Who was your favorite Actress/Female Character in "MOS"?

[N7 Joseph Shepard]

I liked them all, some out shined the others like Adams and Traue, but I think given what all of them had to work with the entire female cast did a great job which is something I normally dont say, in fact the only person I have an issue with from the entire cast is Kevin Costner lol

 

[Faora]

Of course Antje Traue.
Everything is so clearly on my nick. She has conquered me. =)

 

[jab1023]

Antje Traue of course.

 

[cer0]

Amy Adams gave a solid performance, and I agree it's the best live-action incarnation of the character, but many of her scenes didn't work for me. I felt like the scene where she holds hands beside Clark, right before General Swanwick hands him over to Zod didn't feel genuine. Clark/Lois had like two real encounters before then. Visually it was a very powerful scene, but emotionally it didn't really phase me. The same can be said about their kiss later in the movie.

Diane Lane, Ayelet Zurer, and Antje Traue all had much more limited roles in the movie, but they filled those roles very well. I would give the crown to Diane Lane as Martha Kent for the power of her performance, but Antje really killed it as Faora, so she gets my vote.

I flatly didn't care for Jenny and Captain Ferris as characters, though. They may as well not have been in the movie for me.

 

[Audrey]

Amy Adams gave a solid performance, and I agree it's the best live-action incarnation of the character, but many of her scenes didn't work for me. I felt like the scene where she holds hands beside Clark, right before General Swanwick hands him over to Zod didn't feel genuine. Clark/Lois had like two real encounters before then. Visually it was a very powerful scene, but emotionally it didn't really phase me. The same can be said about their kiss later in the movie.

Diane Lane, Ayelet Zurer, and Antje Traue all had much more limited roles in the movie, but they filled those roles very well. I would give the crown to Diane Lane as Martha Kent for the power of her performance, but Antje really killed it as Faora, so she gets my vote.

I flatly didn't care for Jenny and Captain Ferris as characters, though. They may as well not have been in the movie for me.

Well, let me preface this by saying that I don't think Amy Adams is the best live action rendition of Lois to date. I still think that's Erica Durance. But I also think it's an unfair comparison because Durance played Lois for 7 years and was in almost 100 episodes. That's a heck of a long time to develop a character and grow and shape and change. Amy had less than 2 hours. So while I still have to maintain that Durance is the best live action Lois Lane, I know full well even in saying that that it's a totally unfair and ridiculous comparison.

I thought Amy was wonderful given the fact that this was the first film and she had very limited time to build and grow. I'm not under any delusions that it would even be fair to compare her to Erica Durance after one film or even after 4 films.

That said, I think a lot of the emotional resonance of those scenes is a lot deeper than people are giving them credit for.

People keep saying that Lois and Clark had only had a few real encounters before that moment when they clasped hands. That's true...but it's also NOT true.

Lois had been tracking Clark seemingly for quite a while. She had been following him across the globe putting the pieces together about who he was. She spoke to people he had saved and helped. She spoke to women he had protected. She learned he had saved children. She had a picture of who this man was before she even met him and it was an angelic, mysterious picture.

Then add to that the mysterious circumstances around which this gorgeous man saved her life. Then, he turned himself in for her---without being forced to---so that she could go free.


Then you get Clark. Clark has had basically no connection with anyone his entire life. He's been alone and afraid. And this woman puts her ENTIRE LIFE on the line for him. She's willing to go to jail for him. Imagine how incredible that would feel.

There was a much deeper storyline going on here between Lois and Clark than most people are giving credit to. It's not just about how much they interacted on screen. Yes, we needed more of that. But it's also about WHO these two people were.

These were two people who basically put everything on the line for each other in dire circumstances. When you put it into that context and really understand what was going on here, reaching out to take each other's hand and yes, kissing, makes total and complete sense.

It actually makes more sense than half of the romances that you see show up in movies. It's just DIFFERENT than what we are used to seeing in a Superman/Lois narrative so it feels incomplete. And it IS incomplete. Because Clark Kent reporter is not part of the equation yet. But he will be. He will be.

 

[Audrey]

I honestly thought all the women were wonderful. They all were asked to do specific things and they all did them.

Faora was incredible in the movie. But her role was also more limited in the sense that it relied quite a bit on special effects and on one note and one drive. I thought she made a fabulous villain. Top notch. But did the character change? Did she have levels? Not really. She was asked to do one thing and she nailed that one thing.

Amy Adams' character actually went through stages in the movie. Her role was more difficult than Faora's was because she had to have levels and change.

We saw her with her walls and defenses up and we saw her with her walls crumbling down. We saw her put on a brave face and we saw the brave face fall. She was asked to DO more than Faora was. It was a harder role.

So if you are asking me to choose, of course it's going to be Amy. Because she was playing a character that had to actually grow and change and she did that. She learned to trust and to put her trust in something bigger than herself.


I also thought that Lara and Martha were fantastic. I loved them both. I loved Jenny. I truly liked all the women. No complaints.

 

[cer0]

@Audrey: I agree with you entirely on the scenes being deeper once you think about them than most people recognize. You pointed out several aspects of Amy's character Lois that I hadn't give much thought to, honestly. Even so, these are aspects of the character that I expect to become evident more immediately while watching the film, rather than being things you only realize later. At least for me -- and I'm guessing for others as well -- this is exactly what happened. This is not to lay any fault on Amy Adams. I think it has more to do with the pace of the story; from our point of view there were only about 15 minutes between when Clark/Lois first meet, and when they stand side by side during mankind's first encounter with the Kryptonians. Sure when you think about it, weeks have passed since they first met, but it's not something I'm thinking about while watching the film. For me at least, I see the intent, but I don't connect emotionally with those scenes the way I did when Pa Kent watches little Clark play with a cape at the end of the film, and when he is blown away by that tornado. That being said, I really enjoyed the scenes where Lois was just being snarky/assertive/investigative or anything outside of her relationship with Clark.

I'm interested to know what anyone found appealing about Captain Ferris and Jenny, though. To me Ferris is just the girl that said "Hey's kinda hot." and "what's that?", the former makes her just a comic relief stock character to me, the latter is just plain unnecessary. Jenny didn't seem to do much either, she was just someone for Perry to rescue.

 

[cer0]

I should also say that I give alot of credit to Zurer, Lane and Traue because their roles were so small, yet they still brought a lot to the characters. Diane Lane's scene at the school when Clark freaks out is superb. Her voice carries an undercurrent of sadness when Clark tells her that he's found his people. Similarly Traue could have just been a standard issue side-kick villain, but she did a lot just with her eyes; and she brought a bit of humanity to Faora when we see Krypton destroyed.

 

[Audrey]

Audrey: I agree with you entirely on the scenes being deeper once you think about them than most people recognize. You pointed out several aspects of Amy's character Lois that I hadn't give much thought to, honestly. Even so, these are aspects of the character that I expect to become evident more immediately while watching the film, rather than being things you only realize later.

I mean no disrespect with this but...the depth I brought up was plainly evident to me when I watched the film. I paid close attention to the characters and what was going on. I listened to what they said and I processed it. I don't think this was some "hidden" thing.

At least for me -- and I'm guessing for others as well -- this is exactly what happened.

I mean...you can speak for you. You probably shouldn't speak for others. The truth is that a lot of people simple do not pay attention while they are watching narratives. It's also true that some people just flat out miss things in narratives on a regular basis if the narrative presents itself in a way you aren't expecting or different to what you anticipate.

Needless to say, there were plenty of people who did understand all of this. Amy Adams' Lois has a huge presence on tumblr. A lot of essays were published in places like ThinkProgress and in Ms. Magazine after this movie hit that seemed to get this from the fillm with no trouble.

Everthing I said was evident in the narrative and I wasn't the only person who figured it out. It was all there. I didn't need to think about it super hard after the fact to figure it out.

I'm glad I could help you re-evaluate the narrative though. That's the beauty of fandom. WE can help each other re-evaluate and figure out things we might have missed the first time. I'm happy to help.

This is not to lay any fault on Amy Adams. I think it has more to do with the pace of the story; from our point of view there were only about 15 minutes between when Clark/Lois first meet, and when they stand side by side during mankind's first encounter with the Kryptonians.

That's not true at all. It had been quite a while at this point since they met in the Arctic.

It's also clear as day that several weeks have passed while Lois tracks Clark around the world.

The entire film was filled with time jumps and those time jumps.

Sure when you think about it, weeks have passed since they first met, but it's not something I'm thinking about while watching the film.

Ok...but...and I mean this gently...I think that means you weren't paying attention to what the film was giving you.

Films aren't just meant for us to sit there. We are supposed to use our brains and think.

We were given a narrative in which we saw Lois going all over the world tracking this guy and learning he was a savior. We saw her arrested for him. We saw her protect him. We saw Clark bullied as a kid thinking no one would ever protect him.

It makes perfect sense if you are paying attention to what is going on WHY they would stand side by side in front of Zod.

For me at least, I see the intent, but I don't connect emotionally with those scenes the way I did when Pa Kent watches little Clark play with a cape at the end of the film, and when he is blown away by that tornado. That being said, I really enjoyed the scenes where Lois was just being snarky/assertive/investigative or anything outside of her relationship with Clark.

See and this is where we have to completely disagree but because I did not connect with Pa Kent's death AT ALL. I felt nothing.

Why? Because it made no freaking sense. It was totally out of character for Clark Kent, as I know him, to not even try and save his father. It was totally out of character for Jonathan kent, as I know him, to stand there and just die.

Do I think Jonathan Kent would die for his son? ABsolutely. 100%. Yes. Do I think he would just stand there like that? Maybe. Do I think that Clark would let him do that? No. No matter how many times he had been told to hide himself, I don't believe that.

I didn't connect emotionally at all with that scene. And the scene deserves similar criticism to the one you gave to the Superman/Lois scene bc at THIS point in the story we had only seen ONE scene between Clark and Jonathan and Henry Cavill wasn't even the actor in the scene.

I can defend the Lois/Superman actions a lot more bc at least they were in-character and made sense within the context of the narrative with these characters. Jonathan's actions did not make sense to me and neither did Clark's reaction so I felt nothing.

I'm interested to know what anyone found appealing about Captain Ferris and Jenny, though. To me Ferris is just the girl that said "Hey's kinda hot." and "what's that?", the former makes her just a comic relief stock character to me, the latter is just plain unnecessary. Jenny didn't seem to do much either, she was just someone for Perry to rescue.

I disagree.

Captain Ferris was a female solider. She was a female presence in an arena where we usually ONLY have men. She brought a female perspective to the situation.

Captain Ferris saying that he's "hot" is acknowleging for the audience that men were not the only audience for the movie. She's showing us that even female soliders are human and allowed to have sexual attraction. She's speaking for the women in the audience who aren't used to having their POV spoken out loud on screen.

Jenny was not just someone for Perry to rescue. She was a reminder that the people in the Daily Planet were human beings and not just nameless, faceless people. She showed us that there were young interns working there who might look up to Lois Lane.

Perry and Jenny reminded us that the people of Earth were willing to die for each other and would reach out to each other the way that Superman reached out to Lois.

Jenny reached out to Perry and asked him not to leave her.

Lois won't let Superman go on the ship on his own. She reaches out her hand.

There are common themes here that all these characters represent that solidify the entire point of the movie which was that humanity was worth fighting for, protecting and loving.

 

[sf2]

I just wrote it in another thread. So i cut n paste here.

Another thing I love is all the female characters are playing important roles n be given enough scene times. From Lara (her performance is so powerful... every lines would make u wanna cry), martha (she is excellent, so sweet n so warm), foara ( totally badass), lois ( brilliant, smart and lovely) to the silly captain. Lol.

I think MOS is the only CBM that allows so much female characters development... yet it didnt sacrifice the male characters importance.

 

[cer0]

@Audrey:
Look, it's not like I'm watching the movie in a haze or anything, but the scenes depicting the Clark/Lois relationship just don't seem very genuine to me. Before Lois really meets Clark she says something like "I get writer's block, if I'm not wearing a flack jacket." As a journalist, she's clearly seen much of the world and it's made her cynical. So, I feel like Lois is motivated to track down Clark mostly because (a) he saved her life (b) he's clearly not from Earth and (c) as she follows the breadcrumbs, she realizes that Clark is really someone altruistic and pure-hearted. Like you said earlier about her eventually believing in something greater. I agree, she's ready to make a big sacrifice to keep Clark's identity/location a secret. I understand this point logically, but it rings hollow to me because this sacrifice happens off-screen. You don't really see much of it, and it probably takes about 5 minutes of movie-time between when Lois is arrested to when she's throwing around the "well here it's an S" quip at Clark. I can't really appreciate it as much. It makes it seem like Clark just turned himself in right away anyhow, so while her sacrifice may be genuine, it seems kind of token to me. Quite honestly, I think in the scene right after she holds Clark's hand, Lois shows a much stronger resolve to stand alongside Clark. Scared, she steps out from behind the line of soldiers to appease Zod and accompany Clark to a great unknown among a seemly hostile alien race. Throughout the rest of the film, I don't see any Clark/Lois scenes to really substantiate their kiss.

I understand the Lois/Clark relationship even less so from Clark's perspective. Lois isn't the only real person to have protected Clark. His parents spent their whole lives protecting him. His dad died in the act of protecting him. I can believe that this version of Clark would let his father die because he's not the type of guy who's saving someone from a car accident, explosion, or kryptonite-irradiated metahuman every week the way the smallville Clark did. The use of his powers as a child/teenager was heavily discouraged. Jonathan Kent even says that he should have let those kids on the bus drown rather than expose his gifts. If his parents helped Clark hone his abilities, it was probably to keep him from exposing himself more than anything else. Him letting his father die, comes down to a question about whether he respects Jonathan's judgment or not. And everything he's experienced as a child leads supports his dad's belief that the world isn't ready: those kids pull him out of the car and bully him, his schoolmates whisper nasty rumors when his x-ray vision goes haywire, Pete Ross's mom freaks out over the bus incident, etc. The scene in MOS where Clark learns to fly is very powerful precisely because this is the first moment when Clark starts becoming comfortable with who he is and with his abilities.

On Captain Ferris and Jenny:
I think it's far too generous to say Captain Ferris is a well-placed female character simply because she has the occupation of a soldier. The only perspective she contributes is a cheesy line. I guess it can be interpreted as showing that female soldiers are allowed to have sexual attraction, but do you really think that was the intent of the line? Or was it just there to make the audience laugh? As a guy, I guess I don't understand how women feel about female characters on screen, but Ferris doesn't seem like a very good example. If you were talking about a character like Agent Maria Hall from the Avengers movie, I could see your point.

The thing about Jenny is that "Don't Leave me", and "I'm stuck -- I can't get free", are pretty much her only lines. Besides carrying the name Jenny, she may as well be a faceless character to me. Saying that Jenny could look up to Lois is a stretch, there's nothing explicit to really back this up. Even Lombard was more interesting as a character, he put his Schadenfreude on display when Lois was getting heat from Perry, and he had courtside tickets I guess. Jenny could be part of the theme that humanity is worth fighting for and protecting, but I don't feel like the audience really needs to be convinced of this. It's Clark who doesn't know if people can be trusted, and it's him who protects the people, yet he isn't even witness to Jenny and Perry's scene (he's halfway around the world). I don't dislike Jenny's character, I just don't understand what people think is good or even great about her.

 

[cer0]

I feel like we kind of deviated from the OP's purpose, but I like this discussion.