MAN OF STEEL

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I ignored the bad reviews and went to see "Man of Steel" anyway.

I enjoyed the first hour and a half. But, like most of these comic book based movies, it felt the need to end the movie with a 45 minute long, final battle scene, which became just a CGI blur after ten or fifteen minutes.

The final battle was a series of events like: Superman pile drives Gen. Zod thru a building. Zod zips back up and rams Superman thru an oil tanker. Superman is stunned but shakes it off in time to save Lois Lane, whom Zod is now imperiling. Repeat 9-10 times.

I like Amy Adams as Lois Lane and Henry Cavill as Superman. Hard to picture Diane Lane, whom I've always thought was hot, as Martha Kent, but we all get older.

In the fiinal scene, Kent is introduced as the new reporter at the Daily Planet, so they're all set for a sequel.

It was just OK, nothing great. B-.
 
I thought it was great - by far the best Superman movie - and not just because it had more action in the first 10 minutes than pretty much all the ones before it.

I thought they did a great job of handling the story itself - Clark's struggle with not belonging seemed a lot more... OK realistic isn't the word for a comic book movie, but I thought the way they handled the Lois/Clark dynamic made so much more sense than most other interpretations.

I was a little worried about the idea of "reinterpreting" Superman, but I thought they did a great job of staying true to the idea of nobility and character that are such an important part of the Superman story. You don't go to Superman movies to see a dark hero, and he wasn't - but the story provided him with plenty of depth of character.

If you don't like CGI, at this point I think you need to not go to comic book movies. Oh, and the ending will help satisfy all of us who always wanted to go up to Lois Lane and say "hey... glasses? No glasses? Seriously????"
 
I thought it was great. My film taste usually tracks with the critics/Rottentomatoes, however the times when they don't seem to be the really entertaining movies.

From the ways the negative reviews criticized the movies and the ways the positive reviews praised the movies, I had a feeling I would like it. I had the same feeling with The Great Gatsby, which I had very low expectations for, but throughly enjoyed the Baz Lurhman effort.

I thought from a story standpoint and getting to the pathos of who Clark Kent/Kal-El really is...this movie hit a grand slam. He's an outcast (as much as an outcast as a 6ft dark blue-eyed All-American Kansas farmboy can me), who's trying to find himself. Superman movies in the past don't really explore this and instead focus on his otherworldly presence, and many casual fans don't really understand this part of Superman, who, contrary to Quentin Tatantino, is really the superhero front of the real character Clark Kent.

For some reason, the negative critics hit Snyder for the perceived lack of wit and humor. I think the level of humor and levity of the movie is spot on. There are fewer but well placed lighter moments that reflects how characters would really react to the phenomenon of an alien invasion. This isn't Batman Begins or the The Dark Knight. Those movies were praised for their grounded approach and realist characters as opposed to the cartoonish approach brought by Shumacher in the George Clooney/Val Kilmer Batman movies. Superman here isn't rescuing cats from trees and brining petty harmless thieves to the local patrolman with an All-American salute before he flies off. This guy is a freakin' alien who trying to come to grip with what's happening in his and our world. There's just as much "Truth, Justics, and the American Way" here...it's just more subtle. He chooses Earth and Humanity over his Kryptonian roots, you see how Midwestern values makes Clark Kent who he is. He seeks counsel from his Lutheran minister, he a Kansas Jayhawk and Royals fan. It's there...Snyder (Director) and Nolan (Producer/Writer) and Goyer (Writer) follow the best Checkov maxim, "Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass." As a 21st century superhero movie fan, I don't want my "American Way", which I love, served up to me with stray cats in need of rescue...I'll take the subtle struggle of a midwestern college football fan dealing with who is at his family's church.

Another criticism I heard is the that the 2nd half of the movie devolved into a Transformers movie explosionpalooza. That's correct but mischaracterized. The 2nd half of The Dark Knight Rises was non-stop MMA brutal violence. No way should that movie have been PG-13. But, that movie got a pass because Batman and Bane are humans and that violence wasn't as cartoonish? The special effect budget for the Avengers could probably feed a small poor country for a decade, but that movie also got a pass for its special effects/action sequences. In this movie, you see Superman's full complement of powers in use against a similar enemy. These guys are almost gods, and the cartoonish destruction when they go at it no holds barred is apropos. Could the pacing have been better? Sure, but I still thought it was very entertaining (and I also enjoyed the first Transformers movie).

Other things I enjoyed: Henry Cavill is solid and should grow even more into the role. Kevin Costner as the Kansas farmer Jonathan Kent is superb. Diane Lane was terrific. Inspired casting, IMO. A slimmed Russell Crowe, can still bring it. Amy Adams and Lawrence Fishburn are solid. The Art Direction is phenomenal. The suit, Krypton...they all look brilliant. Hans Zimmer did the score and it too, was a terrific new take for the Superman franchise.

One writing choice that deserve extra praise was the non-linear/flashback choice to tell about Clark's childhood. Storytelling in modern comic-book movies are so wrote to the level of boring. With Nolan writing and producing (Memento/Inception) and Snyder directing (Watchmen), they really bring a new differentiated approach to the storytelling.

The sequel should further flesh out these characters and their worlds, which Nolan did wonders with for Gotham and all the Batman characters.

I'd give the movie a solid 3 out of 4 stars or 8 out 10. Really surprised by the negative reviews. I'd say it's about par with the other solid comic-book/sci-fi movies this summer. Better than Iron Man 3 and about as good as Star Trek: Into Darkness.
 
I really don't like the manner in which Superman ends up defeating Zod. It just goes against everything Superman is supposed to stand for

other than that, great movie.
 
yep, the end of superman 2 was kind of that way too, it was just far more subtle.

It just threw me completely off while watching it because it was much more "in your face". Most iterations of Superman don't even put you in that kind of position, so this was unexpected.

that being said ... i'd watch it again.
 
Mostly agree with OP.

Wife, who was the one who especially wanted to see it, thought it was pretty bad.

We each thought WWZ was better and more entertaining.

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Here is my review of Man of Steel.Man of Steel Review

I basically thought it was the best Superman movie to date. The portrayal of Krypton was much more interesting. The fighting (finally there was some) actually matched what the characters are able to do.

Not a perfect movie, the wobbly camera really bugged me.
 
SCV, excellent review. Again, the storytelling is more Checkov and nuanced than typical straight comic book fare. People want to be told the moon is shning, but instead they're given the glint of light on the broken glass and have to make sense of it.

I could see how for a lot of moviegoers that could be difficult, especially with the familiarity of the character. But ultimately, IMO it was a superior form of storytelling. The interpretation of Clark Kent/Superman, which also differs from the Donner Superman, is also IMHO apropos for our time.

I've spoken to about a dozen people who like movies, not necessarily comic book fans, and only one really didn't like it. Everyone else thought it was a fun above average movie to absolutley fantastic/favorite movie of the summer with most like the later.
 
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