Movie Review: Man of Steel
I don’t know why everyone hated the last Superman movie so much, but apparently it was trash and another reboot of the Superman franchise was necessary. For some reason they asked Zack Snyder to direct despite the fact that he’s made five other movies and none of them have been good. He specialized in glitzy, over-the-top violent movies with no heart or charm. You know, exactly what we all love about Superman. Luckily, Man of Steel by far his best movie to date.
Things I liked about this movie – the casting was almost perfect. Henry Cavill, a relative unknown, manages to bring humor and fun to the role. Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner as Superman’s two dads are a lot of fun together. And the dude that played general Zod was pretty scary. The soundtrack was also really good, but I can’t help but miss the old score from the classic Christopher Reeve movies.
I love Christopher Reeve as Superman, but those movies feel overrated to me. Except that I don’t think Amy Adams quite measures up to Margo Kidder’s tough-girl masculinity.
I watched part of Superman II over the weekend. This is the movie that everyone hails as one of the greatest superhero movies ever, and certainly the best Superman movie. I have to say that I prefer Superman I, Superman Returns, and Man of Steel to that movie. Zod is a lot scarier this time around. Plus, this movie has Russell Crowe and Kevin Coster as Superman’s two dads. What more could you ask for?
David Goyer wrote the screenplay, and he also wrote such classics as Kickboxer 2: The Road Back, The Substitute, and Blade – so you know this is going to be a winner going in (to be fair, he’s also written a few good movies as well).
What I didn’t like about this movie was that it was way too long. The fight scenes went on forever and lost their luster. Superman and Zod manage to destroy the entire city of Metropolis during their big battle, and I don’t think the town of Smallville will ever recover from the beating it took at the hand of Faura-Ul. I think Man of Steel II should just be about they trying to rebuild the cities. Or better yet, they just finished rebuilding and the Superman has a bit too much to drink and destroys everything again. That’s a movie I’d pay $9 to see.
Grade: B+