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Why I Thought Man Of Steel Was Not A Great Movie


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I disagree with most of it, and this is coming from someone who dislikes Superman and Zack Snyder.

 

Problem 1: The Kyptonians are married to tradition. It doesn't matter if the planet was doomed or not, sending them to the Phantom Zone was THE punishment for the crime. It's the way things are done, so that's what they'll do.

 

Problem 2 and 10: These are more of a problem with the source material. It's the way it is in the film because that's the way it is in the comics. Unless you want to give Superman a mask, there's no way that his identity could EVER be a secret, especially in today's world of cameras and facial recognition software. I agree that it's stupid, but it's what Snyder and the writers had to work with. If they had given Supes a mask, the fanboys would have a fit, even if it is more realistic.

 

Problem 3: It fits the character in the movie. Perry White being black doesn't fit his traditional character either. Snyder changed up the characters a bit so it isn't the same Superman story we've been given over and over again.

 

Problem 4: I do agree on this one. Would anyone let a loved one die like this if you had the power to save them?

 

Problem 5: The suits protect them from the atmosphere. It never says it stops the solar radiation.

 

Problem 6: He's not trained as a fighter, but he's lived with these powers most of his life, so he knows how to use them better than Zod. Plus, it's a Superman film, so Superman has to win. That's just how these things work.

 

Problem 7: There have been people who have survived plane crashes. People are found alive in the rubble of collapsed buildings all the time. It's not impossible that people can survive a collapse if they're not directly under it.

 

Problem 8: It's been scientifically proven that created black holes disappear rather quickly. It wouldn't have sufficient mass to remain open indefinitely. I would likely cause some additional damage to Metropolis, but that's better than Earth being terraformed.

 

Problem 9: Really? Nitpicking the direction of the neck twist? If we're going to nitpick crap like this, then The Dark Knight is a horrible film.

 

Overall, I thought this was a really good film. Much better than I anticipated, and much better than the other DC film, the Batman trilogy included.

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Um...

 

If you remember NOBODY believed Jor El that is why they had a trial for Zod

 

Hell I thought that was wrong that Johnathon thought those kids should die..Hell he was so scared of the gov't taking Clark that he would rather see children die?

 

As for the Kyptonians having the powers remember Clark lived on earth almost all his life it took time for the others to develop theirs

 

Again Clark has been on earth almost all his life he did have an advantage physically

 

I did have a problem with Metropolis still having people in rush hour still in the city while the other part was in ruins

 

What bothered me about the end was how did Lios not know that that was him wearing the glasses after she had been looking for him earlier and knew his last name was Kent?

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I think Lois was in in the secret, no way a pair of glasses would hide the fact that he's Supes!!

 

I enjoyed the movie, it was so much better than creeper Superman from Supes Returns!! Only thing missing was a nod to the rest of the DC Universe!! Perhaps a mention of Gotham or Keystone City??

 

Or even better, a la Marvel U movies, an extra scene at the end!! Don't be afraid to copy Marvel, those scenes work!!

 

Ok, did anyone think those pods that had Zod and crew looked a lil too phallic?? LOL! I told my friend, dude those look like flying dildos!!! Ha ha!!

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I think Lois was in in the secret, no way a pair of glasses would hide the fact that he's Supes!!

 

I enjoyed the movie, it was so much better than creeper Superman from Supes Returns!! Only thing missing was a nod to the rest of the DC Universe!! Perhaps a mention of Gotham or Keystone City??

 

Or even better, a la Marvel U movies, an extra scene at the end!! Don't be afraid to copy Marvel, those scenes work!!

 

Ok, did anyone think those pods that had Zod and crew looked a lil too phallic?? LOL! I told my friend, dude those look like flying dildos!!! Ha ha!!

 

I agree she knew too & yes, I feel like the whole world knows his face & you just can't hide that.....but it is part of the Superman story. haha as far as the Pods, I guess my buddy & I are the only juveniles in our bunch, we hawhawed to each other as the Dil's took off, you know that's gotta be in South Parks next season....& I dunno why it bothered me this time around but Damn......One has to wonder how many innocent people lost their lives in this fictional tale, I mean the fight was all over the map & they didn't just kinda damage things they destroyed alot of the planet and that had to have been an stunning loss of life. If Supes was more "human" I'm sure his liberal guilt shoulda killed him or would be very visible by the end of the film, it wasn't cause he decided to stalk Lois Lane at the DP?.....I too was waiting for Ted Knight to show up at the end of the Movie asking Supes if had heard of the Superfriends Initiative but it never happened.....and the lack of a "Kneel b4 Zod" reference left me wanting, I even reassured my GF that even after Kal-el had broken Zod's neck, Zod was surley going to gurgle it in his slow sudden death fade out.....but nope....I thought it was a kool movie.....and after Waterworld I would have left Kevin Costner in the SUV too & wasn't Jor-El in both of the ships Mainframe? he could've flown into the nearest star at any point after Lois escaped & supes went after her in the damaged escape pod.....despite certain things I still dug the action when they finally got down to it.....I may hafta see it again

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I got a logical explanation for some of your complaints ...

 

1.you know how sometimes death is quicker and easier then going through torture and living through/with pain ? well going to the phantom zone woulda been worse then dying.

 

3. jonathan kent believed that there will come a time in the future where clark will be vital and save even the whole world.... but if he exploited himself at a young age something could happen to him that could ruin that possibility of clark being a savior.

 

4. think of it like this.... you father repeatedly tells you not to smoke, but you smoke all the time when your father is not around.... and you have a discussion with each other with your father talking in such a way that if he finds out that you smoke again that he may/will never forgive you...then you find out your father is about to die.....are you going to smoke infront of him ?

 

5.their systems needed time to adapt to earth

 

6.personally i don't think he fought that easily.... plus with superpowers like that... it's not like you have to know ju jitsu

 

9.i think that zod's adaptation yo earth was still in the process and had not fully developed... clark has been on earth for years and matured on earth... therefore zod was weaker.

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Ok, did anyone think those pods that had Zod and crew looked a lil too phallic?? LOL! I told my friend, dude those look like flying dildos!!! Ha ha!!

 

 

OMG I was thinking how much they looked like dildos and thinking omg wtf?

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Um...

 

If you remember NOBODY believed Jor El that is why they had a trial for Zod

 

Hell I thought that was wrong that Johnathon thought those kids should die..Hell he was so scared of the gov't taking Clark that he would rather see children die?

 

As for the Kyptonians having the powers remember Clark lived on earth almost all his life it took time for the others to develop theirs

 

Again Clark has been on earth almost all his life he did have an advantage physically

 

I did have a problem with Metropolis still having people in rush hour still in the city while the other part was in ruins

 

What bothered me about the end was how did Lios not know that that was him wearing the glasses after she had been looking for him earlier and knew his last name was Kent?

 

She did know... You must have missed the double meaning... "Welcome to the planet"...

 

 

Personally I thought the movie was badass... I put it on par with The Avengers...

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Only thing missing was a nod to the rest of the DC Universe!! Perhaps a mention of Gotham or Keystone City??

 

Or even better, a la Marvel U movies, an extra scene at the end!! Don't be afraid to copy Marvel, those scenes work!!

 

 

Wayne satellite?

 

also, the Walmart cut had a scene at the end where Clark is alone, working late at the Planet and a man in a suit approaches, introduces himself as John Jones, and says something about the League...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

wait...no...that was all I could do in my head to escape Hans Zimmer's score while reading page after page of computer "artists"---BUWAHHHHHH. THUMP-THA-THA-THA-THUMP. BUUUUUUUUUWAHHHHHHHHHHH. THA-THA-THUMP. REPEAT X 2.5 HRS.

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This movie was not great but it was not horrible. It was just a good movie! This movie featured a CULTURAL ICON that has so many hands involved that somethings were bound to get screwed up. 2 words...GRANT MORRISON. They used verbatum scenes from his All Star Run. There were things that made sense after i digested it some. I was able to see the movie with comic great Mike Grell and he enjoyed it. He had some issues as well but in the end he liked the reinvention of the Superman wheel as he put it. Cavill did a great job as Kal/Clark and i think if Reeves were alive today he would have tipped his hat to him.

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I mean you can't over analyze too much.....I could say it was a stupid movie because aliens don't exist in the "real world' and I walked out at the beginning!!!!! But there were WAY too many plot holes in this thing......one that really bothered me that I haven't really seen mentioned anywhere else yet is......Why the hell was he in Alaska in the first place???? There was no reference to him knowing about that Kryptonion ship AT ALL before he "found" it.......he conveniently happens to go to Alaska after college...(or whatever, we never got a sense of time) and finds out about some random ship?? Then the Superman suit just happens to be there???? (Granted the ship could have a suit making facility on it, but still) Plus, you're telling me Kryptonion tech didn't change in 200,000 years???

 

Sigh....I give up.....even thinking about that stuff is making my head hurt......I think the action in the movie and the fact that we haven't seen Supes on screen like this before is blinding a lot of people.....but most of the same people that loved MOS probably loved the Transformer movies too.

 

 

overall Action- A+++

Story- C

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I mean you can't over analyze too much.....I could say it was a stupid movie because aliens don't exist in the "real world' and I walked out at the beginning!!!!! But there were WAY too many plot holes in this thing......one that really bothered me that I haven't really seen mentioned anywhere else yet is......Why the hell was he in Alaska in the first place???? There was no reference to him knowing about that Kryptonion ship AT ALL before he "found" it.......he conveniently happens to go to Alaska after college...(or whatever, we never got a sense of time) and finds out about some random ship?? Then the Superman suit just happens to be there???? (Granted the ship could have a suit making facility on it, but still) Plus, you're telling me Kryptonion tech didn't change in 200,000 years???

 

Sigh....I give up.....even thinking about that stuff is making my head hurt......I think the action in the movie and the fact that we haven't seen Supes on screen like this before is blinding a lot of people.....but most of the same people that loved MOS probably loved the Transformer movies too.

 

 

overall Action- A+++

Story- C

 

Not really... I hate Bayformers...

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I really enjoyed the movie and so did my wife. We both agree its the best Superman movie yet, even better then the original (is it just me, or do people wear rose tinted glasses when it comes to the first one? It's not that great)

 

even with it's faults, the 78 Superman nails the heart and soul of the character...Goyerman had no heart, or soul

 

I respect trying to give us something different, but those foundations must be solid. MOS is a muddled mess...yet, as a strange positive, its still a better spectacle and effort than any of the Marvel films

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This movie was not great but it was not horrible. It was just a good movie! This movie featured a CULTURAL ICON that has so many hands involved that somethings were bound to get screwed up. 2 words...GRANT MORRISON. They used verbatum scenes from his All Star Run. There were things that made sense after i digested it some. I was able to see the movie with comic great Mike Grell and he enjoyed it. He had some issues as well but in the end he liked the reinvention of the Superman wheel as he put it. Cavill did a great job as Kal/Clark and i think if Reeves were alive today he would have tipped his hat to him.

 

Keep in mind I never said the movie was bad. I simply said it wasn't great. I thought the actors all did pretty good jobs I just felt the story was weak, and because this was supposed to be the big relaunch that propelled the DC Movie-verse into the future, I felt it should have been better story wise. This isn't a movie I can watch over and over like say the first two Nolan Bat-films or Avengers. Yes no movie is perfect, Superman turning the Earth backwards to turn back time in the original movie was major lame, but those first two Superman films had elements other than fights and explosions that helped compensate for that, which is why we still talk about them today. I just don't see that happening with this one and if this was a movie about some random character instead of Superman I seriously doubt anyone would even be talking about it now.

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Anybody else think they made him TOO powerful in MOS.....I mean what can hurt him.....that final battle was pretty rough with Zod. I mean even in the "Animated Series" he was taken out in different ways....I think they made him a little TOO invincible? They pretty much leveled Metropolis in this one....where do they go next? I mean? What will the stakes be in the second one?

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Um...

 

If you remember NOBODY believed Jor El that is why they had a trial for Zod

 

Hell I thought that was wrong that Johnathon thought those kids should die..Hell he was so scared of the gov't taking Clark that he would rather see children die?

 

As for the Kyptonians having the powers remember Clark lived on earth almost all his life it took time for the others to develop theirs

 

Again Clark has been on earth almost all his life he did have an advantage physically

 

I did have a problem with Metropolis still having people in rush hour still in the city while the other part was in ruins

 

What bothered me about the end was how did Lios not know that that was him wearing the glasses after she had been looking for him earlier and knew his last name was Kent?

 

She did know... You must have missed the double meaning... "Welcome to the planet"...

 

 

Personally I thought the movie was badass... I put it on par with The Avengers...

 

Oh ok...

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References you may have missed in Man Of Steel

 

I belive there's also a reference to S.T.A.R. Labs (Cyborg)?

 

 

Also, from Bleeding Cool:

"...I also thought that he had been stuck in this Norman Rockwell, big blue boy scout, spit-curl era. A lot of people were questioning if Superman was still relevant, whether or not he could be meaningful. It’s been interesting to see the public’s reaction over the last year ago, and just the fact that people are talking about Man of Steel as much as they are now, it makes me feel like we’ve done our job right. If he can go toe to toe with some of the Marvel films then I think we’ll have done the character justice."

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I love how people have to sit and point out all the "illogical" things in a Superman man. It's Superman! Sit back, enjoy the show and stop over thinking everything!

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Well, I will throw my 2 cents in. First off I enjoyed the movie quite a bit, but I think there were some things that hindered it from becoming a great movie.

The biggest problem I have with MOS is a problem that most comic book movies have succumbed too. I call it the Armageddon effect. It probably started before that, but anywho. I am sick and tired of watching cities get destroyed. FF 2, Transformers 1 and 3, TDKR, GI Joe, Avengers, ect. If I want to watch a disaster movie I will go watch 2012 or The day after tomorrow. I feel like this kind of "action" is general and takes away from what most of us want to see. I don't want to watch Shia running around in Transformers trying not to get crushed by buildings and killing decepticons, nor do I want to see Perry white and random people screaming and running away from the 50th crumbling building. Save money by not shooting useless explosions and put that money on better cg and cooler hand to hand combat scenes with Superman. This fad of a city being destroyed is as tired as the "the hero" dying only to be resurrected (Thor, Sue Storm, Optimus, Sam, ect) No one really believes your dead

Another problem I have with this film is that it is called man of steel, yet it feels like the MOS is just one character in a crowded cast. It plays more as an ensemble piece. Between, the Colonel, Perry, Lois, the Scientist, Jor-El, and Zod. The characters seem just as important as Supes rather than being supportive cast.

Finally, I feel like they bit off more than they could chew. This movie had LOTR syndrome and did not know when to end. Clark did not seem to get developed because the movie was in such a rush to squeeze everything in. Ultimately, I think the luster of this film will fade. Eventually this film will be one that we pop in the DVD player and skip to the last hour (although the prologue with Jor-El was awesome and Crowe really is a scene stealer)

All that being said. I enjoyed the movie, but it could have been exceptional rather than good. A lot of this is opinion, but that is my take on Man Of Steel

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Well, I will throw my 2 cents in. First off I enjoyed the movie quite a bit, but I think there were some things that hindered it from becoming a great movie.

The biggest problem I have with MOS is a problem that most comic book movies have succumbed too. I call it the Armageddon effect. It probably started before that, but anywho. I am sick and tired of watching cities get destroyed. FF 2, Transformers 1 and 3, TDKR, GI Joe, Avengers, ect. If I want to watch a disaster movie I will go watch 2012 or The day after tomorrow. I feel like this kind of "action" is general and takes away from what most of us want to see. I don't want to watch Shia running around in Transformers trying not to get crushed by buildings and killing decepticons, nor do I want to see Perry white and random people screaming and running away from the 50th crumbling building. Save money by not shooting useless explosions and put that money on better cg and cooler hand to hand combat scenes with Superman. This fad of a city being destroyed is as tired as the "the hero" dying only to be resurrected (Thor, Sue Storm, Optimus, Sam, ect) No one really believes your dead

Another problem I have with this film is that it is called man of steel, yet it feels like the MOS is just one character in a crowded cast. It plays more as an ensemble piece. Between, the Colonel, Perry, Lois, the Scientist, Jor-El, and Zod. The characters seem just as important as Supes rather than being supportive cast.

Finally, I feel like they bit off more than they could chew. This movie had LOTR syndrome and did not know when to end. Clark did not seem to get developed because the movie was in such a rush to squeeze everything in. Ultimately, I think the luster of this film will fade. Eventually this film will be one that we pop in the DVD player and skip to the last hour (although the prologue with Jor-El was awesome and Crowe really is a scene stealer)

All that being said. I enjoyed the movie, but it could have been exceptional rather than good. A lot of this is opinion, but that is my take on Man Of Steel

 

Some great points bud....the only thing im gonna expand on here is when you said Clark was under developed. In the end its Superman, he is a cultural icon. We did a poll for the shop i work at and went to a Casino and a Middle School and asked random people if they knew 6 characters. The list was Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Wolverine, Black Widow ( i know the list was very random we pulled names out of a hat) We asked if they knew who these super heroes were and how. 90% of the Casino goers (ages 22-80) knew who Superman was and were able to give an origin explaination, same with WW. 55% of the Middle School kids (ages 12-15) gave us the same information. Wolverine, BW, and GL were more top of mind due to the movies origins are in thier mind fresh.

 

Here is my point. Superman, Batman, hell even Spiderman do NOT need thier origins retold (exception is the Krytpon scenes they kicked ass and worked for this movie) You can retell certain snippets in flash backs and not involve 45 min to an hour explaining how they got there.

 

But in regards to your Armaggedon Syndrome I never put that together until you pointed it out and you know what your right! that is a trend that keeps being used and used and used!

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I've never been a big fan of Superman. I always felt he had things too easy, his only real weakness is kryptonite, which is overexploited, his secret identity of black-rimmed glasses is ridiculous, he has a limited gallery of notable villains (Luthor, Zod, Metallo, Brainiac, and Doomsday are the only that I think any people marginally familiar with Superman might recognize, and that's pushing it). I don't think I ever saw the Christopher Reeve movies, and I did see the 2006 film, but agreed with the overall critical disappointment about it.

 

This movie I really liked, here's why:

 

The structure - I thought it was put together very well. We started with the destruction of Krypton and Clark landing on earth. We got all the background on Zod. Then on earth we see Clark as a wanderer, a man without a country, and see in flashback his growing up and struggling with his powers as he's reminded by current events that occur while he's working odd-jobs around the world trying to find himself and his roots. Every time he tried to save someone today, he recalled events where he saved people as he was growing up, and the fallout and costs to him or his family. Then you intro Lois Lane, investigating the craft found on earth, this ties Lois and Clark to each other, and their investigation of the ship alerts Zod, who lands on earth ("you are not alone" was a CREEPY scene) to reclaim Clark and rebuild his own version of Krypton on earth. Superman struggles with connecting with the life he never experienced or protecting the life he grew up with. Then it's a battle to the death with the Kryptonians and Superman earning the (tentative) trust of earth. I guess it would be broken up into 4 acts (Krypton dies, Clark learns his heritage, Zod/Clark relate, and Clark fights to save earth.

 

The characterization of Clark/Superman - He was presented as very innocent, innately good, genuine, and human. The emphasis wasn't on all the dazzling abilities he has and how they can get him though anything in life (meaning he's got it easy, like I've always felt). The emphasis was on the human costs of having these abilities, the curse within the blessing. Seeing the kids drowning in the school bus, he saved them all, but nearly compromised his identity and could have been discovered. But he at least earned what appeared to be a life-long friend in Pete Ross over time. He wanted to beat up the rude guy in the bar but had to control himself and be publicly humiliated to protect his identity. He fought with his father in the car about his destiny, and then heeded his father's wishes to NOT act to save him during the tornado, and his father died, essentially burdening Clark with guilt and responsibility in his own father's death, and driving his need to be a hero and save all he can since he didn't save his own father. It featured all the powers and the heat vision and the strength and the flying, but it wasn't ABOUT the powers, it was about the costs of acting and not acting as a hero.

 

The characterization of Lois Lane - Amy Adams is very pretty, but she's no supermodel, and I like that. She had that "can't quite put my finger on it" everywoman quality, which Lois definitely needed. She was aggressive, ambitious, principled, brave, smart, and didn't too terribly often fall into the damsel in distress hole that Lois usually finds herself in. She chose to go onto Zod's ship, she worked with Jor-El to reclaim the power over the ship and escape back to earth (though Superman did save her in the landing), she stood her ground wanting to tell the story, and dug into the myth of Superman only to back off when she realized she'd be ruining Clark's life and he was a good man. She refused to turn Clark into the FBI. She smartly protected his identity when he came to work at the Daily Planet and still had the funny line of "Welcome to the Planet" as an in-joke with Clark while everyone else just thought he was any other guy.

 

The cinematography - Man of Steel was shot in a lot of places like a video on a cell phone, making the viewer in the theater feel like they were watching an internet video of things that were too unreal to be believed, but that association made it feel that much more real. It lent itself to the "myth" of Superman, could this really happen, did this really happen? Of course it didn't, but I've seen some crazy youtube videos that leave me feeling the same way. Yes the Kryptonian fighting was fantastical and a spectacle and devastatingly destructive. People leaping onto helicopters and single-handedly tearing them apart, hurling U-Haul vans at each other like they were paper airplanes, tearing through building after building like they were sandcastles. But it was the juxtaposition of that spectacle, against the backdrop of all-American restaurant IHOP, or the appliance department in SEARS, or the fact it was a U-Haul van, and not an SUV. The touches of relatable reality grounded a very lofty, crazy, reality-warping spectacle and made it feel real. At least to me. At least for the span of the movie.

 

The little touches of the greater universe - I would need to watch it again to see if I can catch more, but I definitely loved the multiple appearances of the LexCorp trucks at various points in the movie. If the Goyer/Nolan trilogy follows the Dark Knight formula, we might just get Lex Luthor as the sequel's next baddie. I feel like he'd be presented as a politico fascinated with Superman but equally determined to exploit him and ruin him. I think starting the trilogy with Zod as a way of exploring where Clark came from and where he is now was the smartest move to the franchise. But Luthor is the next logical villain to take it to the next level in the movie. He could likely drive the next two movies, if Luthor presents as a friend and politician to Superman (and behind-the-scenes enemy) in the 2nd installment and then is full-out villain in the 3rd.

 

All-in-all it was a success for me. The action made my blood rush. The characters made me feel for them. And the origins of Superman were grounded firmly without being too spelled out. Win!

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