TMOS Reviews Thread - Non Spoiler Review and Discussion - Part 7

[Ramirez16]

faora was my favorite part

so sexy

and always interesting when the camera's on her

Agreed. I love female villains.

 

[Princess Denise]

Your happy, bouncy post made my day. Here's to optimism!

Have you seen MOS yet?

 

[FlawlessVictory]

http://www.metacritic.com/movie/man-of-steel/user-reviews

Just leaving this here.....

 

[Karelia]

Going tomorrow night at IMAX. Gonna show up about 45 minutes early. Maybe that'll be enough time to get a good seat. Can't wait!

 

[Princess Denise]

^Sounds great. Can't wait to see it myself, I'm going tomorrow night.

Just remember that during the first half hour the shaky cam work and editing is awful. You'll be thinking "OMG the critics were right!" Yes it is that bad Stick with it though as it gets progressively better. By the time Superman first takes flight MOS is just awesome and you will never want it to end! t:

 

[regwec]

Have you seen MOS yet?

No, I have had a slightly weird couple of days. The crowds were queuing outside my local cinema cinematic evening, though. Will force myself to find the time to see it.

 

[Heaby]

I won't be seeing MOS until the 26th here in Sweden but with all the talk from the negative reviews here about awful pacing, bad dialogue & choppy editing, what other movies are comparable?

I'd like to have an idea of what MOS resembles in terms of the above stated complaints.

To all of you who loves MOS, are the complaints minor issues for you or no issue at all?

I'm honestly confused how there's such a split in opinions on MOS, some calling it one of the best cbm's of all time while others slamming it to hell.

Help me please oh wise people of the Hype.

 

[Joeyjojo72]

Ive heard the opposite. That the first 2/3rds of the movie are really good and the last third is basically destruction porn with Supes passively participating in the

Spoiler

death of hundreds if not thousands of civilians.

. Most of my friends enjoyed the movie as a whole despite its glaring issues, so its all good.

 

[Mad Love]

The people have come to save Superman.

Man of Steel Audience Reaction + Review : Beyond The Trailer
[YT]NdmLBws6ONM[/YT]

 

[sf2]

Just remember that during the first half hour the shaky cam work and editing is awful. You'll be thinking "OMG the critics were right!" Yes it is that bad Stick with it though as it gets progressively better. By the time Superman first takes flight MOS is just awesome and you will never want it to end! t:

Lol. Some said the first hLf hour is the best. U know.

 

[Princess Denise]

Ive heard the opposite. That the first 2/3rds of the movie are really good and the last third is basically destruction porn with Supes passively participating in the

Spoiler

death of hundreds if not thousands of civilians.

. Most of my friends enjoyed the movie as a whole despite its glaring issues, so its all good.

Before I saw MOS a lot of Hypesters said that the first half was rushed and choppy and that the second half saves it. After seeing it for myself I will say that they were right. However, for me it was only the first half hour where the cam work and editing were really bad. The Krypton scenes, especially, looked promising but it seems as though it was all chopped up badly on the editing room floor to cut the length of the movie. Also, there are way too many zoom in shots in the beginning and it is very irritating.

But, overall MOS is FANTASTIC! t:

 

[DACrowe]

My two cents:

Man of Steel is a good movie. It could have been a great movie, but as much as I think Nolan and Snyder's style worked together for (mostly) strong results during the first 90 minutes, they fell apart and became at odds for most of the last 45 minutes.

What Worked

First Henry Cavill is AMAZING as Superman. I will not say better than Reeve, because comparing them just feels silly to me. But he is the first actor since Reeve to ever make me forget about that performance. Not Dean Cain, not Tom Welling and certainly not Brandon Routh could do that.

Amy Adams offers one of the best interpretations of Lois Lane on screen. I somewhat prefer her plucky, witty interpretation in the first two Donner films, but let's just say Adams is a bit more fetching. Also, she brings a real world believability to Lois as a journalist, which is more than I can say for any film or television take to date. I especially like how they handled the Lois and Clark storyline, if you know what I mean. Different can be great.

Hans Zimmer's music. I admit that it hurt that we did not get the John Williams fanfare after Krypton blew and we saw Kal-El's ship headed to Earth. Otherwise though, Zimmer brought a new and refreshing sound to the character. It in no way replaces Williams, but like his Batman scores, it reinvents the character musically well enough that I do not find myself missing the previous composer. Which is nice because all Superman Returns did was remind me how much I wished Williams was composing.

The Kryptonian actors. They were all good for various reasons. So, I will narrow it down to the obvious. Crowe and Shannon both recreated their characters in exciting ways. Crowe may be my favorite Jor-El, unfortunately the presentation of his story left something to be desired...

Which brings me to the flipside of the good/bad barrier. The handling of the story. For the most part I thought the movie worked as a very toned down and, yes, Nolan-ized version of the story, right down to explaining where the costume came from and telling the tale in non-linear flashbacks during Clark's "lost years." Strangely, I actually preferred the Smallville scenes to the Krypton ones as Kevin Costner was fantastic as the underused Pa Kent. I also like that despite a handful of biblical references, such as Clark being 33, they left the Christian allegory to Donner and pursued a more American immigrant tale with this one. Also thematically, the writing of a haunted Clark Kent at war with himself and his multiple identities made this the most nuanced and complex interpretation of the character onscreen without falling into the trap of him becoming a brooder like Batman.

All that's great but....

What Didn't Work

First, there were times where I felt like what Goyer/Nolan put on the page came at odds with Snyder's vision. Snyder did not seem all that interested in certain things that were built up like in Batman Begins. For instance: where did the costume come from. All the stuff on that alien spaceship felt rushed to get from point A to B, because Snyder showed less of a curiosity in it. Similarly, I think the non-linear approach while different from Donner does not gel with Snyder's storytelling technique (I know odd, considering he made Watchmen). The cuts between times felt jarring. Especially the first one, but that relates to my biggest complaint:

Action burnout. Too many scenes and plots were undercut by a film that wanted to be thematically weighty from the page but felt (whether by studio mandate or not) grounded in eye candy on the screen. How much better would Krypton have been if it had remained about Jor-El, Zod and the Council? Really build it up to why Zod would perform a coup or whether this version of the council could be persuaded. Instead we got Avatar dragon-riding, weird underwater sequences and an all-too-brief scene to establish conflict between Zod and Jor-El. Similarly, the first thing we literally see Clark do on Earth instead of be a boy is save that oil rig crew. Jumping from one action sequence to the next with no room to breathe creates a senseless effect and undercuts the drama of Clark's identity crisis which isn't even introduced until nearly 30 minutes into the movie.

And that brings me to this early problem resurfacing in the third act. All the themes of Clark's Human/Kryptonian duality is completely dropped for a 45 minute throwdown. It is much better than Superman Returns' lack of action, do not get me wrong, but instead of being stunning and awe inspiring (as Snyder likely intended) it became claustrophobic in its excessiveness and wearing. I can understand if they aren't going for the "pow, wow" approach of Whedon's Avengers or Raimi's Spider-Man movies (the films that really changed the game in superhero films needing big action). However, instead of being seriously epic, the level of Metropolis destruction becomes numbing. Also, WAY TOO MANY falling skyscrapers for my taste. It felt like 9/11 x 10 and does not really make for a satisfying end, considering all the evil Zod did before that moment.

Still loved the final scene and how they twisted the mythos!

Overall, Man of Steel is a good movie. But if Snyder had more focus and tonal clarity, it could have been a great one.

7/10

My review.

 

[Autonet]

I hyped Man of Steel for YEARS on my favorite rock-n-roll band website's forum. Here's what one of my buddies had to say in that community:

"Well, I just got home from seeing it... WOW!!! What an incredible movie!!!!!! To me, this is the best Superman film I've seen. The original was great back in the day, but does not stand up to the test of time.

I will say... after watching it in RPX 3-D, I would definitely recommend seeing this in 2-D. The action will make you dizzy as hell and it's distracting. They could not have found anyone better to play this role, and I'm a believer. He IS Superman! Lol!!

This has now taken the title as MY favorite superhero movie. I will definitely be going back and seeing it again with the MRS. t:"

Not stand the test of time? Like this one will? What a silly thing to say if you want to go that route. In 30 years this cgi will suck.

 

[Joeyjojo72]

Exactly. The Wizard of Oz, 2001, Raiders, to name a tiny few, will always be classics, despite their quaint, outdated effects. Ridiculous attitude.

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

I'm just back from my screening... so I'll definitely need a little more time to fully process the movie (a second viewing should help too). However, I will share my very basic, initial thoughts:

I absolutely LOVED this movie.

From top to bottom, it was an absolute joy to sit through and I have no idea in hell what the critics were complaining about. This is an amazing Superman movie for the 21st century. It felt like some of my favorite comic storylines plus Superman: The Animated Series collided together to create this wonderful fusion of a new modern live-action Superman.

Any concerns I had were melted away... (Adams as Lois... totally warmed to her by the movies end) and I was left with a profound sense of wonder.

Henry Cavill just took a seat next to Christopher Reeve as a ''definitive'' Superman and he NEEDS to play this role for a long time.

Damn the critics and may the box office open the doors to a new, sorely needed, Superman franchise. t:

I'll do a proper review later... but for now I think I'll settle at an 8/10.

 

[robot]

The only movies that stand the test of time is one with a great story, script, and well told... When watching those movies, even bad CGI doesn't matter..

 

[TheFlamingCoco]

I don't know if we can say which films today will be classics, because true classics stand out beyond the sensibilities of the era. That being said, I think the superhero genre will eventually reach its end, and we'll be able to root out which ones are the best when that happens.

 

[Rowsdower!]

I'm going to post a full review later today, but for now, let me just say this:

MAN OF STEEL IS F**KING AWESOME. Just my opinion, but it's better than The Avengers, better than Superman I & II, better than the Iron Man movies, and maybe better than the Dark Knight movies (still pondering that last one). And I love all of those films; to me, they're the superhero elite class. But for me, MOS gets everything right, or at least everything it needs to.

Henry Cavill IS Superman, every bit as much as Christopher Reeve was. We finally have a true successor to the role, because like Daniel Craig's James Bond and Christian Bale's Batman, Cavill really makes the role his own. His Superman is everything a young, confused and occasionally clumsy Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent should be. I can't wait to see what Cavill does with the character in a sequel.

Also, Amy Adams is not only the best Lois Lane EVER, she's also the best female lead I've seen in a superhero film. I'm really confused by anyone who said her character was underdeveloped or underused... she's a major part of this film and she's fantastic.

Crowe, Costner, Lane, Shannon, Grey, Fishburne, Traue, Shiff, Zurer, Meloni and Lennix all shined in their roles as well. They didn't all have the biggest parts, but I enjoyed every performance in this film.

Finally, a big round of applause to Snyder, Goyer, Nolan and Zimmer. They really did a bang up job on this. They finally gave me the Superman movie I've waited for my whole life. The only Superman films I'd seen in the theater up until this point were Superman IV and Superman Returns, neither of which were good (IMO). This is what I've wanted to see since I was a kid. Thank you WB for finally getting it right.

10/10

 

[FlawlessVictory]

I don't know if we can say which films today will be classics, because true classics stand out beyond the sensibilities of the era. That being said, I think the superhero genre will eventually reach its end, and we'll be able to root out which ones are the best when that happens.

This has been said for years, that superhero fatigue will set in. Still hasn't, the genre is stronger than ever with IM3 and now MOS breaking records a month apart from each other. The audience is eating it up. Hopefully results are solid for Thor as well at the end of the year.

 

[FlawlessVictory]

Awesome Rowsdower!, glad you liked it that much. I'm so pumped to see this.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Thanks, Flawless. Yeah, I really hope people like it. The crowd reaction at my theater was very positive. There were some things that I could see bugging people but I think with these types of movies, you have to give all of them a little leeway here and there. Not everything is going to be 100% realistic, and other the other side of the coin, not everything is going to play out the way the comic book version would. The important thing is finding the right balance. And I think MOS does that very, very well.

 

[alexnyc]

*** MAN OF STEEL***

Ok i can honestly say that if God were to take me right now i can die a happy man lol. Last nite i went to see this movie and let me just say that it was one of the best superman movies i ever seen apart from the original that christopher reeves was in. There were certain scenes that henry cavill resemble christopher in alot of what he did in his movies but henry did great job and i applaud him. ...

And zack snyder is the freaking man!!!


Love how he fullfill all my expectations on what i wanted to see superman do and to see it on the screen wow what an undescribeable feeling. The suit and everything was freakin awesome! I give this movie

 

[Rowsdower!]

Glad to hear it! I hope this movie makes a ton of money because I want SEQUELS. And a LOT of them.

 

[MadVillainy]

In short I give this a 6.5-7/10

 

[Ultimatehero]

This has been said for years, that superhero fatigue will set in. Still hasn't, the genre is stronger than ever with IM3 and now MOS breaking records a month apart from each other. The audience is eating it up. Hopefully results are solid for Thor as well at the end of the year.

Exactly, it's our modern greek mythology. We need these stories inherently by nature.