Man of Steel

Superhero movies have taken on an interesting dynamic in the past few years. Before that, superheros just had to be heros. They were intentionally larger-than-life and not held by realistic bounds. But I think after we survived Y2K we woke up to reality like only a near-death experience can make us do. Our heros suffered this same attack of realism, from The Incredible family to the Dark Knight.

There isn't anything wrong with this, necessarily. I think it helped a cynical Millennial generation stomach escapist cinema without killing off our heritage of heros. But I also think it threw us into a corner. Now, if a hero can't stand up in our skeptical world he can't make it. That is why I'm glad that Man of Steel came along. It has all the great things about classic superhero movies while maintaining enough realism to have a shot in the new cinematic landscape.

The movie chronicles Clark Kent's (Cavill) road to becoming "Superman", and his clash with zealous former Krypton military leader General Zod (Shannon). I guess you could typecast it as an "origin story", but I really hate that term. And it doesn't play out like the typical first offering in a hopeful new franchise. The movie follows a more emotional story arc than a chronological one, and is essentially self-contained.

What struck me was the near-perfect marriage of David S. Goyer's (who helped write the Dark Knight movies) script with director Zach Snyder's visual prowess (he's done stuff like Watchmen and 300). It is very strong and cohesive throughout. Snyder is known for the visual brilliance of his movies, but he is also known for getting away from himself by the end. Happily, this movie is both incredible to look at and is backed up with sufficient story muscles to carry it's nearly 3-hour-long self through the finish. There are all kinds of "wow" moments that remind us why we go to a theatre to see a movie instead of squinting at it on a cell phone screen. This movie needs to be seen big.

Some of the story meat included some surprisingly Christian motifs: surprising not in that no one has ever compared the two before, but that the filmmakers sought to do it today. Whether or not you are religious, it adds important depth to the story that couldn't have been found in another way. The movie is also surprisingly funny, which I appreciated. I'm glad we have a hero who can make a joke or two. It reminds us that we aren't watching a biography, that we are escaping into movieland on a hot afternoon on purpose. 

Notwithstanding all the visual greatness, I did feel that by the time the climax rolled around we had seen just about all the destruction of Metropolis that we needed to, so it didn't feel quite as powerful as it could have. I guess a case of going big for show instead of taking a gutsier road the end, but what are you going to do? Also, I will here register an official complaint: I'm tired of Hans Zimmer. His horns are simply overwhelming the ENTIRE TIME. What happened to melodic film scores? Try humming the theme from this Superman and you'll see what I mean.

Score complaints notwithstanding I think that Man of Steel is really a strong showing for blockbuster summer fare. While serious enough to merit our attention, it reminds us that superheros have license to be super, and that sometimes we need that. 

Man of Steel stars Henry Cavill, Michael Shannon, Amy Adams, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane and Russel Crowe, and is rated PG-13 for Kryptonians fighting each other and the mayhem caused in their wake.