Evie Totty: “It ruled.”
I know it has a 'Rotten' tag on it over at Rotten Tomatoes (how do you do links?) but I loved it. I've also been accused of liking every movie I see, but that is not the case.
Of course there are problems with the film (like how did the General know the planet's name was Krypton?) but overall I liked it.
It made use of flashbacks to explore Clark's childhood more (it's amazing how they made him look like Tom Welling in some scenes) and expanded upon the Krypton part of the story. It made Krypton out to be a Brave New World kind of place where people weren't born but genetically engineered for their specific role in life. Kal-El was the first natural born birth in centuries. It also makes you more sympathetic for Zod's actions - especially when he talks about what we was designed to do. You are like 'oh yeah'.
I thought it was cool that at one point during the movie Clark as a boy was reading Plato. Since he writes about Utopia...
I do feel the utter destruction of New York was unnecessary (seems MoS would have taken it to the ocean) - esp after they just cleaned it up after that other alien invasion... but I did find myself holding my breath more than once and that was cool.
I believe Cavill's portrayal was nice - emotions clearly shown on his face.
One of the things I liked most about this film is what it has in common with The Dark Knight films: rather than being a superhero movie, it was a movie that happened to have a superhero in it.This review contains spoilers. Reveal it.
− June 14, 2013 • more by Evie • log in or create an account to reply
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Matthew Preston: “It ruled.”
Although already flagged, this review contains MAJOR spoilers.
One of my biggest annoyances of Superman movies / tv shows of the past is their ad-nauseam use of kryptonite for plot manipulation. The moment we begin to see what Superman is really capable of, bam! It just so happens that a piece of jewlery the bad guy is wearing has kryptonite in it, or the building they are fighting in was built with trace amounts, or some other stupid shit. Here's a thought: Why not create enemies that are on the same level as Superman, so they can ridiculously duke it out like the behemoths they are? My appreciation to David S. Goyer for putting together a script that delivers! Superman is only limited in combat as a result of his own conscience or that he does not yet fully understand his own abilities. Perfect. The last 45+ minutes of this movie are just pure, over-the-top action and fighting that I've craved from this series for so long. I do understand that technology has had to catch up to make this a reality though. The visual effects are nearly flawless and incorporate the real actors with CGI at just the right times, something I wish was possible when The Matrix sequels were made. Of course a $250 million budget helps too!
An editorial comment (MAJOR SPOILER ALERT): I found it funny that Superman grieves and is overwhelmingly distraught for having to kill General Zod at the end, when he was just likely responsible for several thousand human deaths as a result of reckless fighting through multiple skyscrapers. I get that it was a conscious kill though. And I don't mean to cheapen this, because it is at that moment that Superman is truly born and all of what he has learned and all that he must take on, culminates in one very powerful scene.This review contains spoilers. Reveal it.
− June 26, 2013 • more by Matthew • log in or create an account to reply
Scott Hardie: I'm probably wrong, but for whatever it's worth, I took Superman's heartbreak in that moment as an expression of his sense of loss: He has just murdered the last surviving Kryptonian, someone who he felt a bond with and probably hoped to learn about his homeworld from. But I'm sure the scene was probably intended to convey his anguish at having to take a life on purpose, something he rarely does.This reply contains spoilers. Reveal it. − June 29, 2013 • more by Scott
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Scott Hardie: “It ruled.”
I really enjoyed the first two thirds of this. It streamlined the too-often-told origin of Superman into an efficient series of flashbacks, it showed off some stunning designs for Krypton, and it had two great strengths in a rallying score by Hans Zimmer and a very intense performance by Michael Shannon as the villain General Zod. (How refreshing not to see Lex Luthor yet again as the standard villain! Take note, X-Men film producers.)
I was enthusiastically prepared to declare this the film of the summer, and then the life somehow drained out of it. The final act is a dizzying maelstrom of CGI action that doesn't feel real, and also feels totally wrong for the character, something he would seek to avoid instead of escalating. It's the sort of grim spectacle devoid of moral consequence that Zack Snyder is known for, but at least it's pretty.
− June 29, 2013 • more by Scott • log in or create an account to reply
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Erik Bates: “It ruled.”
I know, I know. The Superman story has been told and re-told and re-re-told countless times over the years. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this retelling more than any others I've seen. Whereas the story line is similar, technology has helped bring new life to it. Gone are the days of trapping Zod and his cohort into a flying mirror, only to break free and kick some astronauts in the crotch on the moon. Entire new realistic worlds can be created to bring new life to Superman's origin.
Downsides:
1. A bit on the long side. I feel like they could have wrapped everything up just a bit sooner.
2. I don't know how much the people of Earth are going to think of Superman as a god after he just killed half the population of Metropolis. There's collateral damage, and then there's this
3. Maybe I missed it, but I really needed this:
− December 16, 2013 • more by Erik • log in or create an account to reply
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