11.17.2013

Movies: Man of Steel

So this is the result of Warner Bros. saying to Chris Nolan, "Do for Superman what you did for Batman." (Nolan is credited with the story and also as a producer.)

But then they let Zack Snyder direct it.

Look, I get the desire to go with a gritty, "realistic" (if there is such a thing) angle on Superman. But while Batman is a human, Superman is an alien. So you can't really expect to be too down-to-earth with his story. And then, by choosing the General Zod plot, you've made it all even less real.

Also more boring.

Because, Jesus, this movie was long. Fight after fight after fight, and each of those battle sequences went on forever. I got bored and began fiddling with my iPhone.

And the long sequence at the beginning? With the destruction of Krypton and all that? Bleh.

Man of Steel also jumped around from flashback to present without bothering to give visual cues. You were just sort of expected to figure it out. Which is fine; I'm smart enough for that. But I still found it annoying. And if my son had been watching, he'd definitely have been confused.

Was there anything good about it? Well, though I didn't love Amy Adams as Lois Lane, I think Henry Cavill did a really good job as Clark Kent/Superman. Spot on casting there. Russell Crowe did okay in that I found it easy to believe his character and motivations. And I enjoyed Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, too.

Also, I enjoyed that this movie gave me the chance to test out the Active 3D function on my new telly. So much better than Passive 3D. No headaches here. Very cool.

Other than that, no. Can't say much for Man of Steel. Here's hoping they give Cavill something better to work with next time.

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