Disappointed with Man of Steel (possible spoilers)

I haven't seen it yet, but I'm sorely disappointed this got such lukewarm reviews.

Will report back after watching.

I haven't seen it, and I am not going to see it. I'm just waiting for the Justice League.

I saw the midnight showing last night and had very similar thoughts. Overall it was somewhat entertaining and worth watching once, but that's the only good thing I can say about it.

I thought the movie started off very strong, beginning with the dramatic scene of Superman's mom giving birth. The portrayal of the highly advanced Kryptonian society, along with its rich array of flora and fauna, was excellent, somewhat reminiscent of Avatar. Russell Crowe as Jor-El was superb; he really came across as a distinguished statesman driven by noble principles.

The flashbacks were actually some of my favorite scenes. Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as humble decent Midwestern farmers was both convincing and moving. They also do a good job of showing the audience the roots of Superman's character and why he has been so eager to stay in hiding.

The last 45 minutes of the movie was CGI overkill, rife with mindless destruction and explosions. I love action scenes as much as any red-blooded male, but this was just too much. At several points I had a headache just trying to follow the action as Zod and Superman are flying around everywhere while beating each other to a living pulp. It would have been much better if Zack Snyder toned down those scenes.

The "chemistry" between Superman and Lois Lane was awkward and forced. The scene in which they gratuitously kiss, and Lane says "it only goes downhill after the first kiss" literally made me cringe. I really get annoyed when a movie tries to force 2 people to have chemistry when there is very little to support such a relationships from blossoming. Cavill's acting was mediocre and wooden, but that might have to do more with the script than the actor himself. Amy Adams as Lois Lane was thoroughly unimpressive.

The movie was disappointing, but I did not expect that much to begin with. It comes nowhere close to my list of colossal disappointments (matrix 2 and 3 and star wars episode I, you hear me?). Having said that, it could have been a lot better, and the movie shows Snyder's limits as a director. Generally speaking, I think Hollywood is terribly botching comic hero movies.

I watched it and was dissapointed. Man of steel sucks big steely balls guys, I wrote an article on my blog that explains more in detail every aspect of why it sucks: http://adviceaboutfinance.com/2013/06/18/why-superman-man-of-steel-suck…

I haven't seen it either, but I definitely agree that there should be humor in supper hero movies. Why not have Superman mess around much the same way Spider-Man uses his superpowers. I could see a young Superman experimenting with X-Ray vision much like James Bond does when he gets X-Ray glasses. Isn't this what we would all do?

Not everyone can be a snarky tony stark. I thought the movie was good and actually made me like superman m plus that chick was super bad ass

I'm a heterosexual adult so I don't watch superhero movies.

[Let monkey shit ensue]

Alexander Hamilton:

I haven't seen it either, but I definitely agree that there should be humor in supper hero movies. Why not have Superman mess around much the same way Spider-Man uses his superpowers. I could see a young Superman experimenting with X-Ray vision much like James Bond does when he gets X-Ray glasses. Isn't this what we would all do?

No, because when you have the super powers to make you a God you need incredible moral restraint not to abuse it. That's the WHOLE point of Superman. What's what the movie is trying to convey on multiple occasions.

Xepa:

1) DC superhero movies try to be as realistic as possible. That's why they focus on the alien aspect. The moment you have some cheesy scenarios (ex: Loki chat with Stark at the bar or Black widow interrogation fight) it completely breaks from the purpose of the film.

2) This superman movie wasn't MEANT to be charming like the Reeves version. It's not "you can believe a man could fly." It's "what if aliens were real and how does a dude handle the morality surrounding his godlike powers?"

3) The fighting was a bit much, but after having 5 superman movies with barely any fighting or with Superman being a pussy to Kryptonite, it's good to see him cut loose and go alpha vs. alpha for a movie.

4) If a hot dude saves your life that many times then yah you'd want to smash. Look at WSO posts....

5) The city fight was great. I loved how many people died. So many movies are so cheesy (ahem Avengers) where it looks like no people died in the film. You really felt the visceral shock of "oh crap, so many people are dying" in this film. That's the way Superman would be IF he was real. And i'm sure this will be a theme in the sequel, dealing with collateral damage from all those deaths.

Movie was freaking amazing. Everything I wanted.

Nahhhhh brah lol.

1. That whole point about realism is invalid as we've had only MoS, TDK trilogy, and Green Lantern (wtf? lol) in the past 10 years. You can include Watchmen as well but that's not what most people think of when they say DC Comics. TDK was serious because Batman is a serious dude, and even in those movies they had a bit of comedy. Green Lantern was a joke in its entirety. MoS, on the other hand, was nigh depressing. I finished watching that movie thinking "man, I fucking suck at life. If I had Superman powers I'd take over the world simply to get as much ass as possible before I die."

2. How does a dude handle the morality issues surrounding his godlike powers? Exhibit 1: Thor. Man comes from Asgardia, smashes a coffee cup, that suit of armor his dad forgot to deactivate, and Natalie Portman. Then he goes home. No home to return to, you say? Exhibit 2: Dr. Manhattan from Watchmen. Dude has godlike powers and says, "FUCK IT. Humans are dumb, I'm going to go into space and do some godlike shit."

3. I thought the fighting was good. Still could have been better, but I'm not specifically disappointed here.

4. Yeah she was thirsty from the moment she saw him.

5. I'm not sure I agree with the whole "people dying" thing. I see your angle, but I'm not trying to watch a Japanese or Korean movie (whereupon people usually die like bacteria) when I go to see MoS. The problem with people dying in film is that it gets ridiculous really, really quickly. Hundreds of people dying is a humanitarian tragedy, and is not something that ever gets taken lightly in real life, which detracts from your point about realism. Yes people would die like that in a real Superman vs ugly dude fight, but there would be media coverage on that, and people running in to try and save family, and generally shit that nobody wants to see. Civilians dying offscreen is just as bad as civvies dying on-screen, and it has to mean something when it happens. You can't make thousands or even hundreds of deaths significant in a 2 hour movie, let alone a 30-minute battle. That's why, I think, other superhero movies choose to forgo the thoughts about hundreds of people dying and instead make 1 or 2 significant character sacrifices in the flicks.

I'm a fan of Superman, but I must say that this movie, while not bad, wasn't the "best shit ever."

2.5/4 stars for me.

Xepa:

Alexander Hamilton:

I haven't seen it either, but I definitely agree that there should be humor in supper hero movies. Why not have Superman mess around much the same way Spider-Man uses his superpowers. I could see a young Superman experimenting with X-Ray vision much like James Bond does when he gets X-Ray glasses. Isn't this what we would all do?

No, because when you have the super powers to make you a God you need incredible moral restraint not to abuse it. That's the WHOLE point of Superman. What's what the movie is trying to convey on multiple occasions.

I completely agree on the moral restraint bit. Again, if I had his powers, nobody would be safe. I'd probably set society back by some 200-300 years.

Kassad:

Xepa:

Alexander Hamilton:

I haven't seen it either, but I definitely agree that there should be humor in supper hero movies. Why not have Superman mess around much the same way Spider-Man uses his superpowers. I could see a young Superman experimenting with X-Ray vision much like James Bond does when he gets X-Ray glasses. Isn't this what we would all do?

No, because when you have the super powers to make you a God you need incredible moral restraint not to abuse it. That's the WHOLE point of Superman. What's what the movie is trying to convey on multiple occasions.

I completely agree on the moral restraint bit. Again, if I had his powers, nobody would be safe. I'd probably set society back by some 200-300 years.

I'm not sure about Kent Clark, but last time I checked Peter Parker, Bruce Wayne, and Tony Stark do not have god like moral character unless one is comparing then to Greek gods.

Fight scenes are boring when it's just people tackling each other from one building to another. Best part of the movie was the first 10 minutes with Russell Crowe.

Alexander Hamilton:

Kassad:

Xepa:

Alexander Hamilton:

I haven't seen it either, but I definitely agree that there should be humor in supper hero movies. Why not have Superman mess around much the same way Spider-Man uses his superpowers. I could see a young Superman experimenting with X-Ray vision much like James Bond does when he gets X-Ray glasses. Isn't this what we would all do?

No, because when you have the super powers to make you a God you need incredible moral restraint not to abuse it. That's the WHOLE point of Superman. What's what the movie is trying to convey on multiple occasions.

I completely agree on the moral restraint bit. Again, if I had his powers, nobody would be safe. I'd probably set society back by some 200-300 years.

I'm not sure about Kent Clark, but last time I checked Peter Parker, Bruce Wayne, and Tony Stark do not have god like moral character unless one is comparing then to Greek gods.

That's right, but they don't have the same powers as the MoS, either. While they're off thinking of those cool ways to abuse their powers, Superman has to consider the fact that he could destroy the world if he just had a bad mushroom trip...

Superman is the superhero of restraint, isn't he? Isn't it widely known that he holds back a lot of times when he's fighting someone?

In this film, I thought he was still not a full-fledged hero yet; he messed up quite a few times, got his ass handed to him, etc.

I think in the sequel, we'll see a lot more restraint/no killing from him.

DCDepository:

I'm a heterosexual adult so I don't watch superhero movies.

[Let monkey shit ensue]

Xepa:

1) DC superhero movies try to be as realistic as possible. That's why they focus on the alien aspect. The moment you have some cheesy scenarios (ex: Loki chat with Stark at the bar or Black widow interrogation fight) it completely breaks from the purpose of the film.

2) This superman movie wasn't MEANT to be charming like the Reeves version. It's not "you can believe a man could fly." It's "what if aliens were real and how does a dude handle the morality surrounding his godlike powers?"

3) The fighting was a bit much, but after having 5 superman movies with barely any fighting or with Superman being a pussy to Kryptonite, it's good to see him cut loose and go alpha vs. alpha for a movie.

4) If a hot dude saves your life that many times then yah you'd want to smash. Look at WSO posts....

5) The city fight was great. I loved how many people died. So many movies are so cheesy (ahem Avengers) where it looks like no people died in the film. You really felt the visceral shock of "oh crap, so many people are dying" in this film. That's the way Superman would be IF he was real. And i'm sure this will be a theme in the sequel, dealing with collateral damage from all those deaths.

Movie was freaking amazing. Everything I wanted.

Agree with all this. Thought the second act that chronicled Clark Kent's childhood with flashbacks in non-linear fashion was quite good, guessing this is where Nolan was most involved, and the sci-fi elements throughout the film were sweet. Also loved Amy Adams (no surprise there). All in all thought it was decent.

Kassad:

I see your angle, but I'm not trying to watch a Japanese or Korean movie (whereupon people usually die like bacteria)

LOL. Side note, I'm pretty much stopping watching foreign films in general. The other day I went to go see a european film and walked out a third of the way through.