My
review of the Man of Steel
by rick olivares
With the release of Man of Steel, I
think it is very clear to my mind about the fundamental differences between DC
Comics and Marvel Comics super-heroes.
DC Heroes are like modern-day Gods
while Marvel’s heroes are like every day joes who fight alongside the ordinary
man. Is that good or bad?
Not at all. There’s something about how
they adapted Alex Ross’ stirring paintings of these heroes hovering in the sky
that’s both majestic and terrifying. Then again, remember the old JLA satellite
was in orbit miles and miles above the earth.
Having said that modern-day comic book
movies owe a lot to retcons and to Michael Bay. For those who do not read comic
books, “retcons” means “retroactive continuity” or the updating of previously
established stories or simply put, rewriting history. This is done so that
comic books are kept fresh for modern audiences.
Obviously, that is why you have
reboots. Now since these reboots are set today, they are darker in tone. Hence,
the Michael Bay (see Armageddon, Transformers etc) larger than life scenes of
destruction and the use of US military hardware.
Man of Steel is also obviously
influenced by the first Richard Donner-Superman film, Alex Ross’ portrayal of
Big Blue, the recent stories by Grant Morrison, and Christopher Nolan’s Batman
trilogy.
What I liked about this reboot?
1) The casting. Henry
Cavill is Superman. Finally, there’s an heir to Christopher Reeve who can carry
the torch. Amy Adams has the right charm for Lois Lane without being tomboyish.
Kevin Costner and Diane Lane are perfect as the Kents. I can even dig Laurence
Fishburne as Perry White! For real. But what’s with the change --- first we see
Nick Fury turn from Caucasian to African American. Now it’s Perry White!
Nevertheless, great casting.
2) I can understand
mining Superman’s Kryptonian origins into something richer. It’s now a lot more
plausible to have more Kryptonians out there. In the original origin (now that
sounds weird, right), Kal-El was the original and only survivor of the explosion
of Krypton. But as years went by, he wasn’t the only one. Soon enough, there
were a lot of Kryptonians all over the place. Having space expansion makes more
sense.
I have to admit that when I think of
Jor-El, I think of Marlon Brando’s screen version in the first Christopher
Reeve film. Is that now in danger of being toppled by Russell Crowe’s version?
Not sure but Crowe does a good Jor-El.
3) General Zod.
Totally badass zealot. One of my recollections of the first Superman film was
some government guy exclaiming, “Oh, my God.” To which the general replies,
“Not God. Zod.”
In this film, this line is epic: “I was
bred for this. I was trained all my life to be a warrior! Where did you train?
A farm?” Awesome.
4) The fight scenes.
Spectacular. Love ‘em.
What I didn’t like about the reboot?
1) The US Military,
the people of Kansas and Lois Lane know that Clark Kent is Superman? Surely you
jest. Might as well put Ma Kent in the Fortress of Solitude. Didn’t Pa Kent
tell him to be careful with his secret identity? Funny. And then he joins the
Daily Planet where still you think you can fool people with the eye glasses for
a disguise?
The guys who wrote the screenplay would
have read the DC limited series Identity Crisis. This isn’t kosher by any
stretch of the imagination.
2) Smallville. The
scenes from Smallville in the first Christopher Reeve film are still more
riveting and painful (especially when Clark leaves to find his destiny).
3) The fight scenes.
Clark wasn’t trained to be a warrior. Where did he learn how to fight? How did
he know how to snap Zod’s neck? You need to know how to do that. I don't
believe there are any chances on a farm to do that. And why did Zod send only
two Kryptonians to fight Supes? I would have sicced everyone on him and pounded
him into alien roadkill. And after all the carnage, Superman finds the time to
kiss Lois Lane? Seriously.
4) Just like the
Batman movies, the carnage in Man of Steel is terrifying. After the first
Batman film, I would have moved out of Gotham. I mean the Batman trilogy is
great but the ineptness of the police in taking on these criminals? I would
have moved to Kansas!
5) And Superman offed Zod? I guess
someone didn't do their homework. He doesn't kill.
After the attack of the Kryptonians and
Metropolis is nearly and totally destroyed, every armed force in the world
would want to prepare for more space invasions. Superman or no Superman. And
that will escalate the arms race and put everyone at odds with Superman.
It’s a darn good film. I know with
sci-fi and superhero films, you have to suspend you disbelief. But that doesn’t
mean it cannot be airtight.
In spite of that, I enjoyed Man of
Steel. It’s worth seeing again and getting the DVD/Blu-Ray discs for my
collection. Furthermore, it revitalizes Superman not only for the comic book
community but also for the general public. Is it better than Iron Man,
Spider-Man 2 or The Avengers? Or even Batman Begins? No, it’s not. But it’s
real close. And that is the least that you can ask for in a terrific summer
movie.
