Here's an interesting article on the morality of the new character of Superman.

I was pretty disapointed. Absolutely not the masterpiece I wanted it to be. There are some fantastic moments in this, it's pretty to look at and I was never bored, but emotionally it fell flat for me. Cavill was terrible, IMO. He 'looked' like Superman but he didn't 'felt' like Superman. I was pretty tired while watching it and even fell asleep a few seconds during the finale so I have hopes I will like it more after a second viewing.

Yeah, that is one of the themes that just goes nowhere. One gets the sense that it was supposed to be represented in the 'military comes to trust superman' but it's non existent.

Would have made more sense if they showed Superman, idk, truly afraid ?

I think it's a different kind of hope that we're not used to, and I think it's the central theme of the entire film.

Tell us more...

Man of Steel

I've just got back from my 23:15 showing. It's now 2am. I really liked it. I was engrossed throughout.

The tone, atmosphere and scope of the film are perfect. The creative decision to create Krypton and with these rules and that premise was really interesting, and I could have watched an entire movie about that. What followed, with flashbacks included, was also, in my opinion, spectacular. This is the way to make a superhero movie. Serious, with care, with layer upon layer of self-importance (each one adding to the greatness of the finale), and with true style, better than anything I'd seen in any other superhero movie; they're all fluff compared to Man of Steel, an epic and engaging blockbuster, which is a rare thing.

Henry Cavill was perfect as Superman and Clark Kent (presented in a different light, of course), which is baffling as his acting was awful in that Bruce Willis/Sigourney Weaver debacle, The Cold Light of Day. It'll be interesting how Cavill fits into the role of Kent as a reporter. Here's hoping they don't make the sequel like a complete fucking joke after working so hard to ground Kent/Superman in this one. I loved the way that Lois Lane was incorporated into the story. Although I was a bit miffed in the cinema about the sudden change of locale and ease by which characters appeared in different places with not even a slow fade to respresent that time had passed, well I actually think I liked that aspect now! It moved the film along at a nice pace and focused my attention on what mattered.

Russell Crowe was fucking great, as was the underused Kevin Costner. I wanted to see more of Costner. One of his scenes had me almost a little watery in the eyes, just a great mix of music and emotion. Amy Adams was fine. People that say the chemistry with Superman was forced are crazy. There was no force put into those scenes at all. It's played out, and you just make of it what you will - personally I thought the Lois/Superman scenes were fine. Now, the effects were great, there's no denying that. We were spoiled here. Let's be honest. Zod was a great villain, but I fail to see how that can be topped in a sequel now, and in a Justice League movie, why the need for anyone else besides Superman? He's just too awesome.

The score was really something else too. I loved it, and for me, it's what made it the true spectacle. It's like the cherry on the cake. I loved how the action hit hard and fast, and there was no waiting around. It got epic pretty quickly. I liked how they blew up Krypton, and therefore, I guess, that's why there's no Kyptonite in the movie to harm Superman. Good, risky decision. I'm struggling to think of anything bad about the film. That's usually a good sign..

Ah, although, I didn't really like how each villain didn't get their own time to die. Like, I can't remember, apart from Zod, any specific shot of the villain dying. That's what the movie needed; death scenes. Oh, and perhaps the CG destruction and constant punching back and forth got a little tiresome at times. Also, their were slight editing issues. And perhaps they started a bit too epic for a first in the franchise. But these are minute niggles.

A great start. Bring on the sequel..

A-

All of the other aliens were sucked into the black hole. Which actually means they may not be dead. I would love to see Faora come back as muscle for Luthor.

I approve this!

It's the hope for substance.

I will hopefully get to watch it again. The second viewing of a film is so important.

Another reason I liked it is because they didn't spend any time on the origin story, like, him growing up and realising his powers, then learning to fly, then him doing funny stuff with his powers or anything. I was so glad they didn't go the silly Spider-Man route and seeing him look through a woman's dress with his X-ray vision or something. Or to see him making his cape, or something equally as stupid.

They kept it serious and made each Superman characteristic fit into the film with a reason. It was so clear-cut. His suit was given to him by his home race. Done. No arguments about that. He learned to fly when he was an adult, and it took him about 5 minutes to figure it out. His childhood was one of supression, not jokey incidents. It all worked so well.

Your part about the X-ray part is very true. The classroom scene takes the most realistic way of approaching that situation instead of going for the ol' cheap laugh route. I also agree about the whole seriousness of the backstory relating to the film at hand which I also loved. It got everything done that it should have without wasting film time.

Also the score on this film is still fuckin' amazing.

I really liked the score. It was about 90% there. I felt at times that the "Superman theme" needed to be finished off with a climax, and I can't remember at any time that it was. That's what a second viewing is for.

I've seen the film but two questions:

Anything after the credits?
Any indication of who the villan might be in the sequel?

I didn't wait until after the credits. I assumed that was more of a Marvel thing. No indication of who the villain will be in the sequel. I think even Nolan and Goyer haven't decided yet.

My guess is Lex as they had small references to him throughout the film. Which I am all for, as Lex is one of my favorite supervillains, if they go the more serious Justice League route.

I noticed the Lex Group truck that Superman was thrown into, but other than that, I didn't see anything. I hope it's not him as the next villain. He's super boring. I don't mind if he's in the movie, but not as the main villain as there's really nothing he can do to a God like Superman. The enemy, to top Zod, needs to be alien.

I'm rooting for either Darkseid and Luthor or Brainiac and Luthor in the sequel, leaving Doomsday in the thrid film

there

It was 2.30am. Give me a break.

I am just returning the favor

Did I correct one of your mistakes recently?

Honestly, I lose track of all the correcting I do. I'm like a friggin' autocorrect!

Seriously now, did you agree/disagree with any of my review points?

Agreed with some, disagreed with otherts. The usual.

Though as far as I know, Krypton is blown up in any iteration of Superman, so that's not an innovation. It was juist a conscious decision not to introduce Kryptonite in this film, but maybe in the next.

Oh ok, I don't and never have read Superman comics.

C+

Completely average summer popcorn flick.

My biggest complain is how much damage Superman caused, The destruction of NYC in The Avengers seems realistic and nothing compared to this.