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I was not a big fan of this one. I loved the Nolan Batman films, and I've heard a lot of people compare this one to that trilogy, and I don't see it. It tried to add depth to Superman, and I wouldn't say it failed, but it really proved quite unnecessary and pointless in the end. The last half was pretty much all CGI action scenes that got really tiring by the end. I guess you could say I found it to be really unbalanced. The first half tried to fit in a bunch of character-developing stuff (that didn't amount to much), and the second half was all mindless action. I like most of the Marvel films, and most of this just felt like The Incredible Hulk or Thor, but without the fun, and much more CGI. I don't think a superhero film needs fun and humor, but if it's not going to have any of the things that made Nolan's trilogy great, then fun certainly helps.
Also, I just want to stress my point about overused CGI. It was pretty overused in the first scene, but the last hour put that scene to shame. Literally every shot felt like it was just showing off another piece of CGI. It never really bothered to make you really care or be too excited about the actual battle because of all the effects. It was really quite annoying, especially since the battle probably could've taken about one-fourth of the time it took.
Also, the acting was pretty inconsistent. Henry Cavill was fine as Superman. He certainly looked the part, and that's the most important thing for an iconic character like him, since they didn't give him many emotional scenes, which he was not well-equipped for. I usually love Russell Crowe, but he was slightly disappointing here. His acting was quite sub-par in the first scene, but it picked up a bit after that. It still never reached what you expect from an actor like him. I didn't really like Michael Shannon, either. His character had some pretty bad dialogue, but the actor didn't really help it much. Not to mention the fact that General Zod was never expanded on beyond your average superhero movie villain. Amy Adams was fine. She probably could've been better, but I don't have any real complaints. Kevin Costner was definitely the best actor in this. The parts when he was on screen were probably my favorites, even though the kids who played the young Clark Kent were pretty bad as well, even for child actors. Costner didn't always get the best dialogue, but he made the most of what he was given.
It might seem like I hated it, but I still found myself moderately entertained at certain points, and it never came close to "offensively bad."
2.75/5
Man of Steel
I was not a big fan of this one. I loved the Nolan Batman films, and I've heard a lot of people compare this one to that trilogy, and I don't see it. It tried to add depth to Superman, and I wouldn't say it failed, but it really proved quite unnecessary and pointless in the end. The last half was pretty much all CGI action scenes that got really tiring by the end. I guess you could say I found it to be really unbalanced. The first half tried to fit in a bunch of character-developing stuff (that didn't amount to much), and the second half was all mindless action. I like most of the Marvel films, and most of this just felt like The Incredible Hulk or Thor, but without the fun, and much more CGI. I don't think a superhero film needs fun and humor, but if it's not going to have any of the things that made Nolan's trilogy great, then fun certainly helps.
Also, I just want to stress my point about overused CGI. It was pretty overused in the first scene, but the last hour put that scene to shame. Literally every shot felt like it was just showing off another piece of CGI. It never really bothered to make you really care or be too excited about the actual battle because of all the effects. It was really quite annoying, especially since the battle probably could've taken about one-fourth of the time it took.
Also, the acting was pretty inconsistent. Henry Cavill was fine as Superman. He certainly looked the part, and that's the most important thing for an iconic character like him, since they didn't give him many emotional scenes, which he was not well-equipped for. I usually love Russell Crowe, but he was slightly disappointing here. His acting was quite sub-par in the first scene, but it picked up a bit after that. It still never reached what you expect from an actor like him. I didn't really like Michael Shannon, either. His character had some pretty bad dialogue, but the actor didn't really help it much. Not to mention the fact that General Zod was never expanded on beyond your average superhero movie villain. Amy Adams was fine. She probably could've been better, but I don't have any real complaints. Kevin Costner was definitely the best actor in this. The parts when he was on screen were probably my favorites, even though the kids who played the young Clark Kent were pretty bad as well, even for child actors. Costner didn't always get the best dialogue, but he made the most of what he was given.
It might seem like I hated it, but I still found myself moderately entertained at certain points, and it never came close to "offensively bad."
2.75/5