The Rank and Rate Man of Steel thread

[DaRkVeNgeanCe]

on a scale of 1 to 10 I give it a solid 100....

Thats what I like to hear!

 

[Princess Denise]

I can't give MOS a 10 because I felt the first half hour was dreadful. The rest of the movie was a fantastic 9.4

My final MOS score: 8.8

 

[BaneBeatBats]

Just got back from watching it and I am conflicted. On the one hand, I loved the movie itself, but on the other hand... some dick in the audience decided it'd be a good idea to yell out "WOOOT!" and clap anytime Superman did something cool... which was many times.

I swear I wanted to kick that freaking dick in the dick so he'd stop dicking around.... what a dick.

anywho, I loved the film. Definitely the best Superman film ever made. The critics weren't wrong about that. And if anything proves that a live action Dragon Ball Z movie can be made properly, its Man of Steel. That final battle between him and Zog... that was DBZ in live action... wow...

Its definitely better than the Avengers, which I found to be a snooze-fest and highly overrated except for a few scenes, mainly involving the Hulk. But I don't know if I'd say its better than any film in the Dark Knight trilogy as some have been saying. On par, sure but not better.

Who is Faora? Is that the chick that plays Zog's right-hand? She's ****ing badass and owns.... That's all you need to know. Watch the movie, pronto.

 

[Kal-El.9859]

Just got back from watching it and I am conflicted. On the one hand, I loved the movie itself, but on the other hand... some dick in the audience decided it'd be a good idea to yell out "WOOOT!" and clap anytime Superman did something cool... which was many times.

I swear I wanted to kick that freaking dick in the dick so he'd stop dicking around.... what a dick.

anywho, I loved the film. Definitely the best Superman film ever made. The critics weren't wrong about that. And if anything proves that a live action Dragon Ball Z movie can be made properly, its Man of Steel. That final battle between him and Zog... that was DBZ in live action... wow...

Its definitely better than the Avengers, which I found to be a snooze-fest and highly overrated except for a few scenes, mainly involving the Hulk. But I don't know if I'd say its better than any film in the Dark Knight trilogy as some have been saying. On par, sure but not better.

Who is Faora? Is that the chick that plays Zog's right-hand? She's ****ing badass and owns.... That's all you need to know. Watch the movie, pronto.

you ever stop to think that he might have a mental defect and doesn't know any better?

 

[BaneBeatBats]

It isn't hard to tell someone who is ******ed from someone who is a dick. This guy was a dick. Why are you being so sensitive?

He yelled out, "wooot!!!", clapped continuously and then when no one followed suit, ''tough crowd"

Yeah, nevermind, maybe ****** is a more fitting word for this *****e.

 

[*Paulos*]

7 for me, some of the plot seemed a little lazily written. fights were the best bit imo.

 

[sf2]

I remind all. It is just a prequel. How the alien becomes man. The best hasn't out yet.

 

[molp]

Man of steel kicked my ass, hard!Totally blew my mind.

TDK
MOS
BB
Avengers
DKR

 

[DanSupKP37]

Alright I am still digesting what I saw. I thought Man of Steel was an extremely well made summer thrill ride. Was it a great Superman movie? I am not so sure but audiences should be mostly pleased with it. This is a different Superman in tone than anything we have seen on film and it’s not even close. This movie is dark, in fact for Superman it might as well be rated R the film feels so dark and serious in tone compared to STM. I’ll highlight what worked for me in the movie.

Henry was Superman from the moment he came on screen even under that beard on the fishing boat when we first see him. His presence and charisma shine through for 2 plus hours. He looked amazing in the suit as thank god the awful photos we saw on set were not a preview of the look in the film itself. He looked great when flying, he looked great in action, he had the right tone with the dialogue he just nailed it.

Amy Adams was fabulous as Lois.. From what I read I was expecting very little contact between them and for her part to be dumbed down but she actually had a very pivotal part in the story and they weaved her into the film nicely.

Shannon was an effective villain. His portrayal of Zod worked but I was hoping for more. His ambitions to save Krypton's race sort of left him straddling the fence between the villain and someone who just believes he is doing what he must. Unlike Stamp he was not really given any memorable lines and IMO Stamp’s portrayal will always be the definitive one. Stamp just had this aura of arrogance about him with the people of earth. They were all beneath him where as Shannon is just this Warrior with a cause but don’t get me wrong it worked for this movie in the context of the story told.

The action as reported and anticipated for basically 2 years was the best any Superman film has seen and probably the best any comic book movie including the Avengers has pulled off. Superman does in this movie everything any fan could have dreamed of. He soars , he punches and punches and punches some more, he destroys giant space ships, his battle with Zod is grand in scale and makes you drool. Yes truly no Superman fan will dare complain about lack of action this go around.

Hans Zimmer’s Score. I thought it was very subtle but effective for MOS which was the right approach. You will never top the Williams theme and with this movie being much darker in tone to begin with they went in the right direction with sort of a somber score. At the end of the day the score has to fit the movie and Zimmer’s did.

Now for a few things I didn’t like. I would say like almost all movies of this genre it just went on a little too long. Many critics complained about the action being overdone in parts and while it's all exciting they are very much right. You just can only see buildings crash down so many times before you are wondering when is it going to end?

Henry should have been given a little more to do. I thought in the middle of the film instead of more massive actions scenes we could have seen a few more character moments with Henry. He has the look and the acting chops to carry the film without non-stop action and people constantly in danger. I hope if we get the sequel this time around Henry gets to strut his stuff as an actor a little bit more.

I would also add that the shift in tone took me some time to get used to and I think for some people they will never get used to it. STM is very much a classic as it started the whole superhero genre and I think for a lot of people that are old school that specific type of tone is what they invision when they think of Superman. So for those that hated SR because it had ties to STM and dreamed of a radical new take on the material for better or worse you got your wish here. Like SR not everyone is going to be happy with this new film but we all should hope that MOS gets a sequel not just because I think there is enough material to take the series into some cool directions but for the sake of the character in films it is important this time around Superman is a success at the movies.

My score after the first viewing 8.5/10..

 

[DACrowe]

My rating is a 7. Good, could have been better.

What are we ranking out of?

Out of Superman movies?

1. Superman: The Movie (1978)
2. Superman II (1980)
3. Man of Steel (2013)

Didn't care for the other three.

Out of Modern DC movies?

1. The Dark Knight (2008)
2. The Dark Knight Rises (2013)
3. Batman Begins (2005)
4. Man of Steel

That is not a slight, I just think TDK trilogy is hands down better. Still, I would put it miles ahead of Green Lantern or many of MCU's own films, including Iron Man 2, Captain America and The Incredible Hulk.

Out of all comic book films?

I would rather not say, because it would be too low to mention.

 

[Dork Knight]

Okay, I've had a good night sleep, and have taken the time to recollect my thoughts. So, I present to you now... my review of MAN OF STEEL:

Spoiler

***BEWARE SPOILERS!!***

THE GOOD: Henry Cavill is Superman! The movie works because we believe he is Clark/Kal-El. He looks like Superman, he talks like Superman, he walks, flies, yells, and punches like Superman! Sorry "Smaillville" fans, but Tom Welling did none of those things. With a few more Superman movies under his cape, I'm confident he will replace Christopher Reeve as the definitive "movie" Superman. Speaking of cape... I love, Love, LOVE the Suit!! I LOVE IT!!! I love the redesigned \S/ er... yeah, I know it's not an "S." I meant I love the crest of the House of El... I love all the new touches like the sheen of the material, the cape attachment, the gauntlets. And they even appeased those who are lamenting the loss of the briefs by giving you comic-accurate cape and boots! And... that cape!! Just awesome!!!

Henry wasn't alone in bringing some much needed acting gravitas to the film. The cast of this movie is amazing. I sense that this was a result of Synder's collaboration with Nolan. As Nolan's formula from the Dark Knight Trilogy(use star power to "ground" and validate a comic book movie) was applied perfectly to the film. This is a stark contrast to "Superman Returns." Where almost everyone was horribly miscast. And the difference was stunning. There was more weight to the dialog, and more credibility to each scene. Which is funny, because MOS is the one with the heavy sci-fi elements and scenes that included incredible flights of fancy.

Another thing that really surprised me was how good the musical score is. It's so hard to separate Superman from the John Williams score, but Hans managed to orchestrate(hehe) and put together a new musical take that highlights and enforces the themes and emotions present in the film. The percussions, especially, is a daring choice but they work fabulously! I'm so glad Snyder decided to go in a new direction with the score instead of recycling the Williams stuff, like Singer did. This helped immensely in forging a new identity and direction for the film series.

THE BAD: In a word, editing. I don't have a problem with the way the movie was constructed, with flashbacks sprinkled in the main narrative. It worked for "Batman Begins," but it doesn't quite work here. The film just felt choppy and disjointed. I mean, we see Jonathan Kent's grave before we actually see him die! That was definitely jarring. I also felt that many important scenes might have been cut. The oil rig rescue, in particular, was cut extremely tight. It's a shame because that's when we see Clark's powers for the first time. Snyder should've allowed the audience to drink in that sequence and make a strong first impression. Also, we don't get a scene where Clark leaves home. And we only get a few scenes of young Clark and hardly any Pa Kent scenes at all. I sense that there is a lot of stuff on the cutting room floor.

I also wasn't impressed by David Goyer's writing. The dialog was acceptable but there are some very poorly written lines. It was weird to hear all these fantastic actors speaking these stilted sentences and cluttered words. There were also some leaps of logic and gaping plot holes, which is becoming a requisite for a Goyer script. So, why even send Zod and the prisoners into space when they know the planet is about to blow up? Why not just leave them on the planet so they can um... get blown up with everyone else? And they never explained if Clark actually knew about the Fortress and where it was. Or if it was just dumb luck that he happened to be traveling to the North Pole(who would want to go the North Pole anyway?) and super-heard the army guys talking about their operation.

Alright, I know I will get some flack for this but... there is too much action! Everyone loves action, but there was just too much, over the top, let's destroy everything in Metropolis, ACTION! I know they were pandering the to fans a little and apologizing for the lack of action in "Superman Returns," but they completely went overboard! Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. It's like lightsabers in Star Wars. Lightsabers are awesome, but when you have two guys swinging lightsabers around for like 10 mins with perfect choreography... swinging from cables... no drama... no sense of danger... nothing... it's boring(Sorry George). There was no drama to accompany the action. We know the Kryptonians are invulnerable. Continually dropping buildings on each other, only to see them escape unscathed(and not even a scratch or a hair out place!) completey drains the life from those scenes. They should've just ended the movie with the Smallville fight. That was done much better than the Metropolis finale.

I have some qualms about specific plot points as well. Specifically the climax of the film. People will say that Superman killing Zod was a case of character assassination. But I argue that it was a fitting end to the character assassination that started 10 minutes ago. I'm actually not appalled by the killing of Zod. But rather, Superman's complete disregard for the people of Metropolis. It was hard to watch the "epic" fight sometimes(and not because of the sometimes shoddy CGI). His fight with Zod probably killed tens of thousands of people! Isn't Superman smart(I mean he does have super intelligence!) and compassionate enough to take the fight elsewhere? Some remote desert, space, or even his favorite vacation getway, the Arctic? Also, since Superman was up against trained warriors who had the same powers as him, I wished Superman would've used his intelligence, cunning, cellophane "S," or his knowledge and experience on earth(homefield advantage!) to help him defeat Zod's army. Instead, he just mindlessly punched stuff until he won(against bred and trained warriors no less).

That brings me to Zod. I have some problems with how Zod was written. Zod is just an unrealized character, which is sad because I really had high hopes for him. Michael Shannon is good at looking menacing and yelling a lot, but his character is all bark, no bite! He tells us that his destiny is war, but he gets owned in hand-to-hand combat by a scientist and a farmer! LOL! He gets no respect from Goyer. Zod starts a coup that gets quelled in like 30 minutes. He's "General" Zod so he's in charge of Krypton's army right? So who's army arrested him? hmmm... Faora was everything Zod wasn't. Hopefully, she's not dead and comes back from the phantom zone in the future.

THE UGLY: The worse scene in this movie is the death of Pa Kent. That was such a horribly scripted and written scene. I know it was supposed to be a "he died for what he believed in," scene. But that's the best you could come up with Goyer? It was comical! Which is sad because Kevin Costner was actually pretty good as Pa. In this one sequence, you have the token "last thing Pa and I did was argue!" scene, the plot contrivance(forgot the dog in the car!), the plot absurdity(huge tornado only kills Pa Kent and everyone else is safe in the underpass), and the main plot device(I have to be Superman now for my dad). Ugh...

But don't get me wrong. I did enjoy the movie. I'm a nerd, so I reserve the right to nerd-rage. Especially Superman, because I love the Man of Steel. But I wished his movie was a bit better. But if anything, this movie is a great kicking off point for the new franchise. And I'm excited to see what's next.

8/10

 

[The Batman]

I gotta give it about 7 out of 10. And as I’ve said before, I feel like giving it a ten is me being generous.

Terrible pacing in some spots, and was definitely the main problem with the movie.

I’ll also say that on this first viewing, much of the movie left me cold. Didn’t feel invested in, well…most of the characters.

Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner absolutely stole this movie for me. These were the two characters I actually cared about. People saying Shannon’s General Zod would be Heath Ledger level were sorely mistaken. For the most part he was decent, but Faora made more of an impression.

Amy Adams’ initial scenes as Lois were spot on…but after that, it wasn’t really a remarkable performance, only because of the writing. And I didn’t feel that she and Cavill had sparks at all, so their big kiss scene fell flat for me, but once again, that was the writing.

And Cavill as Superman….I honestly don’t blame whichever reviewer said he was “passable”. I think the one scene I was impressed with was the “interrogation” scene. Once again, that’s all down to the writing and pacing.

Overall, this movie was about as good as Superman Returns. It deserves a sequel, but only if Goyer is replaced or has a co writer with him. I can easily find myself believing that this will go down as the most overrated movies of 2013, and absolutely the most overrated Superman film to date.

 

[The Joker]

The movie is the greyest looking movie I've ever seen. If it wasn't for Superman's costume the entire movie would look grey.

The action looked great, but some of it got a bit repetitive. How many times did Supes throw someone through buildings, or crash land roughly on the ground? It seemed that's what the bulk of the action scenes consisted of. Though it was great to see Superman in full on action against Zod and his team. He's badly needed some foes he could really throw down with.

The actors all did well with their roles. Some better than others like Crowe, Shannon, and Costner.

Overall I give it 7/10. Good but never quite reached the heights of greatness.

 

[Autonet]

Alright I am still digesting what I saw. I thought Man of Steel was an extremely well made summer thrill ride. Was it a great Superman movie? I am not so sure but audiences should be mostly pleased with it. This is a different Superman in tone than anything we have seen on film and it’s not even close. This movie is dark, in fact for Superman it might as well be rated R the film feels so dark and serious in tone compared to STM. I’ll highlight what worked for me in the movie.

Henry was Superman from the moment he came on screen even under that beard on the fishing boat when we first see him. His presence and charisma shine through for 2 plus hours. He looked amazing in the suit as thank god the awful photos we saw on set were not a preview of the look in the film itself. He looked great when flying, he looked great in action, he had the right tone with the dialogue he just nailed it.

Amy Adams was fabulous as Lois.. From what I read I was expecting very little contact between them and for her part to be dumbed down but she actually had a very pivotal part in the story and they weaved her into the film nicely.

Shannon was an effective villain. His portrayal of Zod worked but I was hoping for more. His ambitions to save Krypton's race sort of left him straddling the fence between the villain and someone who just believes he is doing what he must. Unlike Stamp he was not really given any memorable lines and IMO Stamp’s portrayal will always be the definitive one. Stamp just had this aura of arrogance about him with the people of earth. They were all beneath him where as Shannon is just this Warrior with a cause but don’t get me wrong it worked for this movie in the context of the story told.

The action as reported and anticipated for basically 2 years was the best any Superman film has seen and probably the best any comic book movie including the Avengers has pulled off. Superman does in this movie everything any fan could have dreamed of. He soars , he punches and punches and punches some more, he destroys giant space ships, his battle with Zod is grand in scale and makes you drool. Yes truly no Superman fan will dare complain about lack of action this go around.

Hans Zimmer’s Score. I thought it was very subtle but effective for MOS which was the right approach. You will never top the Williams theme and with this movie being much darker in tone to begin with they went in the right direction with sort of a somber score. At the end of the day the score has to fit the movie and Zimmer’s did.

Now for a few things I didn’t like. I would say like almost all movies of this genre it just went on a little too long. Many critics complained about the action being overdone in parts and while it's all exciting they are very much right. You just can only see buildings crash down so many times before you are wondering when is it going to end?

Henry should have been given a little more to do. I thought in the middle of the film instead of more massive actions scenes we could have seen a few more character moments with Henry. He has the look and the acting chops to carry the film without non-stop action and people constantly in danger. I hope if we get the sequel this time around Henry gets to strut his stuff as an actor a little bit more.

I would also add that the shift in tone took me some time to get used to and I think for some people they will never get used to it. STM is very much a classic as it started the whole superhero genre and I think for a lot of people that are old school that specific type of tone is what they invision when they think of Superman. So for those that hated SR because it had ties to STM and dreamed of a radical new take on the material for better or worse you got your wish here. Like SR not everyone is going to be happy with this new film but we all should hope that MOS gets a sequel not just because I think there is enough material to take the series into some cool directions but for the sake of the character in films it is important this time around Superman is a success at the movies.

My score after the first viewing 8.5/10..

Nice review.

I think if this Zod said "KNEEL BEFORE ME," I would've loved it just because it's so iconic.

 

[Caped Wonder]

Man of Steel was the #1 most anticipated movie of 2013 for me, and it didn't disappoint. At all. Going in I thought it was going to be very insular and more character-driven, mixed with some action, which is pretty close to how it turned out to be. There was more action than I thought there would be, because judging by the trailers I did think it was gonna be every bit as meditative and emotional as Superman Returns. There was some of that there, but man it was like Superman the Movie and Superman II put together, making it very epic, pretty long, very involved and action-packed. Great movie.

The two best things about Man of Steel is Henry Cavill and Amy Adams, who have great chemistry and both inhabit their respective characters perfectly. Amy Adams is maybe now my favorite Lois Lane EVER, with Margot Kidder right alongside. Cavill isn't my favorite Superman ever (me and my generation will always see Christoper Reeve as the flesh and blood Blue Boyscout) but still he was excellent. The rest of the cast was great too. I was initially unsure about Russell Crowe as Jor-El months ago when I first saw him in a trailer, but the later trailers really made him look better and honestly he was one of my favorite characters in the movie. I don't when the last time I gave two craps about Crowe as an actor, but this restored him for me. In fact (this is gonna be blasphemy), I might like him better than Brando in the part. I can't believe I'm saying that.

Anyway, Man of Steel is wonderful, but I knew I'd like it no matter what; I'm a big Superman fan. Long as there aren't anymore Superman IIIs or IVs, they've got me. I am so looking forward to a sequel.

(PS: shh! I think I still like Superman Returns more....shh!!)

 

[Ubba Dubba]

Hello all, I have read posts on SHH since like 2004. Never got around to joining so I could post until now. My rankings of my top 10

MOS
TDK
S:TM
Spiderman 1
Iron Man
BB
Sup:2
Spiderman 2
CA
TA

 

[JangoNate]

I gave it a 9 on the vote, but I rounded up from an 8.5. Really strong movie. I teared up a lot in the early scenes. I'm expecting another son in September, so I was literally feeling baby kicks while little Kal-El was being sent off. As a father I connected with a lot of moments. The action is great, maybe a tad too long, but not enough to dock my review, and I was actually a fan of the pacing and the layout of the movie. I also felt there was more humor than many were mentioning.

My ranking?

TDK
MOS
Avengers
TDKR
Superman: The Movie
Spider-Man 2

I could go on, but that gives you an idea of my leanings.

 

[Senator Pleasury]

MAN OF STEEL
Spoilers ahead

I posted my review in another thread. Here it is just in case:

Spoiler

Personally I think Nolan did a lot of right with Batman, but always have felt Snyder falls short when it’s about things other than visuals and Goyer didn’t convince me a lot with his script for Batman begins, that suffered in the dialogue department.

“Man of Steel” starts just wonderfully. Krypton is portrayed like never before, there’s a lot of emotion in those first scenes. And Clark’s childhood is even better when you consider this is groundbreaking, as little has been developed as to how all those super-powers would affect a child that considers himself “normal.” This is when you thank for this new tone Nolan and co. have brought to the genre. Maybe it’s just me but this movie pays homage to Donner’s films more than once (specially when it’s about what both Jor-el and Jonathan Kent, sometimes literally quoting his Donner-verse predecessors) only this time it is with a twist that makes everything feel more serious, more expanded. Also the script is basically STM and SII events put together. But no problems there, believe me.

So, what’s the problem? What is that most critics seems to have a problem with? What is the “fun” that’s missing? Thing is, when we get to see Superman in full costume after a wonderful and promising origin story... the movie forgets this is a Superman movie and goes directly to an alien invasion film. Just when this normal man is prepared to presents himself to the world, do wonderful deeds, leave everyone in awe, nothing happens and we’re taken directly into a complicated Kryptonian invasion that completely removes all those iconic moments everyone is expecting. Superman, the character, is introduced to the world only in function of the Kryptonian invasion and his heroic deeds are skipped until the end of the film. So, basically the world – and this is a group of soldiers and FBI agents and Lois Lane, not the whole world – knows of Superman after they know about General Zod and his henchmen. And so, Superman the character, is left incidental to the plot. One important character but not the quintessential superhero as he should always be. He could be easily described as the "first Kryptonian."

To make it worse, Lois Lane takes no time to find out about Clark Kent and his super powers and alien nature, of which not only a group of people know, but the whole town of Smallville. And all this before Clark Kent even think of going to the Daily Planet, radically changing one of the core elements of the myth just like that. I get that a TV series such a Smallville – which premise was having a superhero show without the superhero, one of the stupidest concepts I’ve ever heard – go and change everything so they can keep making episodes avoiding the full costumed hero. But for a movie that promises the real deal, lots of what Superman’s story is was changed for no important reason.

The acting is very good, Cavill does great as Clark/Kal-el, Shannon is also great as Zod, Amy Adams’s Lois Lane is also a surprise as this version is much more than the usual nosy shallow reporter and Russell Crowe’s jor-el is also notable. The rest is also good as most secondary characters are given something to do. Special applause to Kevin Costner and Diane Lane. The special effects are incredible but after a while they end up being more tiresome than actually surprising.

In short, this movie had everything to be outstanding, but its tone predominated over and digressed just when it was most important to have kept some fundamental elements. Or, if you know little of Superman, you can enjoy this much more as an awesome alien invasion movie.

3/5

 

[craigdbfan]

Just got back from watching MOS and my initial thoughts are that this is a beautiful movie with an incredibly saddening story that works like a visual poem.

Teared up during many parts (flat out wanted to cry but held it in) and found this movie to give reverence to Superman's origin as good as Batman Begins did to Batman.

I'll go into a deeper review later on today/tonight.

10/10

 

[JangoNate]

Just got back from watching MOS and my initial thoughts are that this is a beautiful movie with an incredibly saddening story that works like a visual poem.

Teared up during many parts (flat out wanted to cry but held it in) and found this movie to give reverence to Superman's origin as good as Batman Begins did to Batman.

I'll go into a deeper review later on today/tonight.

10/10

No shamed in shedding a tear. My wife cried her eyes out. I gave her the look, like "really?" Then I turned my head and choked back the tears. Touching stuff.

 

[GENERAL RAAM582]

As of now, a 9.5. It might go down, no less than a 9 after a while. But I really didn't have too many problems, so it may stay at a 9.5. I really loved this movie, it was nearly everything that I wanted.

 

[Supermanofsteel]

6.5/10

1. Dark Knight
2. Dark Knight Rises
3. Batman Begins
4. Avengers
5. X2
6. X-Men - First Class
7. Iron Man 1
8. Spiderman 2
9. All the rest (Thor, Captain America, Man of Steel, X1, etc.)
.
.
.
.
. Superman Returns.

 

[bes628]

1. MOS
2. TDK
3. Avengers
4. TDKR
5.Batman Begins

 

[Hunter Rider]

Don't believe Critics that this movie lacks emotional moments and a heart.

The movie has some drawbacks, like color palette (blue-Grey look that makes many scenes look dull)

Agreed on both points.

 

[Bruce Malone]

A solid 8 for me. I personally enjoyed it quite a bit but rating it as a film i felt there were flaws that could and should be corrected for the sequel.

-edit- not part of the poll but i'd rate the trailers for this film a 9.5. Now that was the film i wanted to see.