MAN OF STEEL (Zack Snyder/Chris Nolan 2013)

[Johann]

Other things I've learned about this film:

Zod isn't wrong. According to Debbie Snyder, if the shoe was on the other foot, you'd do the same thing to save your race.
The fact that he doesn't care about Earth in order to preserve that race makes it interesting, because Clark Kent's mother (Diane Lane) taught Clark that the emotional aspects of life are more important than his physical powers. Zod will kill billions on earth to preserve Krypton's race. Superman can't have that, and so that epic battle happened.

I love how Krypton has no evidence of stone or metals in it's structure.
I read that Jor-El (Russell Crowe) could never have known that the earth needed someone as strong as the son he sent them.
The House of El symbol for Hope is cool- the way they used it on costumes is amazing. I wouldn't mind if they brought Mon-El to life in the next Superman films. I love the character of Mon-El in the comics. He took over for Superman once when he left earth- and he wore the "S" House of El symbol as a favor to him. Zack Snyder should find a way to work Mon-El into the storyline. Mon-El is cool as fuck to me.

I also love how Perry White deals with Lois. He's paid his dues, chasing down stories over the years, and he keeps her in check.
Lawrence Fishburne isn't the typical newspaper editor Perry we're used to- the mythos has been given new life.
I also love how incredible (and incredible-looking!) the Kryptonian warrior council (nee: Zod's army) armour is.
How would you attack an opponent looking as they do? They are fearsome.

Superman is the #1 Hero.
Batman is considered in his league, but only because he represents the best hero Earth could probably produce. Superman works with everyone in the JLA but he knows he is more powerful than all of them combined. They are not equals, the Justice League, no no no.

[Johann]

If there is anything that pacifies me these days, it's MAN OF STEEL.
I've been watching it on DVD for a while now, and Great God is it Awesome.

Zod's line: "Where did you train?!? ON A FARM!?!?!?!" gets my jack up everytime.
and so does
Kal-El's line "You're a Monster Zod. And I'm going to stop you"
Hell yeah.

The close-ups on those skyscrapers collapsing during the Zod/Superman fight- awesome. Just like real-time footage.
The skies...the CGI speed for the action scenes...how can you not give it up for such kick-ass cinema?
This movie has it all to me.
It's lacking nothing.
No flaws. I said it before and I'll say it again: it's virtually flawless entertainment. It will stand for 100 years, it's that good.
The LOOK of this film is beautiful. The costumes- the production design-the sets- professionals did that work.
Artisans did that work. This movie is the best sci-fi movie I have ever seen. No faint praise here.
I am so fucking happy that this movie exists. I was asking for this movie years ago, right here on FilmLeaf.
And I got it. WE got it.
It could only be better if Zack Snyder invited me on set to watch the shoot.

[Johann]

Re: reviews for MAN OF STEEL


I read a great review on Amazon by a Superman fan who thinks like I do.
He distilled the polarization of this film quite succinctly. He says the internet is full of vitriol for Man of Steel, specifically on comic book message boards, and that the LOUD minority don't see the film for what it is: a Magnificent rendering of the Best Super Hero we've ever known.
Fans (myself included) have been whining for a "proper" Superman film for years.
Well, we got it in Man of Steel, boys and girls. We Got It.

The limited edition (10,000) Blu-Ray set is frustrating to set up, and luckily mine didn't break- many people have said that the plastic base that comes with the set snaps in two or breaks if you use too much pressure setting it up. TRUE. Be careful when you assemble it.
But the tin "S" shield box is lovely. And the discs look great too, in their fold-out sleeve. The tin makes it worth the price. Should be made of brushed STEEL, tho....warner brothers...........

And who doesn't rave about the quality of the picture and sound on these Blu-Rays, Mang?
The Dark Knight trilogy looks so fucking gorgeous on Blu-Ray.

[Johann]

The Metro has a list of the Worst Films of 2013, and guess which one was #1?
Man of Steel.

Here's the blurb, written by a one Ned (NED?) Ehrbar:

While there may have been many technically worse films this year, Zack Snyder's bombastic, tone-deaf update on Superman fails on a spectacularly higher level. Consider it a weighted grade.
Moralizing, wanton destruction and clumsy product placement are a tough mix.

Me, Johann:
Ned, if that is all you can say about Man of Steel to illustrate why it's the #1 worst film of 2013 then you are a hurting unit.
What were those criticisms?

Bombastic. (um, that's what the fuck I want in a Superman flick.)

Tone-Deaf. (um, tone-deaf to what exactly, Ned? Tone-Deaf to what? My Super-Hearing heard nothing but Awesome.)

Moralizing. (um, that's what SuperHeroes do, dipshit- they draw their lines in the fucking sand)

That's it.
3 words to explain why Man of Steel is the worst film of 2013.
Product placement is in almost every film nowadays. It didn't distract me in Man of Steel. It seems to have distracted you Ned.

And as for wanton destruction, that is not only encouraged for a Superman film, but in my case it's Demanded.
These are Super-Human freaks at war here, Ned. If there isn't wanton destruction then there is no fucking movie.
Do you want to see Superman and Lex Luthor dance the cha-cha or fight to the fucking death?
I want to see them fight to the death. I want WAR. I want planets colliding. I want Supernovas and Meteor showers.

That's what we got with MAN OF STEEL.
And I hope that Awesome Ante is UPPED in the next one.

Go watch the Smurfs Ned.
Seems more up your alley.

[cinemabon]

According to "scuttlebutt" the script is closed, the casting is closed and shooting for "Man of Steel 2" with Ben Affleck as Batman will go before cameras this spring and a summer of 2015 projected release. Another 18 month agonizing wait (unless Warner decides to rush production into a December release versus the third installment of The Hobbit - also a Warner release).

[Johann]

They can take their Time.
I'll wait.

The only remote thing I'm worried about is Ben Affleck.
Thé sequel cannot have any weak links.
Ben knows this. Thé filmmakers know this.
But considéring thé Team, one should not worry.

[Johann]

I feel like posting some more on MAN OF STEEL, one of the BEST films of 2013.

I feel the editing must be singled out as a HUGE reason why this film kicks ass and takes fucking names.
The way Zack Snyder tells this story (briskly, with no bullshit whatsoever) is exactly how you have to tell a sci-fi story like this.
The edits are sharp, crisp and push the epic story ever forward. The (switched-on) audience has no trouble keeping up.

The only thing that felt out of place to me in the whole movie was the very very end, where Lois tells Clark "Welcome to the Planet".
They are all smiles after what just transpired. The earth was almost obliterated, and they are ready to hit the newspaper beat!
A little too tidy an ending.
But who cares? It leaves you wanting more, which is the sign of a Master at the Helm.
Zack Snyder cannot be dismissed anymore. He's been ridiculed and mocked since 300, and he never deserved any of that bunk.
He is a serious filmmaker, one who has Chris Nolan's vote. That should be enough for people, but no, they have to rip his movies to shreds.
Zack Snyder can now be mentioned in the same breath as Spielberg, Ridley Scott, George Lucas and James Cameron.
Man of Steel has taken a glorious (outer space) cue from movies like Revenge of the Sith, Avatar and Blade Runner.
No one has made that connection here, but I have.
Watch that movie over and over-- it has it all. Criticism is not warranted.

Cinemabon- I know you're reading this. Do you not see the glorious science fiction that is on display?
Sci-Fi is your bread and butter...what are your criticisms of Man of Steel? How would you improve it?
What would you do differently?
Do you like Superman?
Or do you consider him silly?

[Johann]

I'm happy you responded cinemabon.
NOT responding is a response ;)

More to say about this film:

When Kevin Costner sacrifices himself it's a huge thing. He's basically telling Clark- no, he's SHOWING Clark something very important.
It's enough to make you cry.
All these comics fans bipping off about how Superman shouldn't have killed Zod are idiots.
What comics have you been reading, nerds? Because Superman has killed Zod in the past in the funny books.
It might've been cool to see Zod sent back to the Phantom Zone, to live to fight Superman another day, but that would be a cop-out.
And Zack Snyder is no cop-out. Not anymore.

This is my favorite movie now. I've seen it almost ten times now on DVD and it is Sheer Awesome Cinema.
Michael Shannon is the best thing about it. My opinion has changed. Without Michael Shannon, this film would be a helluva lot less.
He is intense as fuck.
His talent is not wasted here- he is demonstrating his acting chops. And he deserves an Oscar nomination.
Why doesn't he deserve a Nomination? He fucking earned it.
Look at what he did with one line on the page: "I WILL FIND HIM!"
Wowza.
The bar was set high.

[Chris Knipp]

I've listed MAN OF STEEL as one of the year's two best blockbusters. I'd have doubts about Ben Affleck. Michael Shannon has had a remarkable career. He's always powerful in anything. The first place I saw him was live on stage in Tracy Letts' BUG in the West Village, an amazing play that he dominated. He probably will get an Oscar one day. Though he seems older, he is almost a year younger than the late Paul Walker was. He's already been nominated for REVOLUTIONARY ROAD and won five lesser best actor awards for TAKE SHELER. MAN OF STEEL is his biggest mainstream role so far.

[Chris Knipp]

Armond Whilte's reviews have dropped from City Arts and he's moved to National Review Online where perhaps his contrarian views can blend more freely with his conservative and pro-Christian ones. In his first review there of CAPTAIN AMERICA: WINTER SOLDIER, he decidedly prefers MAN OF STEEL. That's find with me; I share a liking for MOS.

"Seen close up on the 3D screen," White begins, "actor Chris Evans’s ruddy lips, bright complexion, and sparkling eyes look like a Pop Art personification of red, white, and blue patriotism in Marvel Studios’ Captain American: The Winter Soldier. Referred to as “The greatest soldier of all time” by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), his paramilitary boss at S.H.I.E.L.D., Evans’s Steve Rogers, who was scientifically re-engineered into the ever-youthful, muscle-bound World War II veteran of the title, represents a timeless idea of American strength and virtue: “I’m 95, I’m not dead,” he tells flirtatious superhero colleague Natasha (Scarlett Johanssen)."

Then the pitch: "Evans’s cartoon image lacks the uncanny moral resonance that distinguished the compassionate Superman in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel – the best in the recent surfeit of comic-book movies. . ."

But I'm not so happy about White's condemnation of WINTER SOLDIER's apparent liberal politics: "In The Winter Soldier, talk opposing the deployment of drone-like aircraft yet defending the release of government secrets via Internet links gives this sci-fi fantasy the pretense of topicality. The filmmakers, producer Kevin Feige and directing team Anthony and Joe Russo, casually referred to this as 'a political film.' But the politics are merely au courant –as shallow as the red, white, and blue shield that Rogers wears magnetized to his back."

White has used this ploy before of damning liberal-progressive politics as mere fashion.

[Johann]

Glad Armond is still expressing his "contrarian" views.
Yep, au courant politics seem to get dropped into mainstream movies more these days.
Studios are trying to appeal to viewers any way they can, I guess. If you can appeal to 5 different types of people, then I'm sure they'll try it.
Plus it might get people talking more about their movie.

Man of Steel is my current favorite movie. I've watched it many times and I will watch it many more. I never get tired of it.
On Facebook I had a huge debate with 3 different guys on the Facebook Film Forum- a great new group that you can join by e-mail.
There are 1000+ members of the "high discourse" film forum, you might want to join. The people there gave me a great debate, and they thanked me for the Man of Steel posts, saying that they were more entertaining than movie itself.
The posting was made that Man of Steel was horrible, and I obliterated that notion.

The guys were basically saying that Superman was a scourge to the Earth, bringing death and destruction and that Superman just didn't care about the people of earth. And that the dark tone of the movie was wrong, that Superman should be more positive, like the Richard Donner Chris Reeve Superman.
I hear what they are saying, but Man of Steel appeals to me way more than Chris Reeve's Superman. (And I love that Superman).
Like Armond said, this was a compassionate Superman- he's compassionate even though the movie has a brooding quality. In the debate, those guys were saying that Superman was an unshaven drifting bum who brooded too much. I didn't see much brooding from him, just brooding in the movie's TONE, and I told them he was evolving, figuring out his place in the world. They scoffed. They hated that up to 5000 people die in the final fight with Zod. I asked "Do you want 5000 dead or 5 Billion?" And they said that asking that question in the first place is why Man of Steel was wrong.
I said bollocks to that, and asked what the hell kind of Superman movie they were hoping for. No one offered an answer. Anything but Man of Steel, seemed to be their attitude. One guy said the Superman Legend was ruined. I replied "What IS the Superman Legend"?
Again, no answer. Nothing but crickets.

I totally agree with Armond White that Man of Steel is the Best of these superhero movies we've seen released.
It has it all to me, lacking zilch.
It's the kind of Superman movie I've been waiting for my whole life. Seriously. Zack Snyder put everything I ever wanted in a Superman movie in Man of Steel. I'm really stoked to see where he takes Superman next.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a box-office hit and is getting great reviews. Can't wait to check it out.

[Chris Knipp]

Due to my review-writing I wouldn't have time to contribute to that new Facebook movie discussion page. I can see you are a big addition to it. Don't let it take you away from Filmleaf, though! Hopefully we'll both see WINTER SOLDIER soon and can discuss it. My memory of MAN OF STELL unfortunately is not as clear as yours though. I always have so many new films to watch. Working on THE UNKNOWN KNONW and a couple of SFIFF films the next couple days.

I had lost track Armond White for the past month. His reviews on Nat'l Rev. Online were not coming up in Google searches. But now I know where to look and can follow him again. I like to see what he has to say each week. Masses of reviewers and ordinary citizens are like sheep on the latest films, adopting the same views, even when they're wrong. MAN OF STEEL is clearly an example.

[Chris Knipp]

Armond also has a review on OUT ENTERTAINMENT. http://www.out.com/entertainment/arm...tic-sex-crimes

[Johann]

Armond has his views. He's pretty solid to me. Thanks for that link.

re: Man of Steel
I'm actually very surprised that this movie polarizes so much. What's not to like here? I mean it: this movie has it all to me. A great new director and direction for Superman. It's frickin' Awesome Mang.

Have you seen the 75th Anniversary animated short on the Man of Steel DVD?
It is infinitely watchable. Superman literally leaps off the pages of Action Comics. He's on that famous cover of issue #1, holding a car over his head.
Do you know what he proceeds to do with that car? He throws it away like it's a beer cap. Then he does some pretty Super shit. LOL
It's a fantastic animated cartoon, that illustrates the whole career of Superman, including Christopher Reeve and Henry Cavill. I watch it before Man of Steel everytime I play it.

All I can say is Man of Steel Rocks. Sorry, but it does. It Rocks in so many awesome ways. Superman is back on the silver screen in a way that is really really cool to me. And there's no real need to get uppity about it anyway, grousing about how the Legend is ruined. Do you honestly believe that they will never make a different style of Superman again? They could have had Christian Bale play Batman in this upcoming sequel. If Chris Nolan had told him to play Batman in the Man of Steel sequel Christian would have done it. He did not hang up his cowl. He didn't "pass the torch"to Ben Affleck. No way. It's a creative change. They are up to something here. They are changing it up even on their own visions. As an example, Chris Nolan took the character of Rachel in the Batman movies and switched actresses. Nobody was the wiser, and Maggie and Katie are clearly not identical twins. So if they can change it up in their own mythologies, then they can drop the characters and let another creative team make another trilogy. With characters like Batman and Superman being open to many styles of interpretation, it should be illegal to say that your version of the character is the definitive version. History will judge. Plus variety is the spice of life, no?

[Johann]

MAN OF STEEL 2 has a very "scheduled" marketing plan, according to director Zack Snyder.
He says he would love to release photos of the new costumes for Batman and Wonder Woman, which are going to be starring next to Superman in the same movie for the first-time ever. It really is historic in pop culture history. Never have Supes, Bats and Diana been onscreen together at the same time.

Batman is the villain here. When ideas were being tossed around for who Superman should fight after Zod, Zack came up with Batman.
How he becomes the villain we don't know, but it'll probably have something to do with kryptonite.
Snyder says the new Batman costume is Epic, but an image won't be released until many months from now.
Can't wait. Man of Steel was Astonishing to me. The anticipation for the sequel is quite high, what with Batman and Wonder Woman appearing.
DC is showing how big they are onscreen. I think it's amazing and awesome that Marvel and DC are both producing quality films on these Iconic characters. It really is awesome to comic book fans.