Is MOS emotionally cold?

[danoyse]

One of the reasons why many people thought MOS sucked was because it was too cold.

The biggest complaint I've heard about it on another forum I read is that they felt it had no heart.

I really liked it, but I could see where the complaints were coming from. It certainly could have lightened up a bit - and that wouldn't have taken away from the story they were telling.

 

[blumatic]

It comes off as cold because...while it did have some emotional messages...the creators jumbled it so badly that the messages were confused, often resulting in communicating a different message than what was likely intended.

I followed it fine. Nothing confused me.

 

[Nicko-Ray]

I love emotional weight. I just hate when bad dialogue is presented to me as though it carries any whatsoever.

Gotcha.

The biggest complaint I've heard about it on another forum I read is that they felt it had no heart.

I really liked it, but I could see where the complaints were coming from. It certainly could have lightened up a bit - and that wouldn't have taken away from the story they were telling.

I see. Yeah. Not everyone wants to see a lonely, sad, never happy Clark Kent who turns into Superman I guess. Yeah I could def see where it could lighten up too, but I still really enjoyed it and had no prob whatsoever with how "cold" it is.

The ending looks like the sequel may light up just a tad bit.

 

[kedrell]

I do think for a Superman movie it was rather lacking in levity. Not that you can't take Superman serious but c'mon. He's supposed to make you feel all gooey and happy. Kinda like Santa Claus but with muscle.

 

[KalMart]

His Xmen's were good. He understood exactly what the muntants were going through. (No offense to anybody Im just making the connection).

I felt the marginalization the mutants felt, some mutants wanting so bad to be accepted they were willing to change who they were.

He did a good job there. But outside of Xmen in the action superhero genre. He's a no no.

I remember that I thought he was a good choice for Superman when he was announced...but then that movie came out....

 

[blumatic]

I do think for a Superman movie it was rather lacking in levity. Not that you can't take Superman serious but c'mon. He's supposed to make you feel all gooey and happy. Kinda like Santa Claus but with muscle.

I think this is the heart of the problem that those who are against this movie have. All this critique about pacing, editing, dialougue, and too much action i think is a by product of this films lack of Boy Scout, messiah thing.

This film was suppose to evoke an emotion that the Donner films had but modernized. There was no witty banter, or savior moment.

That disconnected the film for some and thats when they started to pick it apart. Because the flaws they bring up is the same kind of flaws i see in the best movies in this genre.

If the film could have just had one scene, one magical scene when he became the protector of the earth, it would have stolen the hearts of those who hated the film. ANd it woud have a 86% Tomatometer rating.

 

[TheFlamingCoco]

^ So saving the world wasn't enough? :/

 

[sf2]

I do think for a Superman movie it was rather lacking in levity. Not that you can't take Superman serious but c'mon. He's supposed to make you feel all gooey and happy. Kinda like Santa Claus but with muscle.

unfortunately, that is not the direction they are heading.

they want to ground it with reality!!!

that's why pa kent willing to die for his son! because when the world knows about his son is an alien, they will get him for all sorta experiments.

and the military aligns with superman simply because they have a common enemy.
when the common enemy is eliminated, don't you think the government and military want to get him in reality???
do you think the world will allow a super powerful alien running free???

come to the real world... you think an alien shows up and does some saving deeds, the world will accept him???

the sequel will get more violent and cruel!!! it's the world superman is up against!!!
no more goofy and happy!!!

 

[Asgard]

I kind of thought so. I just couldnt really connect with the characters in a lot of the scenes.

The problem was with the script for me. The way it was written and the timing of how the story unfolded just didnt work.

I really have to watch it again preferably on dvd at home to really know for sure if I cant invest in the story.

 

[blumatic]

^ So saving the world wasn't enough? :/

Its about the journey than the destination.

Me I had a fun ride. I love the film. Its gets me so pumped for the sequel. There is so much more to learn about Superman. Too many times thee orgins give you everything, leaving the sequels feeling repetitive and have no more depth in the character, or making up b.s. for some fake depth (see Iron Man 2 and 3).

 

[KalMart]

I kind of thought so. I just couldnt really connect with the characters in a lot of the scenes.

The problem was with the script for me. The way it was written and the timing of how the story unfolded just didnt work.

I really have to watch it again preferably on dvd at home to really know for sure if I cant invest in the story.

Didn't you feel about a third of the way in that it was moving along really fast...but kinda' slow at the same time?

 

[John-An]

I wouldn't say "cold", not exactly. I'd say that, largely due to it's script and editing problems, it's emotionally confused.

Pa Kent's death scene highlights perfectly what I mean. What was that scene? No, really... what was it? I got the feeling that this was supposed to be the big emotional centrepiece of Clark's journey and it was just illogical to the point of incoherence.

If you stop and think about it, nothing about it makes sense. And the thing about MoS is that, although I don't hate it, most of the "emotional" scenes are like that.

your critic is nosense... johnatan´s scene was the most emotional and without talking... confusing? nah.... the greatness of this movie is emotion with special effects... everything makes sense.. if you don't understand it that's another thing....

 

[blumatic]

unfortunately, that is not the direction they are heading.

they want to ground it with reality!!!

that's why pa kent willing to die for his son! because when the world knows about his son is an alien, they will get him for all sorta experiments.

and the military aligns with superman simply because they have a common enemy.
when the common enemy is eliminated, don't you think the government and military want to get him in reality???
do you think the world will allow a super powerful alien running free???

come to the real world... you think an alien shows up and does some saving deeds, the world will accept him???

the sequel will get more violent and cruel!!! it's the world superman is up against!!!
no more goofy and happy!!!

Well we dont want goofy and happy. But humor and awe can be done. Its the Daily Planet chapter in Metropolis.

And you know what with the critics having there voices heard but the movie still making bank I truly think the sequel will appeal to alot more people. This movie has the chance that SR never did.

 

[Frodo]

Hm I don't remember the whole first season but I remember it being kinda dark. The whole scarecrow thing right?

Yeah. It was pretty dark, for Superman at least.

It seems to me that if one watched Smallville for several years , this film shouldn't seem like some great dramatic shift in tones in terms of what's come before and re-imaging the mythos.

I can understand coming from the Donner films and being shocked , but if someone watched Smallville during the last decade the tone and mood of MOS really shouldn't be some shocking change as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Asgard]

Didn't you feel about a third of the way in that it was moving along really fast...but kinda' slow at the same time?

I did! The part after Superman saves Lois from the escape pod and then immediately transitions to him taking Zod down and the fight with Faora and the big guy comes to mind, but the most glaring example would be Lois figuring out who Superman really was.

 

[GremlinZilla89]

I also got a little teary many times. Lara and Jor-El's goodbye to baby Kal, the first flight scene, the tornado and the last flashback of Jonathan watching Clark play with the red cape on.

And the movie isn't humorless. There are multiple instances of funny lines or visual jokes. One of my favorites was the look on the priests face when Clark said he was the one Zod was looking for. Funny stuff.

 

[Rock Sexton]

I wouldn't say "cold", not exactly. I'd say that, largely due to it's script and editing problems, it's emotionally confused.

Pa Kent's death scene highlights perfectly what I mean. What was that scene? No, really... what was it? I got the feeling that this was supposed to be the big emotional centrepiece of Clark's journey and it was just illogical to the point of incoherence.

If you stop and think about it, nothing about it makes sense. And the thing about MoS is that, although I don't hate it, most of the "emotional" scenes are like that.

My sister and I just looked at each other like "give me a break" when Pa Kent stands there smiling not letting his son rescue him from a giant tornado. It was moments like that where I began to detach from the film.

If you have the power to save your dad, you save your freaking dad regardless of his paranoia of your "abilities" being discovered by the public. He already didn't have his biological father ..... so he would just willingly let Pa Kent go like that? Just a truly absurd, forced struggle.

 

[Ultimatehero]

Yeah. It was pretty dark, for Superman at least.

It seems to me that if one watched Smallville for several years , this film shouldn't seem like some great dramatic shift in tones in terms of what's come before and re-imaging the mythos.

I can understand coming from the Donner films and being shocked , but if someone watched Smallville during the last decade the tone and mood of MOS really shouldn't be some shocking change as far as I'm concerned.

I loved SMALLVILLE and I loved MOS, this is my Superman.

That said, initially, I was surprised by how far they went in the sci-fi alien invasion route but also loved that angle at the same time because it was so new in those terms.

But, yeah a lot of it carried over and seemed the same character-wise and tonally which wasn't all that surprising considering how inspirational SV has been on the comics.

 

[John-An]

Yep. Batman Begins developed Bruce so far that there was less to work with as far as a sequel goes, and TDK was more of a stand-alone film than a sequel, unlike TDKR. As far as character development, it's more similar to Spider-Man 1 than BB in that the plot and action dominate the second half, to the point that the characters feel underdeveloped.

I still consider Spidey 2 to be the most reflective of comics in terms of narrative scope.

The characters were well developed... the right dose of telling... For me is more like BB Flashbacks to tell you the exactly thing... Spidey I is not so developed and there are tedious things like mary jane and pete talking in the yard...

 

[blumatic]

Yeah. It was pretty dark, for Superman at least.

It seems to me that if one watched Smallville for several years , this film shouldn't seem like some great dramatic shift in tones in terms of what's come before and re-imaging the mythos.

I can understand coming from the Donner films and being shocked , but if someone watched Smallville during the last decade the tone and mood of MOS really shouldn't be some shocking change as far as I'm concerned.

I watched Smallville. I think your assessment is on point. The show left a bitter taste in my mouth. The should should have ended after season 5. The storylined got so ridiculous. Clark fought every bad in his gallery before becoming Superman. Tom Welling didnt even put on the suit. SMH Any way......

 

[KalMart]

I did! The part after Superman saves Lois from the escape pod and then immediately transitions to him taking Zod down and the fight with Faora and the big guy comes to mind, but the most glaring example would be Lois figuring out who Superman really was.

I likened it before to feeling like a two-episide TV premiere/pilot...but you missed the first episode so now you're kinda' dropped into things trying to fill in what they already did but you didn't get to watch.

I think others felt the same, so that's what contributes to the 'cold' reaction...not so much in subject matter or story elements, but involvement.

 

[John-An]

I got choked up a tad at certain points, starting with the Krypton beginning we knew was coming. Pushed my buttons in the right places at other times as well.

Well... that only feeled in krypton but the other things were a suprise to me

 

[TheFlamingCoco]

The characters were well developed... the right dose of telling... For me is more like BB Flashbacks to tell you the exactly thing... Spidey I is not so developed and there are tedious things like mary jane and pete talking in the yard...

Exactly! If Spidey-1 was better developed, there would be less for Spider-Man 2 to build off on. MOS was a mostly good start, with some shaky elements. MOS2 should be a masterpiece, if Zack and Goyer's dark sides don't stand in the way.

 

[Ultimatehero]

I watched Smallville. I think your assessment is on point. The show left a bitter taste in my mouth. The should should have ended after season 5. The storylined got so ridiculous. Clark fought every bad in his gallery before becoming Superman. Tom Welling didnt even put on the suit. SMH Any way......

Depends on what you mean by put it on, he was in it - we just didn't get that good of a look.

 

[John-An]

It was written that way sure...but it played pretty flat.



I still think you're looking at it in a too polarized way to see straight up campiness as the only other solution. I said it elsewhere but amusingly enough, Singer is better at imbedding more genuine heart and personal connection than Snyder or Nolan, for the most part. And no, 'realism' didn't really come into play as an asset or what have you in MOS, not when it came to this.

well man if you didn't see this in the movie the feeling of the little kid... it was so credible... you seem like you saw another movie...