'Man of Steel' review by Captain Raptor

'Man of Steel' review by Captain Raptor

Okay, cards fully on the table: I loathe Superman. As a concept, as a character and as a franchise I have always found it to be boring, tiresome and idiotic. Where's the joy in watching the man who can do everything? It took the triple threat of Zack Snyder (director of Watchmen and 300), Christopher Nolan (director of The Dark Knight and Inception, seen here on production duty) and Russell Crowe (the god that walks among us) to motivate me to see this movie, and even then I was sceptical going in. Right up until I saw the first scene.

The opening ten minutes of Man of Steel is one of the most astounding scenes I've seen this year. Russell Crowe, in all his bearded glory, runs around a beautifully animated Krypton (the finest looking and best used CGI since Avatar) as their society begins to crumble. It's near perfect in terms of visuals and really hooks the audience in from the start. The problem is that it's really too good - when your opening sequence features Russell Crowe riding a dragon through an exploding spaceship, where do you go from there? The brilliance of the beginning sets a standard that the rest of the film can't come close to equaling. Not that Man of Steel is bad - I've kinda-sorta changed my mind on the Superman front - because the masterful fingerprints of Christopher Nolan can be felt all over this film. It's a remake that attempts to shine in its own right rather than pay homage to the original, much like his Dark Knight trilogy, so there are no references or nods to the films of Richard Donner. Perhaps it's due to the compromise between Nolan and Snyder's individual styles, but at times Man of Steel feels indecisive and becomes somewhat overly restrained as a result- is it attempting to be a dark and moody re-imagining of the Superman mythos or an over-the-top, action-packed spectacle? The styles don't merge as well here as they have in Nolan's past, but neither can we feel Snyder's wizardry and control over the fight sequences to the full extent that was evident in 300 or Sucker Punch. 

The action sequences are a mixed bag. The first time you see Superman barrel into his opponent at a million miles an hour and send them flying across the landscape it's entertaining, but he doesn't seem to have any another fighting moves. The finale sees General Zod attempting to level the city of Metropolis, and the level of destruction is so unbelievably high that it makes what New York went through in The Avengers look like a walk in the park. Whether or not this is overwhelming to the point of being indistinct or simply breathtakingly awesome is a tough call. Speaking of Zod, Michael Shannon has been getting quite a lot of praise for his performance in this film, which while I don't feel it's necessarily undeserved it does confuse me as to while they single out him in particular. Everybody's performances are on an equal level of perfectly believable but nothing special, from relative newcomer Henry Cavill to screen icon Costner (I loved Russell Crowe's subtle and grounded performance, but I highly suspect that this is due to my own hero-worship). Nor is there fantastic characterization, and at times the dialogue is downright awful ("There are two ways this ends - either you die, or I do" was such a bland and self-evident thing to say that I almost burst out laughing), reminding me partially of The Great Gatsby - an visually appealing but fairly emotionless experience, although this works out considerably better for an action film like Man of Steel. It should be celebrated, however, that this incarnation of Superman is a lot more relatable and sympathetic than the Last Son of Krypton has been in the past. Cavill's Superman is decidedly less super, who seems to have limits to his power and his fear of rejection by humanity makes him a much more endearing character.

Man of Steel probably won't live long in my memory. I doubt people will be wearing quotes from the film on t-shirts anytime soon, or praising the excellent performance of any actor. However, the film provides some truly jaw-dropping moments of spectacle, and I would recommend seeing it if only for the fantastic opening. A fully confident and enjoyable superhero movie, and the first time that Superman as a character has been of any interest to me, Man of Steel certainly deserves praise and is worth watching, but let's just say that I'm not waiting for the sequel with bated breath.