Behind the soulful new 'Man of Steel'
The makers of Man of Steel had to start thinking like a cadre of supervillains: how do you get under Supermans invincible skin and really make him hurt?
This weeks cover story reveals how the new film (out June 14) attempts to humanize the superhuman by finding new flaws and vulnerabilities. The most common one, however, was off the table: Ill be honest with you, theres no Kryptonite in the movie, says director Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) Those glowing green space rocks Supermans only crippling weakness have turned up so often as a plot point in movies, the only fresh option was not to use it. Anyway, if you want to make an audience relate to a character, a galactic allergy isnt the way to do it.
Henry Cavill (Immortals), the latest star to wear the red cape, instead plays a Superman who isnt fully comfortable with that god-like title. This film reveals that even on Krypton, young Kal-El was a special child, whose birth was cause for alarm on his home planet. (More on that in the magazine) And once on Earth, his adoptive parents, Ma and Pa Kent (Kevin Costner and Diane Lane), urge him not to use his immense strength even in dire emergencies warning that not every human would be as accepting of him as they are. So Clark Kent grows up feeling isolated, longing for a connection to others, and constantly hiding who he is. As a result, Man of Steel presents the frustrated Superman, the angry Superman, the lost Superman. Although he is not susceptible to the frailties of mankind, he is definitely susceptible to the emotional frailties, Cavill says.
Thats just the set-up. Once the Kryptonian villain General Zod (Boardwalk Empires Michael Shannon) arrives to threaten the Earth, eventually the passionate Superman steps forward, too. It helps that he has a reason to care about the home hes defending, and we can all thank Amy Adams Lois Lane for that. I think shes very transient. Shes ready to pick up and go at a moments notice, Adams says of the hard-bitten journalist. I think that definitely could be part of what she sees in Superman not really laying down roots, not developing trust.
Based on footage EW has seen, the film (which was directed by Zack Snyder and shepherded by Christopher Nolan) has plenty of building-smashing, train-slinging, heat-vision-blasting battles to cut through the emotional heaviness. You want to give the audience great spectacle. You want them to go to the movie, be eating their popcorn and be like, Wow! says Man of Steel producer Chuck Roven, who also worked on The Dark Knight trilogy. But its just not good enough to give them the Wow. You want them to be emotionally engaged. Because if you just have the wow, ultimately you get bludgeoned by that and you stop caring.
Those whove long felt the super-confident, super-controlled Superman has gotten super dull may be glad to see him finally challenged in ways that go beyond bullets bouncing off of his chest.
Because I agree, I want the Kents (especially Martha) to instill his "goodness" in him in the way they raise him, I really hope that comes across on screen.
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