6/16/13, The Man of Steel, no nominations yet
File this under planning ahead, because I do think this movie will be nominated for a few of the technical awards, like sound editing, costumes, visual effects, and I don't want to wait another 7 months to write my thoughts for this movie. I am not a huge Superman fan, even though he was created in by two young Cleveland kids in the 1930s, but it is Superman's 75th anniversary, and I am wearing my Cleveland roots on my sleeve these days. I had no idea what to expect, some of the early press was iffy, people were skeptical,
there was a lot of press about the costumes and if Henry Caville could pull it off. Well, this ain't my father's Superman, that's for sure, but I liked it. Christopher Nolan (The
Batman trilogy) co-wrote the story, and it definitely had the darker aspect that was in
Batman, more serious than the Christopher Reeve movie version or the George Reeves television series. I like the origin story told as the planet Krypton begins to self-destruct, and I loved Russell Crowe as Jor-El, Kal-El's (Superman) father. Michael Shannon, who has been in
Revolutionary Road, Boardwalk Empire and
Take Shelter among many, plays General Zod, the militaristic yin to Jor-El's scientific yang, and he doesn't back down for a second. Too often, superhero movies take too long to get some action on the screen, but that is not the case here, the action begins immediately as Krypton experiences a quick battle with Zod and his followers against the governing body of Krypton, and then as it implodes, all in the first fifteen minutes. Yay! The story of Clark Kent is told in flashbacks, usually as the grown up Clark Kent/Superman is unconscious or in a struggle. I prefer stories to be lineal, I think flashbacks can be an affectation and not very effective; I actually liked the story of his childhood told this way because then it didn't get bogged down in the holier than thou Jonathan Kent's preaching; a little goes a long way. Jonathan Kent is played by Kevin Costner, and I think a solid 30-40 minutes of him telling Clark to refrain from using his powers, would have gotten old. Henry Caville (
The Tudors) plays Superman with a gravitas and subtlety that worked really well.I liked the new costume, although seeing it onscreen, I didn't get the big deal; I think the stories that have been put out on the internet about the lack of the red shorts was much ado about nothing. I do like a little sense of humor in my superheroes, perhaps not as irreverent as Tony Stark/Iron Man or Spider-Man, but a little something from the man would have been nice. The 'humor' if you will, came from Lois Lane (Amy Adams) as a no nonsense, Pulitzer-prize winning reporter (I think Margot Kidder would be proud). One of the interesting twists that seems to be occurring in superhero movies is that the issue of the 'secret identity' is not a huge deal, and doesn't play a huge role in the story, not like it has in the past. Lois Lane discovers that Clark Kent is the alien and has these super powers. She also 'meets' Jor-El and learns the secret of sending Zod and his crew back to the Phantom Zone. I think it was brilliant to keep Jor-El in the story. The fight/battle scenes are explosive and huge and exciting, and more than I thought they would be. I think they might have gotten the re-boot right, and there is definitely hints at another movie, and perhaps (please, please, please) a Justice League movie (I can get my humor from The Flash, Green Lantern, and the Green Arrow).
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| at the corner of Jerry Siegel and Lois Lane -Superman writer |
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| Joe Shuster - Superman artist |
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| in front of Joe Shuster's house, Glenville, Ohio |
there was a lot of press about the costumes and if Henry Caville could pull it off. Well, this ain't my father's Superman, that's for sure, but I liked it. Christopher Nolan (The Batman trilogy) co-wrote the story, and it definitely had the darker aspect that was in Batman, more serious than the Christopher Reeve movie version or the George Reeves television series. I like the origin story told as the planet Krypton begins to self-destruct, and I loved Russell Crowe as Jor-El, Kal-El's (Superman) father. Michael Shannon, who has been in Revolutionary Road, Boardwalk Empire and Take Shelter among many, plays General Zod, the militaristic yin to Jor-El's scientific yang, and he doesn't back down for a second. Too often, superhero movies take too long to get some action on the screen, but that is not the case here, the action begins immediately as Krypton experiences a quick battle with Zod and his followers against the governing body of Krypton, and then as it implodes, all in the first fifteen minutes. Yay! The story of Clark Kent is told in flashbacks, usually as the grown up Clark Kent/Superman is unconscious or in a struggle. I prefer stories to be lineal, I think flashbacks can be an affectation and not very effective; I actually liked the story of his childhood told this way because then it didn't get bogged down in the holier than thou Jonathan Kent's preaching; a little goes a long way. Jonathan Kent is played by Kevin Costner, and I think a solid 30-40 minutes of him telling Clark to refrain from using his powers, would have gotten old. Henry Caville (The Tudors) plays Superman with a gravitas and subtlety that worked really well.I liked the new costume, although seeing it onscreen, I didn't get the big deal; I think the stories that have been put out on the internet about the lack of the red shorts was much ado about nothing. I do like a little sense of humor in my superheroes, perhaps not as irreverent as Tony Stark/Iron Man or Spider-Man, but a little something from the man would have been nice. The 'humor' if you will, came from Lois Lane (Amy Adams) as a no nonsense, Pulitzer-prize winning reporter (I think Margot Kidder would be proud). One of the interesting twists that seems to be occurring in superhero movies is that the issue of the 'secret identity' is not a huge deal, and doesn't play a huge role in the story, not like it has in the past. Lois Lane discovers that Clark Kent is the alien and has these super powers. She also 'meets' Jor-El and learns the secret of sending Zod and his crew back to the Phantom Zone. I think it was brilliant to keep Jor-El in the story. The fight/battle scenes are explosive and huge and exciting, and more than I thought they would be. I think they might have gotten the re-boot right, and there is definitely hints at another movie, and perhaps (please, please, please) a Justice League movie (I can get my humor from The Flash, Green Lantern, and the Green Arrow).
