[ryan]

Man of Steel - 9/10

I loved it. You'll probably have more fun watching Superman 1 and 2, as Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty and Terence Stamp's performances are awesome/over the top. But Man of Steel was awesome.

Great acting, great character moments for many of them, great action. The suit even looked blue, which has been my big problem with it in stills, but it's definitely blue.

Clark was great, Zod was great. Definitely the best Lois we've seen in a live action film, though I have never, nor will ever care about her really, there's nothing to complain about her.

The Clark/Lois romance was not there at all, that I could see, but suddenly they're kissing at the end of the film. What? I didn't get that, but it's not a big deal to me, either. There were a few fun easter eggs that I saw that I liked. There was one scene that suddenly felt like TF Dark of the Moon, and I didn't care for that part of it, but all in all, a really solid film, ranking right up close to Superman 1 & 2 for me.

Recommend!

[Locke]

I'm also here to praise Man of Steel, it isn't really that great from a storytelling or acting standpoint with the opening third that sets the scene being extremely clunky and poorly managed but once that gets out of the way...my GOD THE WIN.

[KRX]

I also went to see Man of Steel. I remember as we were driving to the theater, my dad and my friend (the only other people who went to see it with me) scoffed at the idea of Superman being dark, even after I pointed out the example of Batman. They were incredibly wrong.

I went in wary of Russell Crowe (I've never heard a good thing about him), but choosing him as Jor-El was an incredibly intelligent decision. Seriously, I want him to voice my GPS.

I was surprised to see just how much of the movie took place in the battle for Earth. However, I think it worked for the movie; they managed to show Clark's back-story and elaborate on his character, as well as show us his struggle and the struggle of the battle.

Additionally, the line, "I was raised in Kansas—I'm about as American as they get!" made me proud to be a Kansan boy.

This is the best Superman movie I have seen to date, and I cannot wait for the sequel. I know I'm only half of the consensus, but what I'm hearing out of most of the complaints is that Man of Steel isn't as fun as the other movies. It's not supposed to be about a man running around in a cape and brightly colored spandex; it's the story of the last survivor of an alien world that has been gifted with amazing abilities who must find his place in our world.

[Locke]

That line about America is also hilarious because Cavill is a British actor.

The one thing I don't get about Man of Steel is how people they say it is 'too dark' or 'not fun' or whatever the fuck else. Did we watch the same movie? It was like live action Dragonball Z.

Sure if you think of the collateral then I guess millions probably did die and Superman did effectively cause genocide and kill someone which he never does but it was also a 12a and the film never seemed to ever take pleasure in the carnage happening to the people, it just wanted to show two guys punch each other through buildings and can't the critics get their heads out of their asses long enough to just fucking enjoy themselves?

[ComicGuy89]

There seems to be a major discrepancy between the critics and the average moviegoer regarding Man of Steel. What do you guys make of it?

[Locke]

In my opinion if you like how Nolan's Batman reinvented the superhero on screen, steer clear of Man of Steel. If you loved The Avengers, deffo go see Man of Steel. If a narrative is as important to you as action...why are you here? If you want great characters, steer clear of Man of Steel.

[ComicGuy89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Locke

In my opinion if you like how Nolan's Batman reinvented the superhero on screen, steer clear of Man of Steel. If you loved The Avengers, deffo go see Man of Steel. If a narrative is as important to you as action...why are you here? If you want great characters, steer clear of Man of Steel.

Narrative is important though. For me personally, above all, I like to see an exploration of the characters. Why Superman is the Big Blue Boy Scout he is, what stops him from being insane and conquering the world, why a literal demigod would prefer an ordinary farm life or a desk job at a newspaper company.

But, for the record, Avengers is my favorite superhero movie, and Thor is my second favorite Marvel superhero movie so I don't know if that gets me any points.

[Locke]

If that is what you are looking for, then Man of Steel does not provide.

Nolan and Goyer want a pretentious character study, Snyder wants explosions and as Snyder is on the helm of the project he is practically scrambling over the plot to get to the fighting.

A majority of the story is told through artsy fartsy flashbacks and although there is a LOT of exposition it's crammed in a very small space to get it out of the way, in this odd fashion of explaining everything at length but in a rushed fashion to such extent that it both no longer makes sense or really means anything.

[ComicGuy89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Locke

If that is what you are looking for, then Man of Steel does not provide.

Nolan and Goyer want a pretentious character study, Snyder wants explosions and as Snyder is on the helm of the project he is practically scrambling over the plot to get to the fighting.

A majority of the story is told through artsy fartsy flashbacks and although there is a LOT of exposition it's crammed in a very small space to get it out of the way, in this odd fashion of explaining everything at length but in a rushed fashion to such extent that it both no longer makes sense or really means anything.

I really don't know if I plan to see it in cinemas. Eventually, definitely, but not sure if it's worth the price of admission (which is pretty darn high here).

Action doesn't have to conflict with characterization, though. Avengers was action-packed, but it gave each of the characters enough character moments to be satisfying and ultimately taught Iron Man a great lesson. Star Trek Into Darkness was accused of being all spectacle, but it sneaked in great moments for all the main crew too. Those were amazing movies in my eyes.

I don't believe Man of Steel is totally devoid of characterization as the history of Superman is dripped in character. Still, I haven't watched it yet.

[Locke]

I'd say it's worth it, just for the fighting.

You see since I've been waiting for a DBZ style superhero smackdown like in the comics to make it to the big screen, I could largely let the hugely artificial CGI explosions distract me in Man of Steel by how bad it was as an actual film.

It gets most of the set up out of the way as quickly (and as clunkily) as possible and most of the Supermanness of it functions more like cameos and audience nods than story beats with fighting taking up the majority of the run time.

Both the Avengers and Into Darkness didn't provide action good enough for me to look past their faults. Call me inconsistent or contradictory if you want but if you see the action in this film, you'll know what I mean.