TMOS Reviews Thread - Non Spoiler Review and Discussion - Part 6

[PoSeiDon]

Wasn't it yesterday when it seemed like all the movie blog reviews loved MOS but the professional top critics didn't? But now it's switched around?

Overall: Fresh: 66 Rotten 43 61% Fresh

Top Critics: 18 Fresh 10 Rotten 64% Fresh

Average rating: 6.4/10

as of June 13th, 2013 @ 2.22pm

 

[FourteenthAngel]

I was worried that there would be some critics that hold on to the Reeve/Donner era and while they appreciated the continuation of it with Superman Returns, they may be too connected to that 1978 version and dismiss a modern take with MOS. I was worried it would score lower than SR, but I didn't think it would end up 15% lower. Hopefully it will stay fresh. I'm sure there is always some impact on box office if the critics are scoring a film bad. We need our sequel and JL film at some point. bah

Someone didn't read my above post. Regardless, this is going to happen no matter what we do.

 

[Street Vendor]

http://www.philly.com/philly/entert...an_of_Steel__quot__the_same_old_same_old.html

RT critic, 2 stars out of 4

Same old, same old.

At least an hour of Man of Steel's excessive running time is devoted to the sort of crash-and-burn, slamming-into-skyscrapers CG fight scenes that we've already seen in The Avengers and Dark Knight, Iron Man, and Spider-Man.

Steven Rea rarely gives comic book movies a good review. I wish The Inquirer would let Carrie Rickey review these movies once in awhile, if only for a different perspective.

 

[slimshady247]

So now it's sitting pretty at 61%. Hm. Hopefully it stays around there and remains fresh.

 

[\S/JcDc\S/]

Someone didn't read my above post. Regardless, this is going to happen no matter what we do.

huh? I just saw your two posts above and don't see the connection to my point.

 

[tan-el]

http://www.philly.com/philly/entert...an_of_Steel__quot__the_same_old_same_old.html

RT critic, 2 stars out of 4

Same old, same old.

At least an hour of Man of Steel's excessive running time is devoted to the sort of crash-and-burn, slamming-into-skyscrapers CG fight scenes that we've already seen in The Avengers and Dark Knight, Iron Man, and Spider-Man.

Sigh! Yes. We have already seen this kind of stuff done before. But we haven't seen Superman do it.

 

[\S/JcDc\S/]

Dunno why but there is also a segment of population that has a distaste for Superman and his symbol as being one of the most recognizable \S/ in the world. If you go into a film already hating the character, or thinking low of him/her there is a good chance that you will not like the movie anyways.

 

[Mjölnir]

Yes - Put in spoiler tags anyway tho.

If responding put in spoiler tags just in case.

Spoiler

Man of Steel: Be careful what you wish for....

It's no secret that my favorite Superhero movie of all time is Batman Begins. Yes, even over the almighty Dark Knight.

That being said, I went into Man of Steel expecting it to be the Begins version of Superman.

WRONG-O.

That was my first mistake.

To be honest - in the end it felt more like the Ryan Reynolds Green Lantern of Superman - without the comedy or whimsicalness of that flick.

And that's not a perk of Green Lantern or a requirement of Superman, more or less something that distinguishes the two films.

Man of Steel plays as if there's no script - but rather what we in the film industry call a "Beat Sheet". A series of events required to tell a story. The script then follows that sheet and expunges upon each beat, elaborating it into something more. Creating moments that matter and make us relate to character through them. That doesn't happen here.

As I described to my friend (who loved the film): Imagine the best Superman movie ever made. Now imagine you didn't see it, but some fanboy just got out of the theater and is telling you all about it. That's how the movie is written.

Truthfully - the components are all there - the liver, the eyes, the lungs, the legs and arms and there is cold and still - beating once or twice to give us a real moment. God forgive me, I love sentimentality and I love it in a Superman movie. Outside of two moments - one with Lois before Superman first meets Zod and the other during a pinnacle moment with Jonathan Kent - the moment had no moments that I really connected to.

The problem is the build for me. By the time Superman is in the suit... he doesn't take it off. The initial fight with Zod and crew and the final fight between Superman and Zod and crew is separated by a mere 10-15 minutes. Clark never even gets out of the suit. I was along with the movie until this point, chalking it all up to a slow build. Once I realized this was the final fight - I started hating the movie.

The fights and such are CGI Gumby men fighting and while I've long pined for Superman to punch something - I got what I wished for. And dammit - I don't think it was worth it. I wasn't riding with Superman. I couldn't get an "in" to be rooting for him.

Most of the build up is about Clark trying to find his place in the world... even though he really kind of already knows what it is. It's more or less him trying to figure out "when" to come out of the alien closet - reducing him to a one note character. The key to Superman, with all his physical prowess, is to give him as many internal and emotional struggles as possible. That not only makes him interesting when he's unbeatable physically - but it also makes him more human and thus more relatable. He does wonder how he got here and what his place is - but then Jor El pops up in the fortress and explains it all to him in under 3 minutes.... effectively ruining the last 30-45 minutes and making them irrelevant to his character arc..... rendering him to have none.

And then it's all punchy punch from there.

And even that has it's issues - whether it be the "ugh" CGI aspect of it, or the fact that the cinematography gets REALLY annoying. If you thought handheld was bad in Nolan's movies? WORSE. If you thought the camera was too close in Nolan's movies? WORSE. If you thought the CGI / Exposion was disgusting in the Transformers movies? WORSE. The cinematography did what I've dubed the "pop shot" in which the camera almost does a jump cut / quick zoom technique in the film and it gets overused and kills it reasoning. It's ok every now and then and especially allowed when Superman is honing in on something - but the rest of the time it's just jarring and takes me out of the moment.

The rest of the characters are also kind of one-note. They're all acted really well by the actors but they have no struggles of their own - sans Lois - which was the highlight of the movie. The direction and purpose they instill her with in this film was perfect and everything she needs for a modernization of her character. I wish we had gotten more.

All in all - I didn't really HATE this movie, but now I understand that justified rating on Rotten Tomatoes I so blindly argued against mere hours before. I stand before you humbled and corrected.

The film is by no means as boring as Superman Returns - but not at all as exciting as the perfect harmonization and balance that Batman Begins is.

This film feels a lot like "Unbreakable" in the sense that it really just feels like the 1st act of something bigger. Papa jow needs more Clark Kent and less Superman. More build and less fragmentation. More character and yes.... less action.

I'll see it again, hopefully my perception will change - but I'm starting to doubt it. It's still not "my" Superman, as the saying goes. It was however, my best friend's, as I could see the restraint he was holding back from slugging me when I started saying I was disappointed by it. I love you Bud, don't hate me. lol

See it. You'll make some connections with characters - but much like a 56K modem - don't plan on staying connected very long. Your emotions aren't in the back seat while the action takes the wheel - they're in the rear view... waving goodbye.

PS: If you miss the 20 some-odd blatant "LexCorp" logos in the final fight... you're blind. That's overkill on the easter eggs.

- Jow

Thank you.

While I hope to disagree with them you have many well thought through points and it shows that you know a deal about film making and wasn't just mindlessly going along for the ride. You do press on issues that I have genuinely been a little worried about but I'll of course see for myself. Over two weeks away though.

 

[Anjow1060]

Thank you.

While I hope to disagree with them you have many well thought through points and it shows that you know about about film making and wasn't just mindlessly going along for the ride. You do press on issues that I have genuinely been a little worried about but I'll of course see for myself. Over two weeks away though.

Hit me with a PM review when you do. It'll be impossible to track you down then and hear your thoughts.

- Jow

 

[\S/JcDc\S/]

The Marvel brand also seems to help with critics lol. I could imagine better reviews/scores if Superman was a Marvel character instead of DC

 

[FourteenthAngel]

Dunno why but there is also a segment of population that has a distaste for Superman and his symbol as being one of the most recognizable \S/ in the world. If you go into a film already hating the character, or thinking low of him/her there is a good chance that you will not like the movie anyways.

There are plenty of people who don't see Superman as relevant or pertaining to their tastes. He has been out the lime light for quite some time.

 

[!Superman!]

The Marvel brand also seems to help with critics lol. I could imagine better reviews/scores if Superman was a Marvel character instead of DC

two names didnt help. goyer and snyder ! would it be somebody else they wouldnt compare it to watchmen and others ! the second you see critics talk about watchmen, 300 and suckerpunch you know they want to attack snyder.

 

[-JKR-]

Sigh! Yes. We have already seen this kind of stuff done before. But we haven't seen Superman do it.

You have to understand not everyone is a die-hard fan, and not everybody cares if Superman hasn't done it before, if a movie just offers stuff that has been proposed over and over again in movies (if that's the case).

I'm a comic book fan (but far from the nerd stereotype) and I love Superman, yet to me "comic book movies" feeling the same, except for featuring different characters, is becoming a major problem. It's time for some something fresh and unexpected.

 

[TheFlamingCoco]

^ If this was a Marvel character, they might praise the mature direction
Or Superman would wisecrack the whole movie, build up a big villain and beat him in two minutes, and have MM say "We need to talk" near the end :P

 

[Mjölnir]

Hit me with a PM review when you do. It'll be impossible to track you down then and hear your thoughts.

- Jow

I'll be sure to do that. This place is busy enough without hardly anyone having gotten to see it yet.

 

[db85usa]

With some of the new LieMAX, it's actually better than the traditional 70mm Imax... Here's why:

1. the new LieMAX uses the latest 4K Barco projectors (2 of them). This means, the quality is as good as you can get out of 35mm films and all movies are shot in that format (not the 70mm shot for imax documentaries).

2. The new LieMAX also have far superior sound system. (They have now installed the latest and it was way better than anything else I have heard).

Even on the actual IMAX, you're just getting 35mm quality film, not the actual IMAX films.. so, it's just bigger screen, not better quality...

When I attended TDK marathon at my local AMC, I was not blown away by the LieMAX screen or sound. The screen is just closer to the audience, and barely any bigger than a regular 2D screen. The sound was loud but extremely distorted. Now, this could have just been my theater but when I traveled out of the state to go see TDKR in true 70mm IMAX, that was an experience.

I have seen a lot of movies that weren't shot in 70mm on real IMAX screens and I will still say it is far and away a better experience due to the magnitude of screen/sound. 20,000 + watts of sound

I'll take that.

 

[FourteenthAngel]

As the above user has stated, we want want something new something fresh. Apparently, this new Superman is going to give use that. It doesn't really matter if Superman hasn't done it because it is still something we've seen before nonetheless. Let Superman for a lack of better phrase "...be his own man."

 

[TheFlamingCoco]

http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/enterta...dwin-gives-Man-of-Steel-4-5-stars-no-spoilers
Another pretty positive review.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

Edit

 

[-JKR-]

two names didnt help. goyer and snyder ! would it be somebody else they wouldnt compare it to watchmen and others ! the second you see critics talk about watchmen, 300 and suckerpunch you know they want to attack snyder.

Would it be somebody else, it would have been a different movies. Good morning, logic.

 

[-JKR-]

I'm sorry, I can't take seriously the opinion of posters who are only joining the forums now, in order to trash the movie.

So, first you can't take critics seriously; because, of course, regular joes and comic book aficionados are going to be a better voice when it comes to a movie like Man of Steel. But now you can't take people posting comments on the forums seriously.

Oh, the irony.

 

[FourteenthAngel]

*sigh* I'm back to letting it get to me again...

I hope you are not referring to me. I am not trying to bash the film. I trying to be realistic. Not pessimistic or optimistic like everyone on this forum is right now.

 

[db85usa]

This is enough to make you old... Well, it's official and obviously predictable but Goyer went on to say that a sequel is completely dependent on the box office figures. I sincerely hope, for all our sake that MoS crushes the BO this weekend and beyond. Otherwise we're back at square one. And I don't want to see that happen again

 

[hopefuldreamer]

So, first you can't take critics seriously; because, of course, regular joes and comic book aficionados are going to be a better voice when it comes to a movie like Man of Steel. But now you can't take people posting comments on the forums seriously.

Oh, the irony.

I didn't say I couldn't take the comments of all people posting on this forum seriously.

Just some people.

 

[DorneyDave]

. Well, it's official and obviously predictable but Goyer went on to say that a sequel is completely dependent on the box office figures.

Yeah but I'm pretty sure they're already working on it since the film is going to turn a profit and if it is generally well liked by the GA...a sequel could do HUGE money. Throw in some JL/Batman hints, a new villain, possibly Luthor. Clark and Lois full on love story.