Some superheroes should just be left alone. After the rise and fall of the 70s/80s Superman, and the failed 2006 Bryan Singer attempt, this desperate overlong Christopher Nolan effort results in Dark Knight meets Transformers: after an engaging opening 20-minute sequence on planet Krypton (where inhabitants communicate through caviar), gloomy cinematography throws us yet another origin story where Lois Lane already knows Superman's identity from the get-go, and the second half headaches of explosions and falling skyscrapers puts Michael Bay to shame. Towards the end, I just wanted to shut my eyes and ears, and doze off.
PS: No, there's no post-credits sequence.
Mo says:
I'm really disappointed to read this, I was really looking forward for something promising considering Nolan being involved in the film ,do you mean I should not waste my money on this one?
ReplyDeleteDepends. If you didn't get a headache from watching Transformers, and you really enjoy watching in 3D (I watched it 2D), then go watch it in a theater. I had high hopes for Nolan's presence as story writer too, but seriously, don't expect much of story here. Just explosions. Lots of explosions.
ReplyDeleteReally ??Honesty I was just looking for a free time to see it urgently.Sounds like no need to rush ! too bad...I was extremely hoping my unforgettable experience of original version by Christopher Nolan's involvement comes back .
ReplyDeleteIn view of the Nolan involvement, I was looking forward to this movie also. But now, I don't know what to say in terms of recommending it. Again, it's all about how important it is to you to watch a movie with huge CGI/panoramic scenes in a theater. I ignored watching the third Transformers movie in the theaters, just because it was too loud and too in-my-face.
ReplyDeleteI know these are all fantasy characters, so there's no proper definition about how each persona should be, but Batman was always a dark character, and both the Tim Burton and the Christopher Nolan versions made complete sense. But Superman was always a sign of hope and brightness, and making the film dark and gloomy and turning him into a tormented character carrying such a huge burden of guilt, is just wrong.
Maybe Superman just doesn't fit to our dark and depressing times. They should stop fooling around with him.
I was never a big Superman fan, he was just too powerful for my liking. The only Superman movie I enjoyed was Superman II. His achillies heel of Kryptonite always struck me as a bit daft. Although I think a darker Superman would be more interesting.
ReplyDeleteHe was handled well in the Frank Miller graphic novel, The Dark Knight Returns, in that he was a tool of a right wing US government and the battle between Superman and a power armoured Batman was fantastic. I could never understand why the graphic novel was never turned into a movie. It would have wiped the floor with all the other Batman films put together.
Agree that Richard Donner's first two Superman movies were the only decent ones made to this day. But what should we expect anyway? The 1978 movie was a dream team, with Mario Puzo (The Godfather) and Robert Benton (Kramer vs. Kramer) writing the screenplay, John Williams the soundtrack, Marlon Brando (!!!) as Jor-El, Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor, and Christopher Reeve ... the embodiment of Superman himself! How would it even be possible to repeat that success?
ReplyDeleteI never really cared for the 1st one, although I did believe a man could fly! Even Gene Hackman couldn't make Luthor interesting for me, I always thought he was the most feeble Super-Villain ever! John Williams is surely the greatest soundtrack composer of all time.
ReplyDeleteI will give this movie a chance when it comes on TV but will give the cinema experience a miss.
Every once in a while, I turn off the lights at home, turn up the volume sky high, and watch the 1978 movie opening credits sequence again. The John Williams music, the credits swooooshing in, disappearing into space ... that's what dreams are made of.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen it in years so will give it another look later this year.
ReplyDeleteI liked Lex Luthor as a villain much more than General Zod, because with Luthor it was a battle of wits, while with Zod it was a matter of brute force: just bang themselves into each other over and over and over again (and destroy a small town and a metropolis in the process) until one of them wears down. Seriously, when the last battle started after it seemed everything was over, I groaned to myself: "Not again!"
ReplyDeleteThere is some hope that Luthor will be in a sequel (if we are going to have to suffer through a sequel): in one of the last battles, a tanker truck that got destroyed had "Lexcorp" written on the side.
Another point: I can't help but feel Kevin Costner does a good job in any role he's cast in, however bad the movie.
ReplyDeleteActually, since it was coming from Nolan, I was expecting a slight mention of Lex Luthor at the end (just like the Joker reference at the end of "Batman Begins) - but Lois Lane's "Welcome to the Planet" at the end was a nice touch too.
ReplyDeleteThat was very "hawk-eye" of you to notice Lexcorp in the movie - I didn't notice it. Here's a list of multiple Easter eggs placed in the movie. I like the Supergirl possibility the best:
http://m.moviepilot.com/stories/1003122-screenshot-of-the-batman-easter-egg-in-man-of-steel?stamp=38694&subscribe_to=15593&utm_campaign=screenshot-of-the-batman-easter-egg-in-man-of-steel&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=fb-stream-post?stamp=38694&subscribe_to=15593&utm_campaign=screenshot-of-the-batman-easter-egg-in-man-of-steel&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=fb-stream-post?stamp=38694&subscribe_to=15593&utm_campaign=screenshot-of-the-batman-easter-egg-in-man-of-steel&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=fb-stream-post?stamp=38694&subscribe_to=15593&utm_campaign=screenshot-of-the-batman-easter-egg-in-man-of-steel&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=fb-stream-post
(Btw, I don't think Costner is bad actor; he just makes bad role choices.)
I'm just surprised why such a high score 7.9-8 in IMDB? I got a little upset,however,for new generation (since I took a child and teenager with myself !)it's amazing. They love such as modern remake of macho ism and enjoy some endless digital battles .We have to admit that !I think the only thing that relieves me now is watching the original right way and back to that sweet dream by just itself!
ReplyDeleteI don't know. I'm seeing a pattern this year of worthy summer movies ("After Earth", "Now You See Me", "Oblivion") getting low numbers on Rotten Tomatoes, while weaker ones such as "Man of Steel" are getting lots of undeserved attention - as if even the critics are not immune from the promotional effects of movie advertisement.
ReplyDelete