Man of Steel

This is going to be divisive. I was really excited for Man of Steel. I remember when Henry Cavill's name was being bandied about for the last film, and I thought then that he would make a great Superman. I liked him in The Count of Monte Cristo, which was about all he had done at the time. Look at him, though. He's a perfect specimen, who did a great job with what he was given. But what the crap was that? I think it might have been about twenty pages of dialogue (if you know how movie scripts are formatted, it might be about fifty), and a hundred-fifty pages of flying/fighting/explosions. 

I wanted to like Zach Snyder's Watchmen movie, too, but I had many of the same feelings then as I did with Man of Steel. I wonder if Snyder knows that not every moment in an epic is epic - not every single beat needs to be imbued with self-importance. Man of Steel has a hard line to walk, for sure. It doesn't want to be Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (which I quite enjoyed as a series), or Smallville (about Clark's adolescence and teenage drama), or Superman Returns (I knew not to waste my time on that one), but it never captures the magic of 1978's classic Superman that introduced us to Christopher Reeve as our nation's favorite hero. Not even with Kevin Costner surrounded again by his Field of Dreams cornstalks. 

None of which is to say that the film is without merit. On the contrary, some of the choices were well-made, and the performances were good. How fascinating, that the infamous "S" is not a letter but a symbol, for hope. Things we learn from Jor-El. Russell Crowe is much more comfortable than the last time we saw him onscreen (coughLesMiserablescough), that's for sure. His Jor-El figures more prominently in the story than I'd have imagined, becomes more of a father figure than one might have expected for Kal-El/Clark. As the other father figure, Costner is great as Jonathan Kent. With Diane Lane for Martha, they're apple pie and lemonade, American midwest personified, loving and affectionate parents for a child whose senses are out of this world (har har). 

Before I go further, I should say that I fully and readily admit that I have not read the comics. I do not know exactly what deviations have been made from the canon, but boy do I have some questions I would like to pose to someone who does. Man of Steel poses that Jonathan Kent's demise is an early, formative event for Clark - does he lose his father so soon? Man of Steel also poses that Lois uncovers Clark's secret far earlier than she traditionally has. This may be logical, and an extension of the progress of feminism and a rejection of the idea that an intelligent lady reporter couldn't figure out where the bloke in the cape came from. Not that it seems terribly difficult for her, either. Arctic terrain? No biggie. Lied about his work history and references? Amateur. It's not even supposed to be questioned, or a plot point - she just finds him. Adams's daintiness is a physical complement to Cavill's chiseled physique, but I'm not quite sure I buy her as a reporter apt to get into trouble. But who was our last Lois? Kate Bosworth? Maybe it means I've watched too much television, but Terri Hatcher struck me as a great Lois Lane. Where's the girl with gumption? 

There's no doubt that director Snyder has a taste for visuals and a knack for action scenes, but I do wish someone had done something to rein in that script. Early trailers made it clear that this would be about Superman's past, about growing up to become Superman, but there's so much material here that any pronounced themes are obscured by whatever was going on with the film's timeline. At times, it feels like a stream-of-consciousness thing, free-association, with video. The shadings of light and dark that were promised by the morality questions raised, even in the film's trailer, are all awash. Nothing struck me quite so much as when a young Clark asks his father if he was to let his classmate die, and Jonathan says, "Maybe." What? But Clark's struggle is never about right or wrong, it's unfailingly about identity and self-discovery, and blah blah blah. Don't even get me started on the way things end for our villain. Michael Shannon plays General Zod, and I remember hearing six or seven years ago when he was in The Pillowman that he was very good. Unfortunately, his big threat to "harvest the Codex from [Kal-El's] corpse" and whatever, was totally eclipsed by Khan's "I will walk over your cold corpses to recover my people" in Star Trek Into Darkness. Seen it!

Ah, now there's a movie that knows how to blend action, plot, humor, battle, and sexy, sexy actors into a damn good time. Excuse me, while I go see Star Trek again.


Notes:
- The spaceships are phallic or floral, or they look like Nero's ship from Abrams's 2009 Star Trek. And yet Jor-El rides a dragon? What?
- This Reddit post, or this fact: both of this Superman's fathers (Crowe and Costner) have played Robin Hood.
- Metropolis is a real place, but it's not in Kansas. There is a Superman statue in Metropolis, Illinois, a Supermuseum, and The Weekly Planet. 
- I just read that Stana Katic voiced Lois Lane in a recent animated Superman feature (Superman: Unbound). Anyone who watches Castle will agree: that's brilliant casting. Although it would be tough if not impossible to find a Superman better looking than she. Matt Bomer voiced the hero opposite Katic. He's also been up for the live-action role more than once. 
- Who doesn't love Christopher Meloni?