As producer, Christopher
Nolan has left his mark on the new Superman but there was never much chance of
him bringing the man who could fly back to earth in the same way as he did with
Batman. Zack Snyder has a tougher job to make alien Kal-El and his antagonist
General Zod anywhere near as convincing as what Nolan did with another caped
crusader in his Dark Knight trilogy. But Snyder does try and he is occasionally
successful.
In
Man of Steel, Superman's roots as the last son of Krypton are explored and his
early years on Earth also get frequent flashbacks that are frequently some of
the best scenes in the film. The Krypton set spectacle at the start does not
convey the emotion of what is intended and the CG effects are more over
whelming than incredible. Snyder over does the style and loses some of the
heart despite Russell Crowe as Jor-El acting his socks off like its theatre and
Michael Shannon bringing the menace with ease.
What
works better are the flashbacks to Clark's
childhood down on Planet Earth. Here Snyder matches style with substance; the
young Clark struggling to accept his
difference from the other children and over whelmed by the extent of his
powers. It makes you wish for more from the young Clark;
a real Superman Begins that delves deeper into the Smallville years.
For
all Man of Steel's epic clashes including a barn storming (and smashing)
Smallville set piece, the action can never maintain its hold on the heart or
the head where so much special effects are thrown on screen. It's not that
there is any problem with the special effects themselves but when the action
ramps up and two (or three or more) super beings start going at it, it all
loses any sense of believability that has been built up before.
Perhaps
it is unfair to expect the same level of grounded realism that made the Dark Knight
such a convincing part of the modern world but Man of Steel does try.
Metropolis has many recognisable elements and the destruction of the climactic
scenes all has that familiar 9/11 feeling with dust covered survivors,
buildings falling and a city turned to ash. Unfortunately there is very little
sense of the extraordinary amount of death Zod's plan has caused and Superman
saves far too few people in his city to warrant the happy ending that is
undoubtedly on the cards. Again, the CG effects over whelm rather than immerse.
So
the Nolan influence is present as even in the midst of all the spaceships and
super beings pounding seven shades out of each other, there is some sense that
Superman is a believable creation and the world of characters (most notably the
military) reacts accordingly. However occasionally there are just too many CG
filled shots with one Superman vs giant space machine fight being particularly
far out and therefore hard to engage with. It is all very well to believe a man
can fly but when you have a hero fighting giant CG tentacles, it quickly loses
interest... unless of course that is exactly what you came to a Superman movie
for.
Better
but still occasionally over loaded are the scenes of combat between Superman
and Zod. While Shannon gets lumped with
numerous clichés for threatening lines, the clashes are occasionally spectacular
and drawn out only a little too long. At least their faces are not computer
generated and their acting convinces.
It
is a shame that Shannon gets so many
heard-it-all-before lines as there is a good strong character in Zod and it is
easy to quickly put Terence Stamp's version out of mind. The script is filled
with solid characters, making this the most convincingly constructed Superman
movie ever. The Kents are concerned, noble foster parents to Kal-El with Kevin
Costner giving a fairly brief but powerful performance, there is an overly
obvious but welcome attempt to make Lois Lane a strong and smart journalist (but
who still needs frequent rescue) and Clark himself is a man with a secret and a
real desire to keep it.
As
Kent/Kal-El Henry Cavill has more than just the incredible physique and the
handsome face. While he might make the ladies swoon, he also completely
convinces as both the other worldly outcast and in a brilliant final scene the Clark
Kent we are all so familiar with. Cavill is excellent, as is Hans Zimmer's wonderful score even if there is nothing quite matching the original Superman theme.
While
Snyder frequently gets carried away with the spectacle and special effects, the
story and particularly Kal-El's characterization is strong enough to make Man of Steel take off.
Though it may not convince as much as Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy, Superman is a
tougher caped crusader to sell in the real world. Man of Steel does however make Clark Kent
fascinating and ends the film with the potential for a sequel that will take him
onto much more familiar ground. With hints that Lex Luthor might be the next
villain in Man of Steel 2, let’s hope Snyder tones down the CGI in favour of
more practical and believable effects and makes a Man of Steel 2 that really flies.
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