Man of Steel Sequel an Opportunity to Rebuild a City and a Franchise

Man of Steel Sequel an Opportunity to Rebuild a City and a Franchise

The Man of Steel sequel can be about more than just rebuilding Metropolis--it is an opportunity for Zack Snyder to rebuild a franchise.

Editorial Opinion
By theoriginalbdub - Dec 19, 2013 10:12 AM EST
Filed Under: Fan Fic

I believe that Zack Snyder has a tremendous opportunity within his grasp with the Man of Steel sequel, a chance to correct course and truly make something monumental in the realm of comic book movies. He is certainly a creative and visionary director, but with almost all of his movies, it seems that what he envisions in his mind does not color the pages of a storyboard in quite the same fashion. When his films are released and viewed, they are beautiful and stylized and full of visually stunning effects. Where he goes astray, in my estimation, and in the estimation of many others, is with the story behind the style. His movies, for all of their visual charisma, just do not have any verbal structure to lay upon. They are like stunning pieces of art in a gallery, but with no walls on which to be displayed. With no support to hang them upon, they just end up scattered around the room, leaving the viewer with pretty pictures but no structure or direction.

I felt it was important to provide that subjective background in order to properly justify the points I am going to make. I respect Zack Snyder and I think he is a truly talented director, but his films are always lacking structure. Every time he creates a film, I think, "This is it. This is the one," and I thought that about Man of Steel, but he never fully lives up to his potential and his films are always lacking in structure and coherence. Man of Steel was no different.

I enjoyed Man of Steel, don't get me wrong. It was visually stunning, which is always a given with Zack Snyder, and I thought the science fiction direction it took was a great idea. Superman is always viewed through the lens of "Superman" or "Clark Kent" in film, but what about the perspective of "Kal-El"? What are his feelings about his place in the way of things? I thought Man of Steel was right in exploring that side of the character and it really added to the mystique of the plot.

Where the film really lost its luster was with the ridiculous amount of destruction depicted. Explosions and damage are always a given in an action movie, especially a comic book movie, but the amount shown in Man of Steel was absurd. Smallville was laid to waste, which I thought was completely unnecessary and a tad distasteful, and a large portion of Metropolis, of course, was annihilated. I won't belabor these well worn points any more, but I wanted to briefly revisit them in order to pose this suggestion to Zack Snyder: use the destruction to your advantage in the sequel.



It has been suggested by many readers and regular contributors on this site that in order for the Man of Steel sequel to justify Bruce Wayne being in it, there must be a philanthropic component regarding the rebuilding of Metropolis, a notion to which I happen to agree. However, I believe this needs to be a serious point of emphasis in the sequel and not just some weak lead-in so Batman can appear. The Man of Steel sequel didn't need Batman in it, and now that he is in it, the sequel still doesn't need him. The sequel needs Bruce Wayne. More importantly, Metropolis needs Bruce Wayne.

I think that bringing in Argo writer Chris Terrio was a terrific idea. He and Ben Affleck created something great with Argo and it only makes sense to have him help tailor the sequel to Ben Affleck's take on Bruce Wayne. Plus, David S. Goyer, for all of his success, was really a product of Christopher Nolan's success, and I think he used Man of Steel as his "coming out party," so speak. He was trying to step out of Nolan's shadow and, in my opinion, he overreached. The Man of Steel sequel needed a fresh infusion of writing talent and it got it with the addition of Terrio. Furthermore, Ben Affleck has become an incredible writing and directing talent in his own right, so I think it would be nothing but positive for Zack Snyder to allow Affleck to give some direction to the sequel, as well, especially since his character is quickly becoming the central focus of the film, even though it is a "Superman" sequel.

This is Zack Snyder's chance to finally show he can do more than paint a pretty picture. The destruction that took place in Man of Steel, and the aftermath (both critically and with regard to the substance of the film), has already been written and so it is. There is no going back for him; but, he can move forward, and he can use the damage done in the first film (both literally and figuratively) to create something truly remarkable in the second film.

Mr. Snyder, make Bruce Wayne mean something in the second film. Make him leave an impact on the franchise. Metropolis was wounded in the first film. Use this opportunity to repair and rebuild Metropolis, both for the sake of the franchise, and for the sake of your legacy.
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Moohika
Moohika - 12/19/2013, 10:47 AM
Zack Snyder is a good director, and bold too. How many directors have the cajones to tackle 3 totally different CBM's?
kinghulk
kinghulk - 12/19/2013, 10:59 AM
he is a good director but i fail to see how makeing 3 diffrent CBM's gives him cajones

the more i hear about this film the more i feel they are replacing the MOS sequel with a justice league film.which definitely wont help character development.
Moohika
Moohika - 12/19/2013, 11:00 AM
The thing is, Zack Snyder has never really had a great script to show his true potential. He's also only done big budget blockbuster films, I'd like to see him tackle a low budget film after BvsS. Hopefully the Argo writer they hired really polishes the script for BvsS.

Also, he needs to bring that famous Slo-Mo of his back for this movie.
kinghulk
kinghulk - 12/19/2013, 11:33 AM
i agree about the slo-mo i was suprised there wasent any slo-mo in a film that contains superspeed, in almost every film or tv series if there is super speed there is a slo-mo scene. epsecially considering how ofter he uses slo-mo.
DEVLIN712
DEVLIN712 - 12/19/2013, 11:42 AM
Supes is really getting shafted, I mean c'mon, Man of Steel wasn't bad but it felt rushed and as if it was just so that people wouldn't forget about DC during 2013 (aka two thousand and Marvel). It could have been so much better.
And now, in his own "sequel" he's gonna get a cameo appearance at most.
DC should take a step back and build on what Man of Steel gave them the potential to build, a great cinematic universe.
Prime
Prime - 12/19/2013, 11:44 AM
To bad we aren't getting it until after JL.
GinjaNinja
GinjaNinja - 12/19/2013, 12:02 PM
Mexicansuperman... accept it, half of metropolis was falling down. Remember 911? When only 2 buildings fell down, killed thousands, and also caused damage to a huge part of the city? Well we watched about 5 buildings fall down. another 50 get smashed by sups and zod. so yeah there was a lot more thne just a small part of metropolis.
Moohika
Moohika - 12/19/2013, 12:06 PM
@dougierollingthejays
Yes, people died. God forbid there be a superhero movie where there are actually consequences and people die. -_-
theoriginalbdub
theoriginalbdub - 12/19/2013, 1:19 PM
I think I could have accepted the destruction in Metropolis if the destruction in Smallville would not have taken place. In my opinion, the Smallville town center sequence was written into the screenplay to satisfy advertising placement requisites. I mean, how many times did you see "Sears" and "IHOP" during those fight scenes? It just seemed unnecessary.

I think the fights could have been every bit as effective if they took place in a cornfield. The sponsors could still be given their due at the beginning of the sequence, then the fight moves elsewhere. The fight did move through a silo and into a field for a bit, but only for an instant. Also, Sears was plugged with Mrs. Kent anyway. She had on a blue Sears polo and a Sears lanyard when she was at the Kent home.

These are just the observations of a person who believed that Zack Snyder could have showed a little more restraint.
DeathstrokeTerminator
DeathstrokeTerminator - 12/19/2013, 1:28 PM
@theoriginalbdub
I'm gonna recommend you Superman Returns. Not my cup of tea, but I think you'll like it based on your comment
kong
kong - 12/19/2013, 1:49 PM
I only read your fist paragraph, lol, and my response is simply "Is he a screenwriter?" the answer is no. He's a director you said he did exactly hwta he was supposed to do. Make a visually stunning film. The script was on David Goyer. Zack Snyder has been given bad scripts multiple times, but none of that has to do with him. He is in charge of bringing the script to life not bringing an idea to the script.
kenjim152
kenjim152 - 12/19/2013, 3:53 PM
@dougieisrollingthejays 50 buildings???!!! Really??How do you count man? 1, 2, 3, 50????? There were no more than 10 buildings that there were really damaged and one that collapsed because of the fight. And that was ok because you know something? They are reserving the real destruction of metrópolis to Doomsday.... :-)
feedonatreefrog
feedonatreefrog - 12/19/2013, 6:28 PM
I don't see the problem of a villain destroying a city. That's what villains do.

In other movies we have villains destroying entire planets... (Alderan, Vulcan)

Also, Krypton blew up, both in this movie and in the Donner movies.

fishybashi
fishybashi - 12/20/2013, 6:04 AM
I appreciate the attempt of this article, but I am of the opinion that this goes without saying. MOS is highly under-appreciated and underrated for the epic movie that it is, and years from now it will be regarded as ahead of its time for what it did to jumpstart the DC cinematic universe. On a worldwide scale, MOS was seen for the amazing movie that it is. In the US market, critical flame warranted its demise and lay people jumped on the bandwagon. The comparison to Donner's films is laughable and ignores the fact that Snyder has created a Superman for the new generation. His depiction of Krypton alone makes Donner and Singer's attempt a complete joke. I mean Lex thinks he can sell hotel property in a lifeless crystallike landscape of abysmal drudgery? Kal-El has the capacity to save the world and spends his time bumbling about chasing an annoying Lois and in a later incarnation stalking a bore of a Lois? I can go on and on but what Snyder/Goyer/Nolan created in MOS is epic. And for all the anti-destruction talk, MOS depiction of superpowered beings beefing it out is -- get this -- realistic. If Superman left the scene of the battle, the superpowered beings would just continue their rampage and as Faora said -- "kill more of them." Snyder's depiction of the antagonists is a lot more lethal and is bent on annihilating the human race. Kal-El needed to stop them at all cost, and him choosing his adopted race over his own race speaks volumes. Donner's version never captured this aspect of Kal-El and I like the direction of Snyder's vision.

Naysayers can stay Negative Nancy, but based on easter eggs seen in MOS and MOS DVD, the "opportunity to rebuild a franchise" is way ahead of schedule. The title of this article should be aptly titled "opportunity to build upon a franchise" because like it or not -- Snyder/Goyer/Affleck and co. are here to stay and I trust a plan has been set in motion, and thankfully so.
fishybashi
fishybashi - 12/20/2013, 6:21 AM
One of the best reviews of MOS to date:

http://www.chicagonow.com/going-for-gusto/2013/11/man-of-steel-dvd/

Oh, and btw, MOS is killing it on DVD sales. Retrospectively, MOS will be looked back upon as groundbreaking. It is more positively revered by viewers, more so than the many of the fanboys on this webite, half of whom are likely Marvel fanboys with an agenda to lash out at anything DC. To add, Snyder and Goyer already said the destruction will have ramifications and perhaps give Luthor a sense of a platform to speak upon and people can support.

Again, I appreciate the attempt of this article and respect the writer's opinion. I just happen to think that MOS was epic, and I don't think I'm alone on that.
Lhornbk
Lhornbk - 12/20/2013, 5:26 PM
*sigh*, more fanboy whining about destruction in MoS. *sigh*
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