Man of Steel Review

Turns out the "S" actually does stand for "Superman," not "hope."

Full review by Isaac Handelman

The trailers and TV-spots for Man of Steel made it out to be the Dark Knight of Superman lore. Though the filmmakers were sure to clarify that the film would not embrace the dark, brooding tone of Christopher Nolan’s revered trilogy, we were promised that Man of Steel would treat us to a deeper, more personal look at the internal struggle of Clark Kent on his journey to uncover the truth behind his origin and ultimately become the legendary spandex hero we all know and love. But in reality, Man of Steel does none of that. It tries, mind you, but the film’s attempts at profound exploration of Kent’s psychological state fall rather flat, resulting in what boils down to a fairly by-the-numbers Superman movie. Never before has that been a problem -- the issue here is that, this time around, we the moviegoers were promised something more.

Man of Steel’s biggest stumbling point comes in how it tries to tell its story. After a grand opening, the film immediately takes on a fragmented feel, jumping between characters and into and out of the past almost incessantly, with its intermittent flashbacks to Clark’s childhood failing to resonate. Amidst all the confusion, the screenplay leaves little time for genuine development of its central protagonist, Clark Kent (Henry Cavill), or perhaps it’s more fitting to call him “Kal-El,” as that’s the name given to him by his true, Kryptonian parents. Not long after we’re introduced to adult Clark, the man is already making life-changing discoveries and decisions --  take for instance that somewhat important choice he makes to become Superman. In the trailers, the character’s transformation was made out to be a wrenching emotional and philosophical dilemma for our central protagonist, anchored by his adoptive father’s belief that “the world wasn’t ready” for him. After viewing the finished product, however, I can tell you that the reality is decidedly closer to the “Clark finds a supersuit, learns he can fly and decides to save the world” scenario. 

Those unfamiliar with Superman lore may find themselves lost during some of the early fantastical sections of the film. However, thanks to Man of Steel’s wealth of expositional material, that confusion will surely not last. Unfortunately, almost all of the film’s exposition is delivered in the laziest, most predictable ways possible. Plodding, five-plus minute chunks of Man of Steel are devoted to direct explanation as to what’s going on and what’s already happened. These irritating monologues are usually delivered either via flashback, dream sequence or convenient reappearance of thought-to-be-deceased character.

Henry Cavill looks sleek in the suit, but there's not much else to his character

And there I find myself coming back to that word again -- convenient. I cannot begin to comprehend how many times during Man of Steel’s runtime I was pulled out of the experience entirely as I thought of how painfully convenient every event is within Man of Steel. I’m not just talking about instances of deus ex machina, though the film contains no shortage of these eye-rolling moments. Whenever anything needs to get done or explained in the film -- when any two characters need to meet up or any heavy objects need to be lifted or any environment needs to be reached -- you can bet that some sort of cosmic entity watching over Man of Steel ensures that mysterious forces congregate to get the job done, no matter how laughably implausible the circumstances. Take, for instance, one of the times when Superman must rescue Lois Lane (Amy Adams) out of a freefall. Once the damsel is out of distress, the duo lands safely on the ground again -- right in the front yard of Clark’s adoptive mother!

These quibbles with continuity could be easily remedied if the divergent parts of Man of Steel ultimately came together to form a cohesive and satisfying whole. Sadly, this is not the case either. Despite spending a commendable amount of time attempting to focus on Clark’s emotional journey, his characterization crumbles by the film’s conclusion, with an especially irritating emotional response from Kent at the demise of a thoroughly despicable character when the hero manages to overlook his indirect slaughter of thousands of innocent bystanders by way of the many crumbling buildings and skyscrapers and explosions he leaves in his wake during his numerous earthshaking brawls. Ultimately, though Henry Cavill fits the blue tights just fine, the actor is not given enough material to meld his own version of the iconic superhero a la Christopher Reeve. Instead, he’ll probably end up going down in history in a way reminiscent of Brandon Routh from 2006’s Superman Returns -- that is to say, not at all.

But Man of Steel still serves its purpose as a typical Superman movie, and will satisfy those looking for nothing more out of it. The film is chock full of high-impact, visceral fight sequences, though it never quite captures the exhilaration of flight the hero is so known for. Plenty of moments peppered throughout Man of Steel make Superman a much more threatening, powerful presence than he has been in the past, and one that I was more than happy to root for. It’s difficult not to get caught up in the proceedings as Superman hovers imposingly over a cluster of tanks, or stares General Zod (Michael Shannon) in the eyes right before the final showdown.

Zod's fury when he is sentenced to imprisonment in a space ship off-world from the collapsing Krypton.

And speaking of General Zod, the antagonist actually turns out to be a more interesting character than Superman himself, thanks mostly to a monologue delivered by Shannon towards the end of the film that truly changed the way I looked at the character, giving me new insight into his motivations and a certain level of sympathy for his predicament.

In fact, Zod may be the most interesting character in the entire film, as others such as Lois Lane and Jor-El fail to embody any sort of memorability. Even Russell Crowe’s insurmountable presence ends up working against him, as the mega-star does not have enough material to work with to meld out a distinct character for himself; as a result, he ends up playing Russell Crowe instead of Jor-El.

All of the entertaining moments within Man of Steel are punctuated by a predictably fantastic score by Hans Zimmer, who has become known for the slow swells of The Dark Knight and the booming horns of Inception. This time, the composer has truly outdone himself, with a stellar collection of tracks that get the blood pumping in preparation for the film’s biggest set-piece moments and bits of fan service. And, as usual, you may find it beneficial to sit through the credits -- not for any post-credits teasers as per the Marvel Cinematic Universe (because there are none), but for the simple privilege of listening to Zimmer’s sweeping score for an extended period of time.

But unlike Zimmer’s scores for Inception and The Dark Knight, this one won’t be hummed by fans and replicated by competitors for years, because Man of Steel will not go down in the same prestige as Christopher Nolan’s directorial outings. Even in the hands of Zack Snyder, who’s proven to be capable at melding profound superhero stories with Watchmen, Man of Steel flounders -- not as a Superman movie, but as the complex, finely-tuned and morally challenging vision of the legendary hero Man of Steel was obviously meant to be. The film still as entertaining as any Superman outing, but Man of Steel leaves those hoping for anything more waiting for the next reboot.