“Man of Steel” Is Nothing Short of Storyless Action and Effects!”
Written by Lorenzo Marchessi
Zack Snyder (300, Watchman) did an honest job in trying to reinvent the franchise, however he fell short in the most important area, the story. Man of Steel had no real plot that develops. I don’t mind adjusting the lore (SPOILER: Jonathan Kent dies in a twister?), but above all else you need a story that engages me in to the characters. David S. Goyer (Threshold, Flashforward) story that was penned by himself and Synder lacked any real depth or for that matter originality.
I am a huge Superman fan (from Kirk Allen to Dean Cain), and I could even appreciate the better points of Superman Returns a few years back with Brandon Routh as the alien from Krypton which also had major issues, but this film had no “WOW” Superman moments. It was like watching 300 (nothing but fighting) meets Transformers (hard to follow who was hitting who) meets Cloverfield (the camera shook even on the most intimate close-ups) meets the remake of Godzilla (what’s the point?).
Now, the good things I saw were actually for once Russell Crowe (Gladiator, Les Miserables) was properly cast as the father of Kal El (Superman), Jor El. Although a short part, his pushy nature of guiding his son as well as the earthlings seem every sincere and more so on the scenes where he puts his baby son in the spaceship that takes him to a strange new world.
Okay, Henry Cavill (The Immortals, Stardust) does an honest attempt at playing the American Icon even though he is British. He seems sincere in his convictions and honest to the character. Defiantly a good looking man, but again he as an actor and as a character had very little to stretch his acting muscles on.
Amy Adams (Enchanted, Monster) as Lois Lane, although small in part is always a delight to watch. Once again, she didn’t have a lot to work with, but what she did with what she had was good. Amy is a far more talented performer than what they gave her to do here in the movie. Another good, short but memorable performance came from Christopher Maloni (Oz, Law & Order) who plays a military sergeant who is the first one to believe and trust in Superman besides Lois of course, weirdly enough.
Kevin Costner (Dances With Wolves, The Untouchables) as Jonathan Kent and Diane Lane (Perfect Storm, Jumper) as Martha Kent were perfectly cast if not for the re-inventing of the famed Superman lore. Diane was amazing sincere and real while Costner was the most fatherly I have ever seen him perform.
General Zod played like a punked up with steroids version of Adam Ant was performed by Michael Shannon (Take Shelter, The Iceman). Although he looked menacing and shouted well, he didn’t have the gravitas as an actor to play the broadly proud and menacing personality that is the character. He just came off like a big bully with special powers. Weak of spirit of conviction if strong in his efforts of pointless violence.
The film is too dark to be a Superman film. It is not triumphant and proud and downplays the grandeur of what the American Icon has always represented. I hope Synder does not direct the sequel if there is one and coupled with the gloomy cinematography Amir Mokri (Pacific Heights, Queen’s Logic), the not so interesting redesigning of the costumes by Michael Wilkinson (Sucker Punch, 300) and the bold and broad but un-heroic score of Hans Zimmer (The Lion king, Pirates of the Caribbean ), I really hope it doesn’t destroy the DC Line of super heroes. Although The dark Knight series did okay (Heath Leadger in the second was my favorite even without Batman in it), I just wish that kids could walk out of Superhero movies these days feeling like a superhero themselves and having fun. Like the Avengers film! There were no claps, cheers, boos or applauds during this film. Superman Return’s had that and I won’t begin to mention the standing cheers of crowds at Christopher Reeve’s Superman: The Movie directed by Richard Donner. I was more than disappointed and I was really looking forward to this one! Go see Star Trek: Into Darkness – it is a far far far far better film (thick with story)!