Superman may be the most iconic and recognizable superhero of all-time, but
he has also proven to be a beast of a character to get just right. It's a
problem that stretches beyond the comics page and onto the screen, whether it
be big or small, with different creators each putting a very different spin on
the character. Some of those connect with audiences, like the Richard Donner
version of Superman that many still hold as the definitive take. Others, like
Bryan Singer's failed
Superman Returns, are all about the red and blue
suit but leave the man inside it aside.
The trouble is that Superman has become antiquated, a Golden Age relic who
stands for everything that is good and right and perfect. Because he means so
much to so many people, there's been a reluctance to give him any level of
depth. We've seen shades of grey emerge in various comics storylines of late,
but on the big screen it's Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder who are finally
making Superman relevant again, as the awesome
Man of Steel brings him
soaring into the 21st century.
The powerhouse, kinetic visual style of Snyder would seem like an odd mesh
with the moodier, more contemplative approach Nolan favors, and for the most
part it's a combination that runs on all cylinders. This is a cinematic
Superman we've never seen before. Gone are the tired retellings of his origin
that tell us nothing about the man, and in its place we get a smartly crafted
story that attacks his mythology head on. All of the elements we know are
there, beginning with the destruction of his native Krypton, captured with the
sci-fi bombast of a steroid-jacked Star Wars. Within the flying warships, laser
battles, and exotic creatures is the significant presence of Russell Crowe as
Jor-El, who along with his wife (Ayelet Zurer) give birth to Kal-El, the first
natural birth in centuries. Unfortunately it happens as the planet is dying,
and General Zod (Michael Shannon) is staging a genocidal coup to attain
power. Nuance is only occasionally part of Snyder's repertoire, but he
wields it effectively as the doomed parents make the fateful decision to send
their son to the safety of Earth.
From there, the Kal-El we meet bears little resemblance to the hero he would
eventually become. As played by a rugged, physical Henry Cavill, this version
has been beaten down by the weight of isolation, responsibility, and destiny.
It's a surprisingly measured performance by Cavill, who shows he's more than
just muscles and a charming face. His Kal-El is an alien in a strange world,
drifting through life trying to find some sense of purpose. In that way he's as
human as everybody else, but he's still a man with the power of a god, and when
disaster strikes we see him incapable of standing idly by. He becomes a ghost,
an urban legend, the mysterious savior who shows up like a guardian angel.
It's an apt description, as the idea of religion in a world where creatures
like Kal-El exist is one that comes up frequently, most notably when Snyder turns
his attention to Smallville. Jonathan and Martha Kent (Kevin Costner and Diane
Lane) are still the same blue-collar couple who found the alien baby in their
cornfield, and in them we see the pull of two different parenting approaches.
Both having seen their entire religious foundation shattered by the
super-strong child, they fight to hide the newly-named Clark from the prying
eyes of their Kansas neighbors, even as he risks exposure through a number of
miraculous rescues. While Jonathan emphatically demands Clark stay hidden
in the shadows from a mistrusting world, Martha guides him through his
burgeoning powers and acute senses. Like Crowe, Costner's presence looms heavy
over the entire film. His impact measured through perfectly timed sage words of
wisdom. Lane isn't given quite as much to do, but she's effective enough as the
uplifting matriarch and Clark's lifeline to a simpler time.
By the time Clark dons the blue and red suit for the first time, you're
ready for the action to explode, and Snyder delivers it in grand fashion. Zod,
who had been banished to the prison Phantom Zone along with his right-hand lady
Faora (Antje Traue), comes to Earth looking to wipe out the last son of
Krypton, and when his full plans are revealed it leads to some epic smackdown
with enough city-wide destruction to put Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich to
shame. The first is the best, however, in which Superman (he's only called that
once in the film, by the way) battles the evil Kryptonians while also defending
the over-matched military. It's an immense battle that gives us everything we
want to see from Superman; aggression, righteousness, power, stability. Snyder
frames this battle perfectly, but his worst instincts flare up in the final
showdown. While he's absolutely a filmmaker capable of tremendous sequences,
creativity has never been his strength, and so we get a lot of repetitive
moments of crashing skyscrapers and exploding fuel tankers. As Smallville and
then Metropolis are utterly destroyed, the devastation begins to lose its
effectiveness. It may be overkill, but it's never dull. Gone is his frustrating
speed-ramping/slow-motion trademark that he used to death in 2011's
Sucker
Punch, replaced by a style that is more direct and visceral. When Clark
first begins to explore the full extent of his powers, and he takes off into
the air with a gigantic sonic boom, it's an exhilarating experience. There
perhaps could have been more of Clark's learning curve, but what we do get is a
pure joy.
Through the windswept fields, laundry flowing in the breeze, and serene
rivers of the Midwest, Snyder shows he's capable of capturing scenes of
extraordinary emotional heft, even if on some occasions his camera is a little
too hectic. It's almost as if he forgets to wind down between all of those
battle scenes. Fortunately he gets a lot of help from yet another epic score
from the reliable Hans Zimmer, his music matching whatever Snyder can throw at
him. What he doesn't get is much in the way of humor to play with. This is a
dark, grim story from start to finish, and hopefully that will be rectified in
future chapters.
The supporting cast is a mixed bag, though. There's a reason Lois Lane (Amy
Adams) has yet to be mentioned this deep into the review, and it's because
she's pretty much irrelevant. Adams gets all of the surface traits of the
intrepid reporter just right; she's spunky and fearless when she's got a juicy
story to bite into, but that's pretty much it. Through heaps of armor and some
laughable bad-guy dialogue, Shannon's natural intensity shines through in the
overzealous Zod. It's largely due to Shannon that Zod comes off as a credible
villain, even if his motivations are a little spotty. Laurence Fishburne is
fairly muted as Daily Planet head honcho Perry White, but Traue is a real force
as Faora.
Warner Bros. has put the future of their superhero line in the hands of
Snyder, Nolan, and Cavill, and it has proved to be the right move to make. It
doesn't have the depth of character as Nolan's
The Dark Knight trilogy,
but let's not forget that developed over the course of years. There's plenty of
time for
Man of Steel to evolve into something even greater. For now,
Snyder and Nolan deserve all the credit in the world for finally giving us the
Superman we've waited a long time for.
The trouble is that Superman has become antiquated, a Golden Age relic who
stands for everything that is good and right and perfect. Because he means so
much to so many people, there's been a reluctance to give him any level of
depth. We've seen shades of grey emerge in various comics storylines of late,
but on the big screen it's Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder who are finally
making Superman relevant again, as the awesome Man of Steel brings him
soaring into the 21st century.
The powerhouse, kinetic visual style of Snyder would seem like an odd mesh
with the moodier, more contemplative approach Nolan favors, and for the most
part it's a combination that runs on all cylinders. This is a cinematic
Superman we've never seen before. Gone are the tired retellings of his origin
that tell us nothing about the man, and in its place we get a smartly crafted
story that attacks his mythology head on. All of the elements we know are
there, beginning with the destruction of his native Krypton, captured with the
sci-fi bombast of a steroid-jacked Star Wars. Within the flying warships, laser
battles, and exotic creatures is the significant presence of Russell Crowe as
Jor-El, who along with his wife (Ayelet Zurer) give birth to Kal-El, the first
natural birth in centuries. Unfortunately it happens as the planet is dying,
and General Zod (Michael Shannon) is staging a genocidal coup to attain
power. Nuance is only occasionally part of Snyder's repertoire, but he
wields it effectively as the doomed parents make the fateful decision to send
their son to the safety of Earth.
From there, the Kal-El we meet bears little resemblance to the hero he would
eventually become. As played by a rugged, physical Henry Cavill, this version
has been beaten down by the weight of isolation, responsibility, and destiny.
It's a surprisingly measured performance by Cavill, who shows he's more than
just muscles and a charming face. His Kal-El is an alien in a strange world,
drifting through life trying to find some sense of purpose. In that way he's as
human as everybody else, but he's still a man with the power of a god, and when
disaster strikes we see him incapable of standing idly by. He becomes a ghost,
an urban legend, the mysterious savior who shows up like a guardian angel.
It's an apt description, as the idea of religion in a world where creatures
like Kal-El exist is one that comes up frequently, most notably when Snyder turns
his attention to Smallville. Jonathan and Martha Kent (Kevin Costner and Diane
Lane) are still the same blue-collar couple who found the alien baby in their
cornfield, and in them we see the pull of two different parenting approaches.
Both having seen their entire religious foundation shattered by the
super-strong child, they fight to hide the newly-named Clark from the prying
eyes of their Kansas neighbors, even as he risks exposure through a number of
miraculous rescues. While Jonathan emphatically demands Clark stay hidden
in the shadows from a mistrusting world, Martha guides him through his
burgeoning powers and acute senses. Like Crowe, Costner's presence looms heavy
over the entire film. His impact measured through perfectly timed sage words of
wisdom. Lane isn't given quite as much to do, but she's effective enough as the
uplifting matriarch and Clark's lifeline to a simpler time.
By the time Clark dons the blue and red suit for the first time, you're
ready for the action to explode, and Snyder delivers it in grand fashion. Zod,
who had been banished to the prison Phantom Zone along with his right-hand lady
Faora (Antje Traue), comes to Earth looking to wipe out the last son of
Krypton, and when his full plans are revealed it leads to some epic smackdown
with enough city-wide destruction to put Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich to
shame. The first is the best, however, in which Superman (he's only called that
once in the film, by the way) battles the evil Kryptonians while also defending
the over-matched military. It's an immense battle that gives us everything we
want to see from Superman; aggression, righteousness, power, stability. Snyder
frames this battle perfectly, but his worst instincts flare up in the final
showdown. While he's absolutely a filmmaker capable of tremendous sequences,
creativity has never been his strength, and so we get a lot of repetitive
moments of crashing skyscrapers and exploding fuel tankers. As Smallville and
then Metropolis are utterly destroyed, the devastation begins to lose its
effectiveness. It may be overkill, but it's never dull. Gone is his frustrating
speed-ramping/slow-motion trademark that he used to death in 2011's Sucker
Punch, replaced by a style that is more direct and visceral. When Clark
first begins to explore the full extent of his powers, and he takes off into
the air with a gigantic sonic boom, it's an exhilarating experience. There
perhaps could have been more of Clark's learning curve, but what we do get is a
pure joy.
Warner Bros. has put the future of their superhero line in the hands of
Snyder, Nolan, and Cavill, and it has proved to be the right move to make. It
doesn't have the depth of character as Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy,
but let's not forget that developed over the course of years. There's plenty of
time for Man of Steel to evolve into something even greater. For now,
Snyder and Nolan deserve all the credit in the world for finally giving us the
Superman we've waited a long time for.
