Man of Steel (2013)

Kneel before him...

I was a little nervous when I heard that Zack Snyder's Man of Steel was going to be based around yet another origin story for Superman.  Even with David S. Goyer's writing and producer Christopher Nolan's involvement, I didn't think it needed to be told again.  Is there really anyone out there that has no familiarity at all with Superman's origin?  Even the recent "All-Star Superman" comic was able to beautifully summarize his origin in a single page.

This might have some minor spoilers, so be warned.  It's a lengthy review, so strap in...

Despite my reservations on another reboot of a well known superhero, I enjoyed the few twists and changes made to the origin told in Man of Steel.  Beginning on Krypton, Jor-El (Russell Crowe) warns Krypton's leaders regarding its destruction.  General Zod (Michael Shannon) stages a coup, and Jor-El uses the opportunity to launch a ship containing Kal-El and Kryptonian data to Earth.  Zod's coup fails, and he and his followers are banished to the Phantom Zone.  Kal-El lands on Earth, and well, you know the rest.

Superman's origin as told in All-Star Superman

Where Man of Steel differs is rather than give you a linear backstory, we catch up with Clark (Henry Cavill) as a 33-year-old wanderer, occasionally using his powers to save those in need before moving on.  We get flashbacks of Clark growing up and dealing with the manifestation of his powers, as well as his relationship with Jonathan and Martha Kent (Kevin Costner and Diane Lane).  Much of the film's emotional depth comes from these flashbacks, not just because they give you more insight into why Clark is who is, but because of the great performances of Costner and Lane.  Jonathan is convinced the world is not ready for Clark to reveal himself, and Clark has been spending much of his life trying to figure out what his purpose is and where he fits in.

Another departure from the Superman mythos was how Lois Lane was handled.  Lois, a journalist for the Daily Planet, is following a related story when she encounters Clark.  She investigates further, and is able to determine his true identity.  If you've ever been bugged by the fact that an investigative journalist never figured out that Clark Kent and Superman were the same person, then I think you'll really enjoy this twist.  She even actively protects his identity once she realizes the threat to him and his family.  Amy Adams was an inspired choice for Lois as well.  She had the right combo of smarts, maturity, toughness and ambition for the role.  The movie shines every time she's on-screen.

Zod eventually catches up to Kal-El and the promise of a super-powered smackdown between multiple Kryptonians is finally realized.  If you're like me and complained that Superman Returns didn't have enough action, Man of Steel makes up for that, and then some.  The last 40 minutes of the movie is all action, and it's the type of spectacle you hope for in an action blockbuster.  There's so much action, that it's a little exhausting to watch, but I still enjoyed every minute of it.  It was a joy to see Superman fly around and punch people at super speed.  The effects are fantastic, and there were only a few times where I thought the characters had too much of a CG appearance to them.  They are really getting the look of this stuff down!

Man of Steel is not perfect though.  I thought some of the things it does with the powers regarding atmosphere were a little odd.  Also, I was kind of bugged that the other Kryptonians seemed to be as powerful as Superman.  Superman has been absorbing solar energy for decades, as opposed to days for the other Kryptonians.  While he does show a greater mastery of his powers, I still think he should have had a bigger advantage as far as overall strength, while the Kryptonians should have had an advantage with combat skills.

Another issue I had was that the dialog isn't particularly good.  There's not a ton of dialog in the first place, but some of the lines are really clunky to the point where you'll hear something said and just go, "Huh?"  It definitely could have used a little punch up, as the film is so serious from beginning to end.  There's really much in the way of humor, but I also appreciated the fact that it wasn't silly.  I'm surprised that David S. Goyer didn't find more of a balance in his screenplay.

As much I loved Michael Shannon as Zod, I was a little disappointed he didn't get to have a great line that can be associated with his performance.  We don't even get a 'kneel' reference.  On the other hand, Zod's henchman, Faora (Antje Traue) was totally badass and sexy.  I wish there would have been a little more depth to her character though.  It was awesome to see someone hold their own against Superman like she did.

I also thought the romance between Clark and Lois wasn't handled well.  It happens way too quick without much in the way of flirtation.  I get them being attracted to each other, but it doesn't seem like there's any reason for them to get together other than convenience.  This is the one angle where the changes to the story didn't work as well.  Rather than see their relationship develop over time in the workspace, they are just kind of thrown together and it didn't feel natural.

I enjoyed Henry Cavill as Superman.  I said after seeing him in Immortals that I thought he had the right stature and commanding presence to play the Man of Steel, and I'm glad to see he proved me right.  First off, credit to Cavill and his trainer.  He clearly bulked up for the role, and physically speaking he's the best we've seen to date in the suit.  He's not playing the Clark Kent we're used to seeing, so there's not much of a true comparison to Christopher Reeve or even Brandon Routh's performances.  It's a different role as far as I'm concerned.  It's like comparing Michael Keaton's Batman to Christian Bale's.

The rest of the cast is strong.  I liked the choice of Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, but he's not in the film much.  They try to shoehorn a moment for him toward the end in an effort to give him something to do, and that felt a little odd.  I'm sure in the sequel he'll have a little more screentime if they spent more time at the Daily Planet.  Christopher Meloni as Colonel Hardy was good, and I also liked Ayelet Zurer as Lara Lor-Van.

Some will complain about all of the city-wide destruction and how Clark doesn't really appear to be too concerned about saving anyone, but that didn't really bother me.  While I would have liked to see him save a few people here and there, most of the time he's fighting multiple, super-powered people at once, and these fights happen at hyperspeed.  Man of Steel doesn't really show Superman as having full mastery of his powers yet, so it may not have been possible for him to avoid damaging his surroundings.  You don't see a lot of the Kryptonians directly threatening humans while he's around, so with the speed of the battles, his immediate surroundings might not have always been on the top of his mind.  Plus, he just put on the suit, so he's still growing into the role while attempting to earn the trust of humanity.  I would suspect we'll get more of that in the sequel.

Another thing I liked, and this will probably bug the Superman purists out there, was the fact that they show him conflicted.  I've read the comics off and on, watched the various cartoons and movies, and sat through all ten seasons of Smallville, and the one thing that's always bugged me about Superman is how much of a humorless, sometimes emotionless, boy scout he is.  I love the idea of seeing him start from a darker place and then eventually becoming that ideal.  Some will argue that I or the movie doesn't understand the character of Superman.  Okay, fine, go watch a different Superman cartoon or movie then.  In case you're wondering, I'm old enough to remember seeing Donner's Superman in the theater, and watch Donner's cut of Superman 2 frequently.  I like them all.

There's nothing post-credits, by the way, despite seeing online that there was supposed to be.  This was probably leaked by the effects crew that just wanted everyone to sit through the credits so we could see their names.  I didn't see it in 3D either, but since it wasn't shot in 3D you can go in knowing that's it's not going to add anything to the movie anyway.

Speaking of the visuals, this is another area where I thought the film excelled.  Man of Steel is gorgeous, and I'm not just talking about how dreamy Henry Cavill is.  Some shots may linger on a little too much, but I thought it was a vibrant film and creative looking.  You can always tell what's going on, even during the faster paced fight scenes.  I think Zack Snyder's style and aesthetic really lent itself to the film, and he even avoided his excessive use of slow motion, which I actually wouldn't have minded if he had thrown a little more of that in.  I'm probably in minority of people that enjoy just about all of Snyder's films.  I even like Sucker Punch on a certain level.  I loved the redesigned Krypton.  It looked suitably alien without being a direct copy or reference to previous films.  Also, the suit looked much better on screen than in photos.  The texture of the suit worked well, and I stopped noticing the lack of red trunks pretty early on.

Oh and I almost forgot to mention Hans Zimmer's score, which is hard to believe since he really outdid himself this time.  The score is practically a character all on it's own.  I've been listening to the full soundtrack on Spotify and I really love it.

While somewhat flawed, Man of Steel delivers on the promise of a Superman movie with more emotional depth, and the super-powered smackdown we've been waiting to see in the modern era.  Zack Snyder and co gave us a Superman that's more relatable and realistic for our time.  It would have benefit from a little more humor, but this is made up for by the cast and their performances.  I anxiously await a sequel.  Full price for me.

4.5 (out of 5) Death Stars

(Note: Was originally a four Death Star rating, but I just got back from seeing again and loved it even more, so I'm bumping it half a point.)

42 (2013)

That poster makes it look like Jackie Robinson is clinging for his life as he slides off a cliff...

As much as I shudder every time I see "Based on a True Story", it's refreshing when I see it on a movie about someone and something I have more than just a vague awareness of.  42 is one such movie, about the introduction of Jackie Robinson, the first African-American player in Major League Baseball, to the (then) Brooklyn Dodgers in the mid-40's.

Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford), general manager of the Dodgers, decided for various reasons that it was time to break baseball's 'color barrier'.  He started the search for the right man, and quickly decided on Robinson (Chadwick Boseman), a star athlete for UCLA and Army veteran.  Ricky felt that Robinson had the right personality and skill set to succeed in what he knew was going to be very difficult situation.  Robinson was an intelligent and confident man, willing to speak and stand up for himself, but Rickey asked him not to do this.  The reason for this was simple enough; even if Robinson was provoked, any retaliation would be used by his detractors as examples of Robinson's inability to handle the game or pressure, or even reversing it and saying he's the one that instigated.  So, Robinson has to bite his tongue, look the other way, and do everything in his power not to fight.  You see him put up with an amazing amount of shit, and you can only sympathize.  Despite his struggles, he's (still) a hero and inspiration to many.

Like Moneyball, 42 is a baseball movie that doesn't require intimate knowledge of the game.  It's not stat driven, even though the opening monologue might make you think that for a second (and Branch Rickey happened to be one of the pioneers of statistical analysis in baseball).  Also, like Moneyball, some of the actual baseball elements were some of the weakest of film.  In some cases they felt really inaccurate.  Many scenes are shot in a way where you can't see a swing or pitch, or what you do see is awkward to the point where it's doesn't look athletic.  At the end of the film, Robinson hits a homer and you hear the announcer say the Dodgers have won the pennant, when I'm petty sure it was only the first inning.  You don't see anyone walking off the field as if it was a walk-off, and the teammate that congratulates him as he reaches home simply looks like he's ready for his at bat.  These aren't huge mistakes, but I think it's the kind stuff that purists are going to notice.

Then again, baseball is kind of boring.  They have to focus on exciting sequences of Robinson taking a walk, or attempts to pick him off first, cause that's all the game really had to offer at that point.  No steroids in baseball back then.  Yes, I'm just kidding around.  Chadwick Boseman as Robinson managed to show a playfulness when on base, seemingly taking delight in the disruption he'd cause on the basepaths.  Boseman even resembled Robinson, and did a good job of mimicking his batting stance (the actual swing looked a little off though).

Also as far as the overall look of the film, I liked that as well.  I thought they did a great job of recreating the look of some of those older uniforms and ballparks, without getting overly nostalgic about it.  I like when a period piece doesn't go out of the way to draw your attention to all the details they cram in there, and just lets you enjoy it.

I also thought there was a lot of colorful dialog throughout the film as well.  Writer and director Brian Helgeland did a good job keeping it interesting while being respectful to the man and the period.  Outside of a few things here and there, there's not a lot of chances taken though.  Overall, I would call it a very workmanlike effort.  I was surprised at the amount of humor.  It made a movie with so much weight a little easier to get through, and it seemed to quicken the pace a bit.  Some of the humor came off as unintentional though.

Harrison Ford gives one of his better performances in recent memory. He's been very grumbly and disinterested in many recent movies, but here he has a fiery passion about him.  Dr. Cox from Scrubs (John C. McGinley) has a subtlety comic performance as the Dodgers play-by-play announcer.  He was one of the smaller things I really enjoyed about the film and I think it may go largely unnoticed.  Alan Tudyk plays an opposing manager and single-handedly attempts to break Django Unchained's record for most uses of the 'n-word' in a 5-minute scene.  If it hadn't had been Tudyk playing the role, I think it would have affected me a little more in a negative sense, but the more he does it, the more it becomes unintentionally funny.  I also really enjoyed Christopher Meloni as manager Leo Derocher, but he's unfortunately not in the movie enough.  Derocher seems like a character that would make for an interesting biopic all on his own.  Even Lucas Black was enjoyable as Pee Wee Reese.

I've already mentioned a little about Boseman's performance, but I thought he did a great job as Jackie Robinson.  It's a good example of how casting a relative unknown in such an iconic role can help your movie.  If you got someone with a bigger name to play it, I think you'd have to fight the thoughts of, "Oh that's just 'x' playing Robinson."  Another standout was Nicole Beharie as Jackie's wife, Rachel.  She was definitely his rock, and you can imagine how without her, Jackie would have had a harder time dealing with all the abuse.

I think the biggest flaw of the film is that there's a very Hollywood quality about it.  I've always hated using the term "Hollywood" as a criticism.  It's a little nebulous.  With 42, I'm more referring to the overall cheesiness of the film.  Like many stories based on real events, a lot of things are streamlined or arranged to make for cleaner and more dramatic storytelling.  Maybe I'm just a little jaded from watching these types of films, where I just can't trust how much played out exactly like you see on screen or how much was done to manipulate the audience.  I also thought the sweeping score was too dramatic to the point of being distracting.  It reminded me of the score from some of the recent Spielberg films.  That's not to say that it wasn't affecting though.  There are times you're sitting in your seat wishing you could fight these people on Robinson's behalf.

42 is a good, crowd pleasing film, with lots of strong performances and interesting dialog.  You definitely don't have to be a baseball fan to get something out if it, and it's important to see what a inspirational figure Jackie Robinson was.  It's not a perfect film, but worth a matinee.

3 (out of 5) Death Stars