Man of Steel (2013)
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(Image via Warner Bros. Pictures, found at BadMovieVault)
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From the
directive vision of Zach Snyder, (Director of superhero movie “Watchmen”, Hero
movie “300” and superhero movie “Legend of the Guardians: Owls of Ga’hoole” …
Uh, actually scratch that last one) comes Man of Steel; the attempted rebirth
of a nearly destroyed comic book icon… Superman.
Now straight
off the bat, Man of Steel could not have possibly done any worse than Superman
Returns (Which is pretty much the “Batman and Robin” of Superman films, if you
take the hint). So, in typical Zac Snyder fashion, A larger than life epic with
a ludicrous budget ($225 million), an insane amount of visual effects (most
which are pretty decent), a drawn out, slow story line/plot and an all-out
war/alienation of the protagonist. An in all departments, Man of Steel
delivered in spades.
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(Image via Warner Bros. Pictures, found at Aceshowbiz)
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Since the
release of Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice and the announcement of Justice
League, It is widely received that Man of Steel was just a basic
re-introduction to the origins of Superman as a void filler to keep the fans
interested until the real blockbusters come out (and if it was Dawn of Justice…
It definitely missed the mark). So partly, that could be the excuse for
mid-range plot development (at best) and recycling/re-purposing the major fight
sequences and events from a previous movie (pretty much most of Superman and
Superman II).
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(Image via Warner Bros. Pictures, found at ComicBook)
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There are some redeeming factors such as: the special effects have been
significantly enhanced, there are some great acting performances from Kevin
Costner and Russel Crowe (with decent performances from Henry Cavill, Amy Adams
and Michael Shannon), Fans are gifted to a different, darker side of Superman.
But overall, these faint bright moments are overshadowed by clichéd, lazy
writing and a very minimal attempt at trying to develop a story/plot beyond an
origin story. But hey, if it brings in $668 million … Cha Ching.
Overall, If you
want a more complete Superman experience, You should either watch Superman and
Superman II with Christopher Reeve or start invested in a few comic books (If
you’ve got the time and money, it’s definitely worth it!)
Rating: 2.5/5
- Jack