Man of Steel (Dir. Zack Snyder, 2013)

It took me so long to see Man of Steel because after mad anticipation from the totally sci-fi looking trailer, many were disappointed by the movie. I, however, loved it more than I ever imagined.

I have to premise that with I have never been much of a superman fan, though I do have a certain fondness for the Christopher Reeves movies and I tend not to like superhero movies. Superman was interesting to me because he was an essentially flawless character, and it is hard to write a captivatingly perfect character. So Reeves’ Superman has a place in my heart.

But Man of Steel was every element I really love- action, sci-fi, and moral development. I thought the backstory was done beautifully, how’s a kids ambitions to do good and power to do so can alienate him. And deciding to be good is a lifelong journey. A journey that requires action. Most of the time you don’t equate fighting and goodness, but intention without action is meaningless. So when the time to defend morality comes, Superman is ready to act.

It might not be the deepest message, but it is a good message in solid entertainment. The design if alien Kryptonite is sleek and fantastical. The costume design is brilliant. Man of Steel probably has the best space helmets ever designed in a movie or real life. And every shot is the movie is extraordinary. There are no masters, no over the shoulders, nothing standard. It has a creative film language if its own, mixing extreme close ups with the wonderfully fluent wide shots and zooms! Battlestar Galactica zooms! Brilliantly done. So I guess I appreciate the craft as much as the story, and this is something not everyone will see or enjoy. But I see so much mediocrity, I really appreciate this beautiful creativity.

I can’t turn the minds of those who hated it. It has more if a sci-fi feel than the others and it is totally different, which is probably what people hate about it. It feels a little like a comic book Independence Day, which was my favorite movie in my youth. The alien invasion aspect us awesome.

A favorite moment is when Zod exclaims “you have taken my soul. I will destroy everything you love”. The only criticism I have is that the movie should have tied up here so we could have more awesome Zod in the sequel (if there is one).

If you were like me and didn’t go see it right away because of the negative views, I encourage you to judge for yourself. As I said, I couldn’t be happier with the movie. And the Clark Kent ending is awesome.See for yourself…