MAN OF STEEL

 

I've been waiting on this one to hit the big screens, and after all the tornadoes and medical stuff I've been going through, I happily took myself to the theater to relax for a couple hours plus.  I have to admit, though, the scene with the tornado sweeping across the screen really quieted the audience here in Moore.  All I can tell you is that the computer generated effect is close to an actual tornado, but without the whipping wind and rain, it pales by comparison.  And even though the tornado in the movie is supposed to be horrific and destructive, it was nothing like an F-5.

 

Overall, I enjoyed the movie.  Henry Cavill makes a splendid Clark Kent/Superman.  He's got the build and the personality, and I liked him quite a lot in the role.

 

I appreciated the way the storyline kept flipping back and forth between the past and the present.  Telling the origin story again from the beginning would have been a mistake.  People are just too familiar with it even with the different twists and turns this origin story takes.

 

The beginning with Russell Crowe playing Jor-El was totally gripping and I loved the presentation of Krypton even though it didn't quite jibe with everything I've envisioned over the years.  I thought perhaps the "gladiator" moments were a little over the top, but I forgave the revisionist history because I was caught up in the narrative.

 

I also liked seeing Clark's journey to find himself.  I hadn't thought about what he might do, but crab fishing and working on archeological expeditions were interesting concepts.  It reminded me a lot of when Bruce Wayne went trekking around the world to get himself trained to be the Batman, which doesn't suit my idea of Superman's early years, but this fit well enough.

 

Frankly, the Kryptonian supervillains was just too repetitive of the second Christopher Reeve movie.  The architecture of Brainiac's weapons arsenal and vehicles bother me a lot too, because I felt those should have been reserved for Brainiac's appearance.  Of course, maybe the producer/director is going to revisit those assets for another movie in the series.

 

And I just didn't care for the whole "having to adjust to Earth's environment" thing.  Jor-El states that Kal will be a god on Earth and makes no mention of having to acclimate to the planet.  Unless I missed that.  The weakness was footnoted throughout the movie, but I just didn't buy it.  A class M planet is a class M planet.  The weakness felt like an intentional construct to offer a reason why Superman could beat dozens of people who should have been just as strong as he was.

 

Of course, dealing with Superman's powers has always been like walking a tightrope for writers.  That's why Lex Luthor uses science and other foes use magic.

 

I also had problems with the ending.  With all the chaotic destruction going on, Superman had to be partially responsible for killing hundreds of citizens that were collateral damage.  And the buildings kept falling like dominoes, to the point I actually grew weary of seeing that happen.

 

I did enjoy the movie, perhaps not as much as I wanted to because I wanted to be blown away by it, but I'm interested to see what is done for a sequel.  That's going to be the proof of the pudding.