Skip to main content

Movie Opinion: Man of Steel (2013)

I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that reading reviews and listening to other people's opinions of any superhero film will detract from your enjoyment of the film, rather than enhance it.

Too often the loudest voices are those who wish to vent that a film isn't their version of the character or even the version of a character they've read about for years in the comic book source material.

As such they denounce the entire film as nothing short of an abomination. If you actually enjoyed the film, too many of these types of rants can really make you wonder if you even watched the same film as they did.

I get that, particularly with a character like Superman, everyone has their own expectations of what the character is, what he's capable of and what moral standards guide him but lighten up.

If Man of Steel isn't your Superman, that's fine. Maybe in your opinion the film makers got it wrong but one thing is certain, the film makers hoped you'd like it. They didn't set out to to personally offend you.

By all means criticize and discuss what didn't work for you and why but don't be a baby about it. Yes there are details that should be discussed and worthy of debate but overall Man of Steel delivers a thoughtful interpretation of the character.

Personally I think Man of Steel is the best depiction of a Superhero character on the big screen since Iron Man. It's not a perfect film by any means but in terms of an epic cinema experience, and creating a Superman that I can believe could exist in our real world, I think it succeeds.

Warning! There are spoilers ahead!

I went into Man of Steel with a very cynical attitude. My first thoughts on seeing Krypton, and particularly it's wildlife was that it looked like the grunge version of Pandora from Avatar - mostly thanks to whatever that creature was that Jor-El was riding. Then we saw all the babies being incubated and my head went straight to The Matrix.

Jor-El and son.
I also raised an eyebrow at Jor-El being the only one to assist with the delivery of his own child? Advanced culture and all that (don't they have doctors etc.) but this was explained a short time later as natural child birth being a definite exception to the norm and implied that it may even be illegal.

However the new technology of Krypton with the almost liquid-like monitor screens on Jor-El's robot assistants grabbed my attention as something I hadn't seen before. This helped draw me in, along with a story that did gain momentum very quickly.

I liked Russel Crowe's Jor-El. Much less enigmatic than Marlon Brando's and much more committed to ensuring his son's survival. It was a little bit of a stretch that a scientist was also an action hero but no one ever calls Tony Stark out on his ability to fight, even though he's mostly an engineering genius.

As much as I liked Terrance Stamp's General Zod, Michael Shannon's Zod in Man of Steel has a much more defined purpose and reason for tracking down Kal-El. The fact that Zod also agrees with Jor-El's point of view on the state of Krypton is a high point too. They just have different ideas for a solution.

The Codex, that Jor-El steals, is a little like the Tesseract in The Avengers. We know it contains the blue print for the Kryptonian's DNA but how it works and why something that looks like a burnt out skull is so unique is unclear. Couldn't they just get another Kryptonian's skull? What makes this skull so special and how is it possible that it could become fused somehow with Kal-El himself so that it needed to be 'extracted'? Alien technology is mysterious like that.

I'm not going to go through the film and mention every little detail. What was important to me was that, for Superman's origin story, it pretty much had all the same key moments as 1978's Superman the Movie. Though they were fleshed out much more, and tweaked in some cases, to better serve this new Superman's need to be cautious with revealing himself before the world is ready.


Jonathon & Clark.
I particularly like the angle that Jonathon Kent (Kevin Kostner) highlights for Clarke that "you are the answer to, are we alone in the universe?"



Perry White & Lois Lane.

I liked that Lois Lane (Amy Adams), for the first time actually felt like a real, globe trotting journalist and not just a reporter. (I'm also one of the few who think Margot Kidder was miscast and is the most unlikable Louis Lane on film). You actually get to see this Lois' process of tracking down a story. A big story that required a fair amount of investigation.

The only other thing that's really important to me in a Superman film is how his power and abilities are handled. To date, every previous Superman film has forgotten that, whilst Superman is incredibly strong and seemingly indestructible, the rest of the world is still subject to the laws of physics. In my post The Trouble with Superman I wrote how mishandling his powers can really take you out of the film.

Thankfully, Henry Cavill's Superman never obviously breaks the laws of physics when interacting with his environment. Most notably demonstrated in the scene where he tries to stop an oil rig tower from falling. He's strong enough to delay the fall but ultimately the tower structure still fails and falls into the platform.

Damaged Great Wall of China,
Superman IV.
All of Superman's powers seemed to be handled really well with a fresh take. From how he flies to his super speed, strength, x-ray and heat vision. No wacky made up or unexpected powers either - like rebuilding walls with some kind of mind control in Superman IV.

The only thing that took me out of the film was Superman breaking General Zod's neck. Not because of any stupid idea that Superman doesn't kill. Though this idea may be cemented into the sequel. In this movie, it's Superman's first official day on the job and he's fighting someone hell bent on continuing the carnage indefinitely. I can give him a pass this time.

Why the neck breaking thing took me out was because, if Superman can break Zod's neck with his bare hands, then why can't he break his neck by throwing concrete blocks at Zod's head etc. Or why can't Zod break Superman's arm by snapping it over his own leg perhaps? These two are supposed to be indestructible under Earth's yellow sun. Just because they're both Kryptonian it doesn't necessarily follow that they are strong enough to damage each other.

That aside I don't have a problem with Superman killing if that seems to be his only option at the time. I also don't have a problem with a Superman that makes mistakes and doesn't always make the right choices. Like it or not he's more human than alien and even Jonathon and Martha Kent made mistakes.

Superman for me has never been about an ideal to strive for or aspire too. He may be a great protector but he's not a savior of the human race. He's not Jesus, or a God - no matter how many parallels are made to our own religious iconography. He's an immigrant from another planet, who's chosen a path for himself that enables him to put his abilities to good use for the benefit of others. It fits with the ideals and values taught to him by Jonathon and Martha Kent.

He was sent to Earth with the purpose of preserving the Kryptonian race and perhaps bringing two races together in harmony. A task which he fails to fully achieve in this film thanks to Zod throwing a spanner in the works. At best he manages to achieve one Kryptonian living in peace with the human race on Earth.

George Reeves as Clark Kent.
As with Batman, I'm not married to Superman's history. I've enjoyed the quietly confident Clark Kent of the George Reeves TV series and the Bumbling comedy of Christopher Reeve's Kent. There's enough in this film for me to know it is Superman and it will be interesting to see how the changes will inform future films.

For example, just how many people at the Daily Planet will see through Kent's deceptively simple disguise. Does Perry White know? What will the dynamic be between Lois and Clark whilst at the Daily Planet given she knows Clark is Superman?

Mixing things up provides new dynamics to explore. To me that's a good thing. When you have a character as old as Superman, you don't want to keep exploring the same tired relationships time after time between the main cast of supporting characters.

I'll leave my final words on the fight scenes within Smallville and Metropolis, particularly Metropolis, which reminded me a lot of similar fight scenes in the Superman Doomsday animated feature. Superman fights Doomsday in an epic battle in Metropolis and, unlike Man of Steel, the city hasn't made any attempt to be evacuated.

Incidentally Superman kills Doomsday in both the movie and the comic it's derived from (though it does show Doomsday survives in the comic but as far as Superman knows he killed him). It would not surprise me if the scenes of Superman and General Zod fighting in Man of Steel were inspired by Superman Doomsday.

Although I thought the final fight scene possibly went a little too long (just like they do in Superman Doomsday) ultimately I thought, it's about time! Superman being part of a proper fight and fighting back with everything he has.

I enjoyed this film and will not only be buying it on Blu-ray but will be looking forward to its sequel - and hopefully a Justice League movie sometime within my lifetime please.

Buy Gifts and Apparel featuring art by TET.

Popular posts from this blog

Skateboard Trick Tips: Two Ways to Ollie North (Ollie One foot)

You have to be quick to see my Ollie Norths! Ollie One Foots, otherwise known as the Ollie North, is one of those skateboard tricks you learn and then tend not to do very much as more interesting trick challenges grab your attention. However it does look really cool if you learn how to kick your front foot well past the nose of your skateboard. Still shot from Braille Skateboarding's Ollie North tutorial. I was inspired to make my video below, showing two different techniques to achieve a successful Ollie One Foot, when I not only saw that Braille Skateboarding's Tutorial used a different method to the one I had learned but also, when I looked at various other video tutorials, I discovered yet another technique, with no one using the method I had originally learned. Braille's method is to simply Ollie and drag your front foot past the front of your board. The second method I came across in several video tutorials is to Ollie, drag your front foot and tap your

How to Transfer Any Line Art to Your Griptape - Easy Skateboard Griptape Art Tutorial

Dog Star Griptape Art by TET Griptape art is once again gaining popularity amongst modern skateboarders. For those of us who have tried to create our own griptape art, using paint pens, you'll know reproducing your design onto the grip, without making any mistakes is incredibly challenging. Mostly because you just have to go for it and draw the design freehand, with paint pens, directly onto the griptape. You can make the odd mistake here or there but if you get the proportions of the design completely wrong, it can be very difficult to fix. Often you just have to live with the mistake. To address the problem I've come up with an easy way anyone can transfer a line art design to their griptape, removing almost all the anxiety of getting the proportions wrong. In fact, you could do this with any line art design, even if you have no drawing skill at all. Watch the video below to see my technique in action and/or skip past the video where I highlight the basic steps to get your de

Review: FP Footwear FINO Skate Shoes

FP Footwear FINO Skate Shoes I first saw FP's FINO skate shoes in a video by YouTube channel, Braille Skateboarding, titled, THE FIRST EVER NON NEWTONIAN FLUID SKATE SHOES!? As someone whose feet hurt and bruise relatively easily just from the basic tricks of skateboarding (Ollies, Pop Shuv-its etc.) the 90% absorption of impact energy selling point seemed like an ideal solution for minimizing my injuries. A day later I placed an order through FP's website . ​​ Ordinarily I wouldn't mention Customer Service but I can't let the lack of communication on my order slide. FP's website says to expect delivery within 7-14 days of your order. After close to two weeks, my order was still marked as being processed. I sent an email asking for any kind of update, to no response. A day or two later my order was marked as completed but still no signs of shoes in my mail? About two weeks later (just over a full month of placing my order) the shoes arrived. I'm sur

Why Your Backside 180 Ollies Suck (Probably, if they're like mine)

Backside 180 Ollie by TET I've been doing backside 180 ollies on my skateboard for almost as long as I've been skateboarding. It's not really that hard a trick to learn, except it is, if you want to do them well. Usually, when I'm practicing my backside 180 ollies on flat, my first attempt will be my best, and then my technique will kind of deteriorate from there. Except for that one jaggy attempt where I successfully land the backside 180 ollie then continue to pivot on my back truck another 180 degrees. Which is only a cool trick if you actually meant to do it. Recently I spent an entire driveway skate session working on my backside 180 ollies. My goal was to get them higher, rotate my body more effectively, and to bend my back leg more (a common problem for most people is not really bending the back leg as you ollie). You can watch my session and decide if I made any progress in the video below. The thing is, I know everything I'm doing wrong with my backside 180

Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 (2023) *No Spoilers*

If you've enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 1 and Volume 2 then  Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3  will not disappoint. I would almost go so far as to call it the best in the series... except seeing the first movie for the first time is still one of my best memories of the MCU. While it's not essential to the story if you didn't see the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney+ it does kind of lead into and set up where the Guardians are at in Volume 3 quite nicely. In this installment Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is still not coping with the loss of his timeline's Gamora (Zoe Saldada) when suddenly the team is attacked leaving Rocket (Bradley Cooper) in a very bad way. From then on it's a race to save Rocket as we learn quite a bit about his origin in the process. This movie is slightly darker than the first two and, if you're concerned about the animal cruelty that is causing some people to not want to see the film again, keep in mind, it's j

Movie Review: Bullet Train (2022) *No Spoilers*

I honestly don't understand why Bullet Train didn't do well in theaters? It's basically a live action, bonkers, cartoon but it's fun, has witty dialogue, quirky characters, and plenty of action. It's definitely underrated as something that very much reminds me of a cross between a Guy Ritchie and Edgar Wright film in terms of how it's written, filmed, and edited. The plot centers around unlucky assassin, Ladybug (Brad Pitt) who is hired to retrieve a briefcase containing a ransom from on board a Japanese Bullet Train. Unfortunately he's not the only one after the case. Confusion and mayhem ensues. The only thing that really bothered me is that the movie seems almost devoid of regular people on the train and at any of the stations. Those that are present, including the staff of the train, seem to be blissfully unaware of what is happening around them despite the interior of the train becoming increasingly more damaged and the body count climbing. The further

Can You Learn Skateboarding Basics on a Cheap Skateboard?

$20, Mambo 31" x 8", Department Store Skateboard. Over the years I've watched many high profile YouTube skateboarders repeatedly create videos where they purchase a cheap, department store skateboard, ride it like they would their regular professional skateboard, until it breaks (usually within an hour or so), and claim that as a reason for steering clear of these products. ​Inadvertently what they're doing is creating less demand for cheap skateboards, meaning it's less likely department stores will stock them, resulting in no easy way for first time skaters to 'test the waters' to see if skating is really for them. Even worse, parents looking to get their children into a new sport, may not even see skateboarding as an option as they browse through the department store sports section. At the time of writing, Australian department stores have shelves filled with many different brands of scooters, alongside a small shelf or two of skateboards (and