Can Superman Even Work This Way?

Rating: 5/10 (19 August 2013)

With Christopher Nolan's involvement as a producer for this film, we are given the dark and brooding Superman movie that I'm not sure anyone asked for. After the colossal failure of "Superman Returns," a reboot was inevitable and a new angle needed to take place. Now we get the dark and realistic Superman, which I have no problem with one doing, but the foundation for this film is completely unstable. Before I get into the meat of this review, I'll talk about what I liked. The visual effects are great. There are tiny glimmers of potential greatness (this might actually be a flaw later on), and while the action is mind-numbing, insane, and overlong, there is a part of me that enjoys watching the extreme lengths a movie will go. It's when a movie just says, "F-ck it" and goes all the way. Though, you'll need the right sense of humor, otherwise you'll probably die watching this. Now, that's all the good stuff. I know, not a whole lot. The flaws of this film come with the editing, cinematography, pacing, character development, and the acting. The editing and pacing show us Clark Kent's life completely out of order. It jumps all around his life. He's a fisherman, then he's a kid, then he's a bum, etc. You're never going to be able to relate to this guy because the editing and pacing is so poor and doesn't satisfy a smooth transition into this type of Superman film. From what I heard, director Zack Snyder was trying to make Superman relatable by making him consistent with our world, thus the removal of the red underwear. Maybe Snyder should have actually focused on ordering this cluttered mess so we the audience can experience some character progression. The cinematography is shaky for the purposes of achieving grit, but it's also shaky when two people are having a simple conversation, and it's made worse since the conversations are conceived of mostly close-ups. Okay, major problems. There is no character development. Lois Lane isn't like Lois Lane at all and is completely bland. The Daily Planet characters are barely even mentioned, yet we're supposed to care about them later. The military characters are all typical. Superman himself is pretty dreary and distant. The only character I actually got was Zod. He's the only one with any real goal or conviction. Superman's goals were really just a self-fulfilling prophecy. Superman is sent to Earth and then Jor-El tells him that he must save the people of Earth. But they wouldn't need saving if Superman never went there in the first place. Instead of the film having Clark Kent integrate within society, they elevate him above everyone as of he were Jesus or something. There's a really funny church scene in this movie where Clark Kent is in profile with an image of Jesus on a stain-glass window. It's like amateurs made this film. Now, what about the acting? Henry Cavill had moments of charm, and he tries his best, but the script is just poorly written. He has nothing to work with. Amy Adams, Kevin Costner, Russell Crowe, and whoever else were all bland because their characters were just inserts who served a single, mechanical purpose to the film's requirements. Such as: love interest, emotional support, and exposition (and lots of it). Michael Shannon is a great actor and a personal favorite, and he also tries his best here, but again, the script is fatal, and he hasn't a lot to work with. The film attempts drama with Costner and kid Clark, but it's just redundant and boring. Costner says the same thing throughout the entire movie. The worst part is that there were glimmers of potential in this film, and you should know that I hate wasted potential. The film is just too heavy and extreme. It has so much weight to it but zero substance. It's a heavy hollow shell of a film that falls flat on its face trying to mimic the Dark Knight formula. The reason for this is because Superman is an ideal and a concept. He's heroic and uplifting. This is what made him such a great contrast to Batman whenever they teamed up, but now, he's just like Batman. 5/10.