I've written about my concerns coming into this movie before. I very badly wanted to love everything about it, but a number of things were bothering me. Having now seen the movie, I'm ready to give my take on it.
I expected a long, drawn out intro with Krypton. I was actually dreading this part, despite liking Russell Crowe. I was pleasantly surprised and quite happy to see that this part of the movie was only about 20 minutes or so.
Then we meet Clark. Dark. Mysterious. Brooding. Exactly what I expected. I didn't find him charming or really that interesting. He definitely looks the part though. Since so many people were talking about how perfect Cavill is, I tried to convince myself that I would really like him in the role...
After some interesting parts, like Clark humbling himself and being lonely, we get to see what Lois is all about. I was literally shocked at how poor the dialogue was. There were uncomfortable scenes between them that were mind boggling. I actually wish Lois could have been left out of this film. What was she even doing there? I don't personally think she served any real purpose. Their attraction felt forced and completely unnatural. Actors can be great, but without dialogue... they have nothing to work with.
Then came the "death of Pa Kent". Once this scene hit, I felt myself lose all emotional attachment to the film. Which honestly is just as well, since it then becomes very long glorified fight scene in which gazillions of people are killed. I got the feeling this film was made just to show how much of an action warrior Superman can be. Unfortunately, they forgot to give him a soul. We got no action in the previous film, so this film made up for it in spades and spades and spades...
What I love about the Donner films is that I cared about Clark. I was interested in him. He may have been a dufus, but the act was so powerful. In this movie, they did away with the act. Superman was just a boring, lifeless idiot fumbling his way through each battle until the end. I never felt myself connecting to him once. Even when he started flying, I was greatly unimpressed. It looked great, but it lacked meaning. It was just flashing filmwork.
I'm going to skip now. The rest of the film was really just a bunch of battle scenes and scenes leading into battle scenes. I felt like all we were doing was waiting for the next big fight.
The end... What do I say about the end of the film? I was already lost by the time we got to it. Sure, the action was incredible. There were parts I really liked, but then I would remember that this is a "Superman" film and I felt betrayed. I expected Superman to kill Zod. After all, this is a new and modern Superman. He kills people and he screams a lot. And he did kill Zod and then he screamed.
The film is a visual masterpiece. Spectacular and glorious. As I read from others, it really does lack a soul. There was so much riding on this film for me. And honestly, I think it failed.
Just my opinion here folks. Rumor is that I'm allowed to have one. I know people will be upset about this review, but I'm just expressing my incredible disappointment. I wish I could have loved this film. Instead, I walked away feeling the same way I felt when I saw Batman Begins. I wondered what happened to the hero I grew up with and I wondered if I would ever see him again.
Way to go DC. You turned me off of your comics with the New 52. You almost lost me with the Dark Knight trilogy. I think you just lost me with Man of Steel. I see where you're going. Grow with the times and all that. Maybe at 35 years old, I'm completely outdated. JLA? Aquaman? Flash? Wonder Woman? Good luck. I see the direction the company is going. It's too bad the past had to be completely left behind. I saw the Man of Steel. I didn't see Superman.
I'll mention Marvel for a moment. They are embracing and flaunting the characters. They brought to the screen characters who very closely resemble their comic book counterparts. I wish DC could have brought back the characters they made famous before the New 52.
I really wanted to like Man of Steel, despite my hesitations. Too bad I didn't.