Yeah I Said It Reviews: Man Of Steel (Objectively)

In all honesty, I was geeking out when Zack Snyder recently made the announcement of a second Superman movie in the works. Check it out above:


However, If this article's title is anything to go by, I'm going to suspend my feelings and preferences in order to show you the pros and cons of the Man Of Steel film in relation to what critics and fanboys alike are saying about it. You are welcome to post your views and comments below (trollers, be nice). Let's start with...

The Destruction Of Metropolis

Pictured: 15 Hurricane Katrinas in Metropolis

Granted, the destruction caused by the world engine above was out of Kal El's/Superman's control. He destroyed it in the end anyway. What critics had a problem with though was the destruction caused by the battle between Superman and General Zod. Cracked.com put an estimate of the damage cost to be in the trillions and casualty count of a million with 250 000 people missing.

The main argument circulating the web is that Supes could've taken the battle elsewhere (hopefully Florida), and thus prevented a lot of collateral damage. While this sounds like a valid argument, please take notice of the following:

1. General Zod had just declared war on all humans and vowed to kill us all. This means he would definitely be reluctant to leave Metropolis
2. It was his first time, and Kal El was in no position to fight on his terms (Remember he had his butt handed to him by a WOMAN in Zod's unit earlier that day). And,
3. Let's face it, you enjoyed watching the screen vomit CGI during that scene (even if you're ashamed to admit it). Because that's what it is...a movie. Did you ever stop and think about the nuclear fallout Batman caused in The Dark Knight Rises by exploding a nuclear bomb just outside of Gotham? No. You didn't.

An 'Aware' Lois Lane

How exactly could she not recognise Clark after this?

 

 

No. Lois Lane is not a part of Skynet. The 'awareness' being mentioned here is the fact that she knows Superman and Clark Kent are one and the same person. Here's what Henry Cavill (Superman) had to say about it:

 

 

"I think it’s essential [for Lois to know Clark's secret] because if we’re trying to base it reality, there’s no way that Lois has these direct interactions with Superman, and then doesn’t recognize Clark sitting next to her in the office.

If she falls in love with Superman, and she’s ignoring a guy who looks just like Superman, behaves just like him, and has the same kind of mannerisms and behavior, then what does that say about Lois? I like this relationship. She saves him just as much as he saves her."

 

 

Critics and fanboys agree (mostly) that this makes sense. If the previous Superman movies were anything to go by,  then I wouldn't be able to recognize my father without his glasses, which is just plain silly.

 

 

The 'No Heart' Issue

I'm still confused as to what the critics actually mean by 'no heart'. Was Superman uncaring? Was there no light-hearted humour in the film. Did the storyline lack substance. There are a couple of scenes in there designed to pull on your heart strings, like the death of Clark's dad by hurricane....

 

 

Moral lesson: obey your parents... even if it kills them

 

Admittedly, this death was a bit clunky, but served the purpose of hammering the point home. One of the things I loved most about the story was the angle of mankind's reaction to the existence of super-powered aliens who use our sunlight and atmosphere as steroids. If you remember, in Superman 3: A Quest For Peace, Superman destroyed all of the world's nuclear weapons by throwing them into the sun...

 

 

Like a true American

 

 

 

As I'm sure most of you all know, no country would ever take that lying down...superpowered or not.  But in that universe, people just seemed to be cool leaving their planet defenseless at the hands of an alien (who, by the way, abruptly became evil for a brief period of time in Superman 2).

 

 

So, to sum it up...

 

For those who love to enjoy an action movie for what it is, this film is for you. However, If you want to preserve your preconceived notions of who Superman should be, then stay away, because this is a whole new Supe.