Man Of Steel Review

The Plot:

Realising that the planet Krypton is doomed to imminent destruction its foremost scientist sends his new-born son Kal-El to the distant planet of Earth, hoping to safeguard the future of both worlds. With the help of his adoptive earth parents Kal must learn to deal with his extraordinary powers whilst living in hiding from mankind. However, when an evil force from Krypton led by General Zod tracks him down, Kal must finally embrace his destiny as earth’s greatest hero.

The Good:

After the widespread disappointment in Bryan Singer’s 2006 effort Superman Returns, Man Of Steel wisely makes the choice to reboot the franchise entirely and disregard all of Superman’s previous big screen adventures. Rather than seeking to ill-advisedly continue the legacy of Richard Donnor’s iconic movie franchise, Man of Steel instead offers an expanded and modernized re-telling of Superman’s all too familiar origin story.

Superman films have always been credited with pushing the boundaries of special effects and imagination. Famously the tagline for Superman The Movie boasted “You’ll believe a man can fly!”, Man Of Steel surpasses that now humble achievement with ease. The film arguably makes costume clad alien superheroes more visually convincing than ever before.

Opening the film on the dying planet Krypton, complete with dragons, apocalyptic volcanoes and spaceships locked in civil war; is an epic statement of intent. So often ignored as a barely mentioned footnote in Superman’s origin tale, it’s a surprise to see this exotic world explored quite so fully. It adds a new element of intergalactic fantasy to Superman’s subsequent earthbound adventures.

Beyond all its lavish CGI magic, the film has a significantly handsome asset in the shape of new leading man Henry Cavill. The towering British actor is immediately more rugged and rough edged than past men of steel like Christopher Reeve and Brandon Routh, replacing their perfect mannequin features with some actual stubble and sweat. Squeezed proudly into the traditional skin-tight red and blue suit he actually looks more appropriately god-like and a less like a camp comicbook cliché.

Surly Boardwalk Empire star Michael Shannon also does a fine job of scowling his way through his performance as power mad Kryptonian General Zod. Demonstrating a typically vicious intensity, Shannon avoids the obvious temptation to ham things up too much as a cartoonish cliché. He’s a ruthless soldier with a mission, rather than merely a genocidal lunatic with a god-complex.

The Bad:

Director Zack Snyder is consistently praised for his visual flair but often accused of lacking emotional substance beneath his trademark CGI style. Although Man Of Steel successfully reimagines the look of this timeless superhero franchise, perhaps predictably it isn’t nearly as effective in injecting convincing depth and emotion.

After a promising start, Man Of Steel soon overly complicates itself with persistent flashbacks. Jumping back and forth randomly between Clark Kent as a gloomy drifter and his formative Kansas childhood. It’s a heavy handed and unnecessary attempt to distract audiences from how overly familiar they might be with this classic origin story. However, simply showing things out of sequence can’t disguise how little of Superman’s core mythology has really changed with this fresh ‘imagining’.

Superman has two innate flaws as a character, his physical invincibility and his dispassionate lack of human emotion. He’s entirely invulnerable from harm and rarely if ever displays any emotion other than benign confidence. Both traits make it hard for audiences to emotionally invest in him. Despite an annoyingly persistent use of childhood flashbacks, the film still largely fails to humanize this god like hero.

Although the action sequences in Man of Steel are impressively explosive, at times it feels meaningless and repetitive to watch indestructible characters hurling each other through endless rows of buildings and debris. General Zod and his super powered minions may represent a legitimate threat for Superman, but the action moves at such a blurred and dizzyingly fast pace that it’s hard to absorb or enjoy it fully.

Traditionally the romantic tension with feisty reporter Lois Lane has been the one thing to get beneath Superman’s square jawed stoic heroism. Clark Kent’s fumbling attempts to romance Lois, whilst ironically competing with his own hunky alter-ego as Superman, gave him an endearing relatable charm. Sadly after a lengthy build up to their first on screen encounter, there’s very little chemistry between Amy Adams and Henry Cavill. Without that initial spark, their entire relationship feels more functional than plausibly romantic. It’s a tepid plot device, lacking in passion or intimacy.

In a deliberate efforts to defy expectations, Man Of Steel never really gives Henry Cavill any opportunity to play the familiar ‘Clark Kent’ role. Sadly keeping Cavill costume clad and relentlessly serious robs him of his one valuable avenue for both character development and humour. Ironically the very same qualities the film lacks most.

Though it’s understandable why the film choose not to include Superman’s usual flamboyant nemesis Lex Luthor, the reality is that some wickedly witty villainy would have actually been a very welcome contrast to Superman’s bland benevolence.

Avengers proved it’s entirely possible to balance dramatic apocalyptic action with flashes of self-referential humour and well placed one liners. Man Of Steel by contrast, is even more devotedly sullen than executive producer Christopher Nolan’s previous Dark Knight Batman saga. For what should really be a spectacular example of pure escapist fantasy it’s surprising how oddly joyless Man Of Steel often feels.

The Ugly Truth:

Man Of Steel is a successful big screen re-birth for the most enduring and iconic superhero. It’s consistently spectacular enough to break box office records and secure an inevitable sequel. However, in re-imagining the mythology of Superman the franchise arguably loses as much as it gains. Credible seriousness on a grand scale comes at the price of romance and silly fun. Not all fans will be quite as happy with the choices made to ignore or re-imagine key elements of the franchise.

 

Superman: The Movie Review

The Plot:

Christopher Reeve takes on the role of one of DC Comics’ most beloved superheroes in this 1978 origin story. Just before his home planet, Krypton, is destroyed, Jor El saves his newborn son, Kal El, by sending him away to planet Earth. There Kal El is raised as Clarke Kent and thanks to his superhuman powers, soon becomes the saviour of the world fighting for peace, justice, and the American way.

The Good:

From the very beginning it is clear that director Richard Donner wants to stay true to the comic book origins of the Superman story. After its opening sequence of a comic book narration the film moves swiftly on to give what is surely one of the greatest themes in film history. John Williams’ score played over the opening credits will surely set you up for what is truly a remarkable comic book adaptation.

Christopher Reeve’s portrayal as the Kryptonian superhero is pitch perfect with his ability to switch between the vastly different characteristics of both Superman and his alter-ego Clark Kent, offering both a serious role and a bit of comic relief thrown in for good measure as Kent stumbles around the place trying his hardest to look absolutely nothing like the cool, calm and collected Superman.

Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor is just as good as the antagonist with his constant vanity and sheer determination on destroying the world in true villain style. Although it’s nothing like the villains we’re so used to in todays super hero movies it sits neatly in between that of the ultra camp 1960s Batman film and the current era of serious toned, more realistic adaptations.

The set pieces and ground breaking visual effects that aid the film, make Superman an easily rewatchable blockbuster which even nearly 35 years later can still entertain.

The Bad:

Not much can bring this film down really, but one of its few low points is perhaps its lenghty running time. At nearly two and a half hours long, the film could have been easily cut down by about twenty minutes or so. It may even have been possible to make a few additions to the story while still resolving things more quickly. That being said, the storyline is just what was needed to set up the franchise. Nothing too heavy, but not too light, perfectly balanced in between.

The Ugly Truth:

With a stellar cast and brilliant set pieces Superman: The Movie is the perfect way to bring such a classic story to hollywood, especially in the time of release. The years that have passed haven’t lessened the film much if at all, and still proves to be an exciting two and a half hours. From the second you hear the beautiful tune of John Williams’ score accompanied with the majestic opening credits sequence you’ll most definitely be hooked.

Terminator 5 Starts Filming January 2014

Arnold Schwarzenegger has confirmed via TheArnoldFans.com that the next Terminator sequel will begin filming in January 2014, with Arnold as had widely been assumed reprising his role as The Terminator. It remains to be seen whether CGI or just a lot of make-up will be taking responsibility for convincing audiences that this particular unstoppable cyborg isn’t actually 65 years old.

Speaking about the seemingly endless list of sequels on the former Governator’s schedule, Arnie also re-affirmed his commitment for making another Conan movie and revealed that he expects to receive his first script for Twins unlikely sequel Triplets in the next few weeks. Speaking of the Twins sequel that will see Arnie team up with Danny Devito and new ‘brother’ Eddie Murphy, Schwarzenegger added that he thought he was returning to a ‘fantastic character’.

Riding enthusastically high on a tidal wave of sequel news Schwarzenegger also added:

“I feel very proud of that. I feel very happy and I’m looking forward to doing those films”.

300 Rise Of An Empire Trailer

Based on Frank Miller’s latest graphic novel Xerxes, here’s the first official trailer for the eagerly awaited 300 sequel 300 Rise of An Empire. The new film continues the violent historical saga and sees Greek General Themistokles attempting to unite Greece against the invading Persian armies, hoping to turn the tide of the war by taking battle to the stormy seas.

The action adventure stars Sullivan Stapleton as Themistokles and Eva Green as Artemesia the vengeful commander of the Persian navy. Lena Headey reprises her starring role from 300 as the Spartan Queen Gorgo and  Rodrigo Santoro returns as the towering Persian King and self-proclaimed God Xerxes.

The film is directed by Noam Murro based on an adapted  screenplay by Zack Snyder & Kurt Johnstad. Check out the super stylish violence below:

In A World Trailer & Lake Bell Interview

Here’s the first official trailer for Sundance hit In A World… The film is marks the feature writing and directing debut for beautiful actress Lake Bell, who also takes the role. Set in the offbeat world of L.A. voice over artists the film co-stars a host of impressive but lesser known comedy talents such as Ken Marino, Demetri Martin, Tig Notaro, Nick Offerman, Rob Corddry and a self-deprecating cameo from Eva Longaria.

As a bonus here’s not one but two interviews with Lake Bell from this year’s Sundance London Film and Music Festival: