Movie Review Repost - Man of Steel (2013)

Hey fellas. So I was pretty busy this week, unable to write much (though next week will be the second half to my James Bond film rankings, I assure you), and I thought since I've just reviewed the Batman Vs. Superman movie, I might as well share my original thoughts on it's predecessor, the Man of Steel movie. Enjoy!

   Another Superman reboot? Sure, why not. Two and a half hours? Oh, come on!

   So the plot not only shows us the demise of Krypton and the origin of Superman, but also General Zod's attempt at rebuilding Krypton on the ruins of a depopulated Earth (he doesn't want to share Earth with the humans because then all the Kryptonians would have to go through ten minutes of mild discomfort; discomfort that even a baby was able to endure). This includes lots of interspliced, non sequitur flashbacks which become rather irritating after intermittently enduring over an hour of them (even if they are rather well done). Seriously, red flags should appear if your superhero's origin story lasts longer than an hour. There's also the pretty much mandatory romance between Lois and Clark. It isn't developed very far (which actually makes sense since given how automatically it started).

   Just like her other-media counterparts, Lois Lane (Amy Adams) is a curious reporter who is often in danger and in need of saving. Pa Kent (Kevin Costner), on the other hand, is a good father who for some reason died to save his dog from a tornado. Dummy. Henry Cavill does a nice job at portraying Superman's human side and the moral dilemmas that he faces. In short, most of the acting is competent enough. 

   The same can't be said for the fight scenes. All of the fight scenes from the film's first hour suffer from that really incomprehensible, choppy editing that a lot of action movies have nowadays. But once Superman starts fighting General Zod and his minions the fights suddenly become much clearer and easier on the eyes. And these fights look amazing thanks to the sophisticated CGI. Admittedly, the final fight between Zod and Superman does last a little too long.

   This is where the movie starts to get really campy. The kind of campiness that comes from unintentionally funny lines, silly-looking fight moves, over-the-top villains, and Wilhelm Screams.

   In short, Man of Steel is an uneven movie that attempts to balance an unoriginal plot and campy goofiness with good acting and intense action. These elements don't mix well. Superhero fans might like it, but general action movie fans might not. It's average. (Note: If you do decide to watch this flick, don't be afraid to see it in 3D. The 3D actually isn't pointless here like it usually is.)

Final rating: two and a half stars out of five.