A New Superman for a New Generation

Rating: 8/10 (22 February 2014)

And so I come to the final film in the series of movies that caused the most strife in 2013, what I have dubbed the Year of Fanboy Rage. Three of the most anticipated movies of the year also caused the most Internet rampaging following their releases: STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (which I liked), IRON MAN 3 (which I really liked), and MAN OF STEEL. You see the pattern I'm establishing here? Yes, I liked this movie too. It's got a decent story, a nice update to the hero, and an excellent villain, and I was thoroughly entertained. MAN OF STEEL is the latest in a long lineage of Superman films that spans more than thirty years so there was a lot of hope and some high expectations for many people going in. From Zack Snyder (the director of 300 and WATCHMEN) and screenwriter David Goyer (the BLADE films and Nolan's BATMAN series) have brought us a new image of the legendary Kryptonian that seems to fit with today's more cynical sensibilities. A total reboot of the film series, the movie begins with Jor-El launching his son Kal from the doomed planet of Krypton while simultaneously ending an attempted coup from General Zod. Zod is captured and sent to the Phantom Zone, Krypton implodes, and Kal-El arrives on Earth. Flash forward thirty-three years, Kal-El (now Clark Kent) travels the world going from job to job on his never-ending search for clues to his past. Just as he discovers the truth behind his heritage, General Zod, now free from the Phantom Zone, arrives at Earth with his evil Kryptonian entourage and the desire for vengeance.
This is not the Superman of previous film incarnations. In hopes of recreating the billion dollar ticket sales of Christopher Nolan's BATMAN series, this Superman is dark and brooding. Clark Kent is no longer a bumbling goof; he's a chiseled statue of a man who wanders from job to job in quiet contemplation, helping those in need before disappearing again. He's got a quiet charm, a strong sense of personal honor, and a desire to be the best man he can instilled by his human adoptive father, Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner, a nice treat). A massive tonal shift compared to all the previous films where Superman was the icon of "truth, justice, and the American way" with a wink and a smile. The same can be said of the new Lois Lane (Amy Adams). She couldn't be farther from Margot Kidder's portrayal. The new Lois is tough as nails without any of the manic energy. This is par for the course for MAN OF STEEL. It has none of the light-hearted humor we anticipate with these films, instead opting to take itself seriously. Which is fine, if a little jarring at first. It's interesting to see a serious take on the Superman mythos. In the original films, the world just sort of accepts Superman's presence without much of a response. Alien superhero who can fly and perform amazing superhuman feats? Oh, OK. In the new movie, it tries to give it a more realistic foundation. When evidence of super-powered aliens goes public, the government goes nuts and grabs the biggest guns it can find. Superman's first appearance before the world is proving he can be trusted, and General Zod gives him the opportunity to do just that.
Zod (Michael Shannon) is the best part of this film. He is one intense dude and, even better, he's three-dimensional. Zod in SUPERMAN II was nothing more than a menacing face with superpowers. He wanted to dominate Earth for no other reason than his evil nature. In MAN OF STEEL, he is fulfilling his destiny. The Kryptons in the movie had adopted a form of population control in which children were genetically created and bred to fill a role in their society (which happened to be one of Jor-El's biggest complaints, as it eliminated free will). When Zod arrives at Earth, he has vengeance in mind, sure, but he's also continuing on his predestined path as a warrior and protector of Kryptonian society. He intends on recreating Earth in Kryton's image and using an item called the "codex" to begin repopulating the planet with his people. It just so happens that Jor-El sent the codex to Earth with Kal-El, so it provides even more reason for Zod to take out his El-related frustrations. He's a man with a purpose and he truly believes that eliminating the human life on the planet is in his people's best interest. Now that's an interest character.
There seem to be three major complaints with MAN OF STEEL. The first is a spoiler from the end of the film. I'm not going to detail it here but you can find plenty of complaints about it scattered around the web. All I'm going to say is I support the movie's decision, I think it was done well, and I know what their intention in doing it was. I'm cool with it. The second is the fact that the movie contains some of the most blatant product placement I've ever seen in a film. IHOP, 7-Eleven, Sears, etc. Boom! Right there in your face. It was a little distracting. And finally, the violence. There is a lot of action in this film. More than all of the other Superman films combined. Not just simple hand-to-hand combat, we're talking epic level destruction. Metropolis and Smallville are left in near total ruin following the events of the film. This is what happens when super-powered individuals get into a scuffle, especially since one of them is new to the game and has never been in a fight. He doesn't have total control. He's just swinging wild and mean and hopes he wins. People would complain because Superman movies never had killer action scenes, because what sort of fight is Gene Hackman gonna put up. Well, here we go. Enough to cover all six movies. I dig it.