An amazing epic adventure

Rating: 7/10 (19 July 2013)

√Man of Steel (Belated Review) (D. Synder 2013)
Do you think Man of Steel convinced regular audiences (excluding die hard fans) that Superman is cool again, or made them believe he was relevant again? I really felt like this was the key motivating factor in the making of this movie. I was always a Superman fan growing up, but I knew that in the 90's Superman's popularity was waning—it was Batman who reigned supreme for the masses back then. Overall, I'd say Man of Steel did well to support Supes' legacy, but I doubt that by itself it will restore Superman to the level of popularity of yesteryear.
I might be wrong. I can say what surprised me is that in this new take of Superman, they didn't change the essence of the character, he was still the same guy, but less of the "boy scout," if you will (as some people have argued that Superman is too clean cut)
Meanwhile, I liked Man of Steel, almost loved it, well, there are parts of it I loved, even though the movie was far from perfect. Frankly, I wanted it to be even more realistic. Some of the hand- held shots didn't work for the sequences on Krypton. It should have been done in master shots, like in the Kryptonian council. The shaky camera effect was out-of-context for me. Especially when we are supposed to be on another planet where you should have that impression that technology is more advanced, and this otherworld is more civilized. The hand held shots made me conscious that I was watching a movie, whereas I wanted to feel as though I was in the room. I think a more formal approach would have worked better. This for me was reminiscent of The Dark Knight trilogy—somehow the result was not fitting for imitation. Aside from that, the balance of the film's style was quite original. So, back to realism
Using the locations in Smallville added some realism to me for the fight scenes, especially when Superman hit Zod through the 7-11 gas station, but in between that one "realistic" moment in that sequence, the rest is all CGI, which didn't lend to maintaining a sense of continuity for the audience or that "realistic" approach they were going for. That was a minor problem, however, that feeling continues throughout for me—e.g., towards the final battle in Metropolis, and in space with Superman and Zod. Nonetheless, there were solid-looking visual effects in the film, and it is a visually impressive movie.
I would like to see more stunts with the actors next time though. The CGI models did look cartoony in several scenes. The ships flying, explosions, and outer space scenes worked for me, but I care about Superman looking real when he flies, although this too is secondary for me. As a result of the tremendous CGI usage, it made me pretty upset that this film didn't lead up to being as realistic as Nolan's Batman films were.
Apart from the visual effects, the story...it didn't feel like one story to me. I didn't feel like every flashback scene was necessary. One minute, we're on Krypton, then we're off the coast of Canada 33 years later...and in 3 and a half minutes, or so, we are back in the early nineties, then we jump right back to the present, or presumably, it's the present, 2013.
One of my favorite scenes is where we see the bearded Clark experience what it really means to be human...he steals a pair of clothes from a truck. It was just so human, then as the scene builds, and the music "Seasons" (Cornell 2011) is playing, it was just so...here I go, beautiful. It was realistic. The scene is just starting to get interesting, when...the story just rushes to yet another flashback where we see a troubled teenaged Clark being bullied, then rescue all his classmates from the school bus. I didn't mind this scene, but I did wish the film would have stayed a little more focused on advancing one plot, particularly the adult Clark.
I also felt this film needed more development with respect to character origin. Going the traditional route may have been more fitting, but it should go another direction, otherwise it would be considered to be a remake of Superman: The Movie...by contrast, I think the film needed a longer build-up towards Clark becoming Superman. I didn't feel like the build-up to the origin was told as strongly as Batman Begins, which was disappointing. Moreover, I felt the whole movie didn't lead to the quality of drama, story-telling, and action that The Dark Knight Rises had. However, the action in this movie did please many people who complained about Superman Returns not having enough action. I had the same problem. This movie does deliver, yet it's somehow too much.
I felt for Superman's debut to the world, he should first be involved in saving someone or preventing a big disaster, before a major fight sequence or confrontation—a scene I thought should have been saved for the climax.
Overall, I was happy with this film. I've seen it four times now. While it hasn't improved much with each viewing, each were equally as enjoyable. 7.9 of 10 stars.