half of the film.
The writing is substandard character wise... the first half is mainly one -long excuse note made up of flashbacks that tell Kal-El's story, Krypton's history, and Clark's early life on Earth with his overprotective father Jonathan.
There's also little audience to character connections... you don't really get to care enough about the leads... especially, sadly, the story between Clark and Lois Lane...
Now, all the actors involved do an absolute top job. They're all giving 101%... but the poor scripting and lack of character building and connection making screenplay within the first half, it makes the whole film feel hollow to an extent. There are some characters that everyone knows and loves that have been rewritten as well and it feels highly gimmicky. Again though, the actors involved are at the top of their game, it's the scripting that lets it down.
It's almost as if character-character and audience-character connection is simply a given and the writers... Goyer and Nolan... haven't really tried to write those connections because they thought that past connections and maybe a touch of nostalgia and knowledge on the audience's behalf would have been enough.
I can see how that approach would work, but it makes some of the character emotions a little non-universal.
However:
Cavill is perfect as Clark/Kal/Superman... I had difficulty at the very beginning seeing him as Superman, but as the movie progressed, I fell in love with this new performance... especially as Cavill appears to be learning the role, as the character learns his new powers. That is one thing that does work well with the writing. Cavill's physique is also bang on the money.
Amy Adams is also on top form... she has less to do than Cavill though, and sadly, like I said, the poor character writing makes the connection between her and Cavill sketchy at best.
Her role within Superman/Clark's life has also been rewritten along with some of the other rewritten characters.
Back up comes from Antje Traue as Zod's right-hand girl Faora... and from Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as Jonathan and Martha Kent... neither are seen enough tbh, I loved them in these roles, especially Costner... they're extremely likeable and are near to being the best written of the lot.
More backup comes from Lawrence Fishburne as a rewritten Perry White and Russell Crowe as Jor-El.
Crowe is mainly seen as a hologram though and his role is very generic throughout. Crowe does a pretty decent job though.
The standout role though is Michael Shannon as General Zod. Shannon absolutely makes this film. He's threatening when needed, holds his weight against Cavill's muscled Super Man... I loved Shannon's take as Zod, he beats Terrence Stamp by miles... that's something I never thought I'd say.
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All in all... the tremendous acting makes up for the badly written script and screenplay in the first half...
... the explosive second half more than makes up for any problems in the first half as well... if they had just taken more time with the writing in that first hour, this could easily, quite easily, be a film pushing the 100% barrier... sadly I have to mark it down due to lack of actual character.
But still...
... top effects, probably the best I've ever seen... top action, great acting and visual/action epicness usually only seen on comicbook pages.
My rating: 91%
All in all... the tremendous acting makes up for the badly written script and screenplay in the first half...
... the explosive second half more than makes up for any problems in the first half as well... if they had just taken more time with the writing in that first hour, this could easily, quite easily, be a film pushing the 100% barrier... sadly I have to mark it down due to lack of actual character.
But still...
... top effects, probably the best I've ever seen... top action, great acting and visual/action epicness usually only seen on comicbook pages.
My rating: 91%
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Resident Evil: Retribution was my one-pointer
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I saw it at a friend's house and thought it was OK but nothing special. It's quite a bit longer than it needs to be (the last battle drags on for ages) and it's rather dark and overly serious for a movie that has armored space gods with laser vision punching each other through buildings. Personally, I'd stick with Superman II. The visuals are extremely dated and there are plot holes a plenty but unlike MOS Superman II is actually fun to watch.
@The Rodent. I guess I respect your opinion(at least someone enjoyed it I suppose), but I respectfully disagree on all accounts. If anything, it's the second half of the film that's awful. The overabundance of CGI,explosions,mayhem, and ridiculous nihilism hurt my eyes and honestly. Was borderline offensive to my intelligence.If that wasn't bad enough, the film delivers a "Happy" ending when the entire city is in ruin and millions of innocents have lost their lives. Superman was an A-Hole, the dialogue was awful, the forced romance was awful.The only highlight was Shannon, who I genuinely liked.
I initially gave this film a rather good score of 6/10, but I now realize it doesn't even merit that. It's a film without soul,without an ounce of substance or "Heart". It's a certified turd. Nothing more.
I initially gave this film a rather good score of 6/10, but I now realize it doesn't even merit that. It's a film without soul,without an ounce of substance or "Heart". It's a certified turd. Nothing more.
How can someone make something so great like "Watchmen" and then fumble Superman so badly.
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Agreed! How Snyder went form making a movie that some what revolutionised the genre to making a very typical, sci-fi/action flick is beyond me.
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Man of Steel was a disappointment. The bad script, lackluster performances from Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner, and overdone special effects just made me say "meh", although I do give enormous credit for the choreography of the fight scenes. That's how you make a Dragon Ball Z movie, I'm telling you.
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