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#183 - Man of Steel
Zack Snyder, 2013
A reboot of the Superman franchise.
I know that's considerably shorter than my usual loglines tend to be but considering how well-known Superman and his origin story are, I figured it merited it. At least Man of Steel shakes things up a bit by having it be told in flashbacks rather than the entire origin story happen all at once (though of course there are some minor tweaks here and there, often to inconsequential effect but also in ways that are occasionally frustrating to watch). The acting isn't anything too remarkable - I don't expect a character like Superman to be especially difficult to play and Henry Cavill does a decent enough job with the role, though it's rather disappointing how Michael Shannon's turn as General Zod feels rather feeble (then again, trying to distance yourself from Terence Stamp's iconic turn as the original cinematic Zod will do that). Amy Adams feels rather wasted as Lois Lane, though Kevin Costner does make the most of the very familiar role of Jonathan Kent. Russell Crowe as Jor-El could have been a disaster, but he delivers an unexpected level of soft-spoken grace (though his prolonged presence beyond the prologue does come across as awfully convenient for the characters).
Zack Snyder has always been a director that has prioritised style over substance and Man of Steel is no exception in that regard. At least he substitutes the stiffness and slow-motion of his other comic book movies for a much more kinetic and down-to-earth approach (even if the shakiness of the camerawork and occasional crash-zooms during fight scenes can't help but remind me of Chronicle). Though it takes an awfully long time for the film to really get to any interesting action (most of the action takes place during the last hour of the film, which doesn't help when it's almost two-and-a-half hours long), the stuff that we do get at least involves a lot of high-powered destruction, even if they are just superpowered fistfights moreso than all-out powered-up battles. I'll also cop to the fact that the effects work on display is really good (though of course this was always going to be an effects film, but it's nice to see good effects straight after seeing Superman IV). Man of Steel is a bit too dull for too much of its running time to be a truly good film (without even nit-picking various gaps in logic, of course), but it makes up for it somewhat by managing to make a fairly decent blockbuster in the process. Given Snyder's tendency to favour amazing visuals over solid writing, that just makes the fact that so much of the film is based around setting up scenes and character development seem like that much more of a misfire. At least it's set an alright precedent for a forthcoming Superman film.
Zack Snyder, 2013
A reboot of the Superman franchise.
I know that's considerably shorter than my usual loglines tend to be but considering how well-known Superman and his origin story are, I figured it merited it. At least Man of Steel shakes things up a bit by having it be told in flashbacks rather than the entire origin story happen all at once (though of course there are some minor tweaks here and there, often to inconsequential effect but also in ways that are occasionally frustrating to watch). The acting isn't anything too remarkable - I don't expect a character like Superman to be especially difficult to play and Henry Cavill does a decent enough job with the role, though it's rather disappointing how Michael Shannon's turn as General Zod feels rather feeble (then again, trying to distance yourself from Terence Stamp's iconic turn as the original cinematic Zod will do that). Amy Adams feels rather wasted as Lois Lane, though Kevin Costner does make the most of the very familiar role of Jonathan Kent. Russell Crowe as Jor-El could have been a disaster, but he delivers an unexpected level of soft-spoken grace (though his prolonged presence beyond the prologue does come across as awfully convenient for the characters).
Zack Snyder has always been a director that has prioritised style over substance and Man of Steel is no exception in that regard. At least he substitutes the stiffness and slow-motion of his other comic book movies for a much more kinetic and down-to-earth approach (even if the shakiness of the camerawork and occasional crash-zooms during fight scenes can't help but remind me of Chronicle). Though it takes an awfully long time for the film to really get to any interesting action (most of the action takes place during the last hour of the film, which doesn't help when it's almost two-and-a-half hours long), the stuff that we do get at least involves a lot of high-powered destruction, even if they are just superpowered fistfights moreso than all-out powered-up battles. I'll also cop to the fact that the effects work on display is really good (though of course this was always going to be an effects film, but it's nice to see good effects straight after seeing Superman IV). Man of Steel is a bit too dull for too much of its running time to be a truly good film (without even nit-picking various gaps in logic, of course), but it makes up for it somewhat by managing to make a fairly decent blockbuster in the process. Given Snyder's tendency to favour amazing visuals over solid writing, that just makes the fact that so much of the film is based around setting up scenes and character development seem like that much more of a misfire. At least it's set an alright precedent for a forthcoming Superman film.