Man of Steel (2013)
A lot of things have been said and done about the latest Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures take on the iconic superhero. We have all been on the watch since day one, when it was announced that the studio asked director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception) to produce or “god-father” Man of Steel, up to the time Nolan selected Zach Snyder as director and started co-writing the story with screenwriter David Goyer.
The hype heightened with the announcement that Henry Cavill would portray the legendary superhero, and the inclusion of veteran Academy Award winners Kevin Costner and Russel Crowe in supporting roles.
Now that the film is out, it is a sad thing to note that critics and some fans have been hard on the movie. The hype leading to the screening was so high that the general view is that it would earn at least a billion dollars at the box office. Three weeks passed and the movie could only generate $400 million. What happened?
A lot of fans were disappointed with the kind of take Zach Snyder did on MOS, but it must be remembered that the general idea for the incarnation or reincarnation of this character is whether a super-powered alien living amongst us would be relevant and be accepted by society, by the people. Fans and moviegoers went to watch to be entertained; instead they got information. Yes they were loads of action but they argued about the pacing of the story and the use of flashbacks in most of the scenes. They even had the nerve to compare MOS with Marvel’s Iron Man 3 which they think is much more “entertaining” than the overly-serious Superman movie, despite the Mandarin Twist.
Was there really something wrong with the movie? Or are we simply expecting too much from it?
I watched the movie twice in the cinema and I can hardly hear any whisper during the screening. Audience were seemingly intent on watching, not the kind of audience I was expecting similar to the screening of, say Fast and Furious 6 (the scene of Vin Diesel catching Michelle Rodrigues up in the air drew applauses) whereas they are more somber with this. Their verdict: good film but not great.
It was in this perspective that I decided to write a review and decide to address only a certain number of points as the rest were already discussed before in previous reviews.
Theme
A movie would only be as great as the theme it represents, and Man of Steel certainly addressed its theme: relevance of a super-powered alien in today’s world. Nolan and Goyer wrote a story based on a realistic take on the hero without removing any of the fantastical elements that is characteristic of him.
You will really feel for Henry Cavill in the film. As Kal El and Clark Kent, he was split right at the center of it all, and you will feel alienated and at times frustrated. He is the Man of Steel but he cannot use his power to save the people he loves, less he be more alienated. In time he found out his true strength, his humanity. In the film, he needs to take a lot of hard step, a lot of difficult choices, and this was supported by scenes when General Zod asks him to help build a new Krypton, until their final confrontation. As Crowe’s Jor-El would put it, he (Kal) needs to learn how to be human first before he could understand everything and be the force for good that he is destined to be.
Clearly no other villain would enable Kal El (not called Superman yet in the film) to fulfill his destiny other than General Zod and Michael Shannon (Premium Rush) fits the bill to a T. He is not a merciless Zod, an awfully demeaning demi-god who only wants to conquer (kneel before Zod!, remember?) but he believes he is acting for a greater good, a higher cause. You can see the Nolan-esque similarity between this theme and with his Batman Begins. To best illustrate the concept of fear, Nolan used the villains Ra’s Al Ghul and Scarecrow. Zod’s presence on earth tries to further alienate Clark from his adopted world. Zod acted because he believed in his cause, similar to what Ra’s had done. This is perfect pitch for character development between the two main characters of the film..
Action
This is by far, the most-action packed DC comic book adaptation to date; fast-paced, sequential and powerfully moving. This is also one of the main concerns of the film. According to fans and critics, there were too many destructions, sequences simply befuddle people and the use of the CGI was incoherent. Some even tried to do a body count. Superman’s S stands for hope and yet he let a lot of people die.
Again if one is following the theme of the story, then the action done is relevant. Superman’s strength’s is his humanity, and one ability he learned is to focus, another is that he had choice. Indeed he would have chosen to save a lot of lives if he can, but he took a much better and in my opinion, more realistic approach to it, by attacking Zod and his ships. He knew he couldn’t save everyone in Metropolis or in Smallville, given how powerful his nemesis were. So he had to choose to destroy their ships instead and possibly save a larger part of the population. He has to make difficult decisions, like all of us. There were simply too many of them but he is Superman and he overcame them all.
Inspite of this, he still feels alienated. The General doesn’t like him, which is why he sends a $12 million drone that Kal destroys anyway. He doesn’t know if the people of Earth would trust him. All he knows is that it was his choice to help them.
The action further indicates that Superman is not that invincible, and that he makes mistakes. It is a very humanly characteristic.
Measure of Success
While a lot feel that this MOS has successfully re-established the character as one of the top comic book heroes, a lot feel that this film is a critical failure if only their basis is the comparison of the box office results.
Is this really a measure of success of a comic book movie? I do not really succumb to this idea.
Sure, it did not rake in a billion dollars, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t successful. If at all, the film is a breakthrough for the studio, successfully rebooting the character they have portrayed on the screen 35 years ago and it numerous castings. Henry Cavill is now the definitive Superman and his film signifies the start of the much awaited hero ensemble “Justice League”. Still, if one wants to compare box office figures, one must compare the figures the film acquired with that of other super hero reboots (Amazing Spiderman, Batman Begins, The Incredible Hulk) and not with films that have an already established audience. And if it didn’t fare well, would that matter now, now that the DC Cinematic Universe has started. Fair enough?
The excitement for possibilities remain high from the film. Expectations are going to be higher and talks of a World’s Finest film is hot. Yet if there is one thing proven in the film, is that the measure of success of a franchise is in being SOLID in its theme and that everything else should follow. And without a doubt, the Man of Steel is a force that ROCKS!