When you look at Man of Steel you can see a lot of Christopher Nolan influence: the design of the poster (listing off the multitude of stars), the dark atmosphere, even the main title is not shown until the very end as an exclamation mark, much like Nolan's other recent entries. But the main difference is, obviously, Nolan only helped create the story and produced the film, which are still key roles in the movie making business. Zack Snyder, director of 300 (2007), Watchmen (2009), and Sucker Punch (2011), takes the helm and adds his own unique touches, including obnoxious camera work and a loud, bombastic, relentless 45-minute final showdown.
Man of Steel tells us once again the story of Superman's (Henry Cavill) rise to fame, where he comes from and what makes him who he is. Superman (1978) was the first major superhero movie, and I'd be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn't know the story of Krypton's destruction, Superman's adoption by earthling foster parents, his times struggling in Smallville, and his eventual move to Metropolis and the Daily Planet. This is all well known, so the major question is what can this reboot bring that we don't already know?
Nothing, really, but what it does well, at least early on, is paint Superman's childhood in a much darker tone then we've seen before. Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner) teaches Superman, dubbed Clark Kent, to hide his powers and not use them because he doesn't think the world is ready to know there is alien life out there. Clark has to deal with his developing powers, which include X-Ray vision and super hearing, and figure out how to control and focus his attention so he can master this powers. It's a unique take rather then Clark's usual outcast status that he is assigned.
Moreover, his journey to the fortress of solitude is a little less convenient then in past Supermans; usually he just walks north and happens upon the exact location his father Jor-El hid it (it's a fortress in previous versions, here it's a spaceship). His soul-searching wanderer recalls Bruce Wayne's similar exodus from Gotham in Batman Begins, though with Nolan and David S. Goyer in charge of the story (as they were on Begins) this does not come as much of a surprise.
Lois Lane is also wonderfully utilized, proving for once how she earned her pulitzer. Rather then conveniently being in the right place at the right time, she hunts down her leads and is able to track down Superman on her own tenacity. Usually in this story Lois isn't introduced until Clark Kent arrives at the Daily Planet, making this story development quite the shake-up to the established Superman mythology.
There's a lot to like here, but unfortunately Zack Snyder is in charge, which means its far from great. Don't get me wrong, Mr. Synder adds his own unique voice to the mix and if anything, I'm happy Mr. Nolan did not direct this; it would have been too similar to his Batman trilogy and, more importantly, too self important and full of itself.
But Mr. Snyder doesn't handle subtlety very well (a church scene frames him with a stained glass Jesus), and pitches the action at such a high pace early on that it has nowhere to go. Combined with the recent Star Trek Into Darkness I feel like our action directors have forgotten what pacing is and how to escalate an action scene in intensity. The audience needs a breather, but once the World Engine is in place everything becomes so frantic that we nary have a moment to breath.
To the movie's credit we do finally get to see what a true Superman fight looks like: pitching him against General Zod (Michael Shannon) and his army means we get plenty of super punches and millions of dollars in property damages. Hell, the amount of human casualty that occurs at the end ranks so high that it's no wonder our nation is wary of Superman at the end, and a high ranking General asks him if he can be trusted. These are cynical times he live in, and I suppose its only natural that one of the few remaining pillars of Americana be brought down with it. Many buildings are destroyed in the climax, and Superman contributes more the destruction then he does to stopping it. That still doesn't stop him from saving Lois Lane whenever she falls out of a plane.
Overall, it feels like they played their best cards first, and now there's nothing left for the sequel. How do you top the near destruction of Metropolis? Batman saved Gotham and then faced his greatest foe in the sequel. Lex Luthor is still around, yet to be introduced, but I don't know how great a villain he ultimately is. I guess we still have Kryptonite to deal with. No one fully figured that out this time around.
I guess I just really wanted to love this movie. I wanted something groundbreaking and revelatory to be done, to see Superman in a new way, and while those elements are present, I realized there's something else missing: it's not much fun. Even Nolan's Batman Begins is fun in certain elements. It doesn't bother me that a few buildings come down. It's that more buildings fall down. And more. And more. It feels like it never stops. And eventually it becomes a little depressing, and the spectacle is lost.
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