How Flawed is Man of Steel?

[BH/HHH]

It is a standalone movie in that it wasn't originally intended to start a DCEU but it was supposed to also lead into a sequel which it has. But it works as a standalone because that's what it is.

 

[Silliminite]

BvS can't get here soon enough.

Spoiler

Sorry, rogbngp.

 

[chamber-music]

I think some of the ideas of what Clark is going through could be considered somewhat relatable but the way they go about actually showing this in the film isnt done so well. We never get into the mind of Superman/Clark, it just goes from one big moment to the next.

I want the in-between stuff, I want to hear Clark talk to people and really express his personality, not just be shown major moments in his life and leave to us to assume what he is like as a result of it.

I think a lack of dialogue for clark/superman was an issue. Adult Clark did lack a little vocal expression in regards to his thoughts and feelings. It looks like Clark is more vocal in the next film though. We already got a glimpse of what he thinks of batman and his methods.

 

[BH/HHH]

I don't think for BvS van get he fast enough either but I still love MOS

I'm just greedy and want more t:

 

[rogbngp]

Spoiler

Sorry, rogbngp.

t: No probs

 

[rogbngp]

I think a lack of dialogue for clark/superman was an issue. Adult Clark did lack a little vocal expression in regards to his thoughts and feelings. It looks like Clark is more vocal in the next film though. We already got a glimpse of what he thinks of batman and his methods.

Lol, the RogerEbert.com reviewer calls him a "glum hunk."

 

[Angel0fDeath]

As if it wasn't getting enough **** in the BvS threads.

 

[BH/HHH]

As if it wasn't getting enough **** in the BvS threads.

We have definitely reached a point when everything that could have been said has been said.

 

[rogbngp]

As if it wasn't getting enough **** in the BvS threads.

Thanks for voting AoD! Take heart: it's early yet, granted, but currently only three voters have placed it below 70% liked compared with 10 rating it at 70% or higher.

 

[rogbngp]

We have definitely reached a point when everything that could have been said has been said.

Bah to the griefers! Let the numbers have the final say!

 

[BH/HHH]

I meant to vote 1-5% but accidently clicked 0% oops!

Haha Rogbngp, you're a good poster but I just feel there's nothing left to say on MOS for this website.

 

[rogbngp]

True, although has that ever stopped anyone before?

In all honesty, I just wanted to see the breakdown of how people actually vote for the percentage that folks feel the film is flawed, i.e., ratio of things liked:disliked. Giving it a letter grade, basically. That hasn't been done as far as I know. It probably isn't even accurately representative for this community, but I'll still be curious to see what the average score turns out to be.

 

[Decepticonus]

I meant to vote 1-5% but accidently clicked 0% oops!

Oops my ass, haha.

 

[BH/HHH]

Oops my ass, haha.

I swear

 

[Fincher]

I just don't know how to answer the question because I don't rate movies based on percentage of flaws. It was a good movie with significant but not overwhelming flaws.

 

[rogbngp]

I just don't know how to answer the question because I don't rate movies based on percentage of flaws. It was a good movie with significant but not overwhelming flaws.

Why not try taking a stab at it anyway, Fincher? You can think of it simply as giving a letter grade. It's just a hazy global impression anyway, but you're just trying to give a little more definition to it in this way.

The rankings in the poll work correspond to a letter grade as such. 0% flaws = a grade of 100. 5% flaws = a grade of 95. And so forth.

 

[Wise]

Voted 36-40% Let me preface this by saying that I still enjoyed MoS, but it had some problems that kept it from being good to the level of Batman Begins or The Dark Knight.

* Problems with pacing made it hard to get into the film until Clark meets Lois at the Canadian tundra. The flashbacks got in the way a bit too much, to the degree that some of the characters in the present like Perry, Lois and Zod felt slightly underdeveloped.

* The script could have used polishing. All the interviews talked about this being a science fiction film about first contact with an alien race, but we don't see that pivotal scene where Jonathan and Martha come across Kal El's ship and make contact. This scene missing dampens the gravity of Jonathan's extreme decisions to keep Clark's powers a secret as we aren't able to see the bewilderment and fear of discovering an alien through his eyes. We are only told about it.

* The cinematography was off I thought. The zooms and hand held documentary camera angles might have worked in some scenes, but they did not mesh at all with others, like the Kryptonian scenes at the start. Personally I thought they missed an opportunity to show the opening Kryptonian scenes with a classical sharp and steady camera, no tilts, no dollies, few pans. Showing that this is a civilisation which is overly controlled, nothing happens which is not planned and expected and hence nothing new or extraordinary can happen. That was the point of Jor-El stealing the codex.

Then when we get to Earth the camera and editing style should change to show the juxtaposition between our two worlds. Earth's frenetic and chaotic pace of life should have been felt through the cinematography and it should have felt different to the way they shot Krypton.

* The third act fizzles out after Kal El destroys the Black Zero. There's an old screenwriting device that is used over and over and that's not because screenwriters are lazy, it's because it works and it works well. It's called the "Ticking clock". MoS had this with the world engine and the Black Zero. But then both of those world and city threatening plot devices are destroyed 20 minutes before the credits roll and we are presented with the showdown between Zod and Superman. But even though the stakes are still high because Zod has the power to kill millions, we don't feel the immediacy of those stakes because they aren't seen, we don't have the ticking clock and because of this the audience loses a portion of their interest and instead just watch the pretty cgi and demolition shots simply hoping that Superman will beat this guy because he's bad. But wouldn't it be more exciting if Superman had to beat that guy because the city was about to be crushed by the black zero, or the world's atmosphere was about to become poisonous for humans?

 

[Fincher]

Why not try taking a stab at it anyway, Fincher? You can think of it simply as giving a letter grade. It's just a hazy global impression anyway, but you're just trying to give a little more definition to it in this way.

The rankings in the poll work correspond to a letter grade as such. 0% flaws = a grade of 100. 5% flaws = a grade of 95. And so forth.

Well, looking at it that a 60% is the worst that a movie can do and pass (be good), I guess that would make it a 31-35% flawed.

 

[stebbinsd]

Man of Steel is baffling. I can't decide if it's good or bad, but it's definitely a head-scratcher.

First of all, Lois Lane quickly and easily figures out that Clark Kent is Superman, which tells me we're in a universe where people have common sense. So how does Superman's maskless costume somehow keep his identity a secret from the military? It's not a flaw, per se, since that's always been a part of Superman mythos. But it definitely leaves me scratching my head.

Then there's the infamous "Maybe you should have let them die" scene. I'm told that's supposed to be John Kent's way of saying that it's a complicated thing, but honestly ... surely he could have phrased it better! Something like "Can't you find a way to save them without them knowing you did it?" or something to that effect!

Again, I can't really decide if these anamolies make the movie better or worse. As such, I'll abstain from voting in the poll.

 

[The Joker]

36-40%. While it's not a bad movie, it still has a lot of crap in it. It's boring, the pacing is plodding, the characters are not engaging, and the villain was so disappointing. It has no rewatch value for me.

 

[I Am The Knight]

It's interesting how people keep obsessing about what other people think about this movie. Probably the film's greatest achievement. I don't know. I have plenty of issues with the film but I've moved on.

 

[BH/HHH]

Man of Steel is baffling. I can't decide if it's good or bad, but it's definitely a head-scratcher.

First of all, Lois Lane quickly and easily figures out that Clark Kent is Superman, which tells me we're in a universe where people have common sense. So how does Superman's maskless costume somehow keep his identity a secret from the military? It's not a flaw, per se, since that's always been a part of Superman mythos. But it definitely leaves me scratching my head.

I wouldn't say she easily figures it out, she figures it out by connecting the dots and interviewing people. I don't think that happened overnight, they showed us it in highlights form obviously. End of the day if Pete Ross hadn't have blabbed she wouldn't have gone to Martha Kent. Plus remember Lois had a starting point because she had been at the military base where he was and she saw him do things that over people can't. No one else at that base had seen him use his powers or had any idea of who he was other than done worker named Joe.

I thought it was brilliant that she figured it out, it's a fresh take remember that and even on Smallville Lois knows the secret before he's Superman so it had been done before.

 

[rogbngp]

In MoS Lois is depicted more believably as a bonafide investigative reporter than we have ever seen her. Her investigation is rendered in a kind of shorthand, but that still worked for me. The film didn't need to get bogged down in details like how she did all of that. I got the MoS novelization for Christmas, and haven't had a chance to read it yet (still working on the Watchmen comic book), but I'm looking forward to seeing whether that gets expanded on in any way in the book (which I would assume is canon).

 

[Decepticonus]

I wouldn't say she easily figures it out, she figures it out by connecting the dots and interviewing people. I don't think that happened overnight, they showed us it in highlights form obviously. End of the day if Pete Ross hadn't have blabbed she wouldn't have gone to Martha Kent. Plus remember Lois had a starting point because she had been at the military base where he was and she saw him do things that over people can't. No one else at that base had seen him use his powers or had any idea of who he was other than done worker named Joe.

I thought it was brilliant that she figured it out, it's a fresh take remember that and even on Smallville Lois knows the secret before he's Superman so it had been done before.

On top of that but watch more movies in general. The military is always ******ed.

 

[BH/HHH]

On top of that but watch more movies in general. The military is always ******ed.

That's very true