Thoughts On: Man of Steel
What a visually stunning....mess. Zack Snyder has proven time and time again that he can make a pretty movie...what he has yet to me prove to me is that he can make a good movie. Man of Steel, for all of its gorgeous costumes, pretty actors, and stunning explosions is a mess on almost every level. It's a shame because I think the idea was there and the performances (from most of the cast) were good. Since it's late and I'm tired, I'll just break it down by sections...
The Good
Henry Cavill, I think he was a good choice for the role. It's just that there wasn't much of a role. It seemed as if all he did was wander around and then fight some people. I wasn't even sure what his character's motivations were for half the movie, to be completely honest. In the right director/writer's hands, Cavill could be an exceptional Superman. In this, he was just okay-good.
The Visuals. The costumes were beautiful, some of the shots stunning, and I was impressed by many of the explosions.
The Okay
The Supporting Cast. Amy Adams, Russell Crow, Laurence Fishburne, and Diane Lane were all good....what there was of them, at least. Lois started out strong and then they seemed to lose track of her as a character about midway through. At which point she became a plot device. However, I felt like each of these actors fit into their respective roles well. Michael Shannon (Zod) was the only one that I wasn't feeling.
The Bad
The Editing. I don't really understand how this movie was cut...I don't. There's this constant back and forth between the past and present, and some of them felt incredibly random and weirdly placed. I liked a few of them on their own, but within the context of the film they felt jarring. Along those lines, the pacing of the film felt all over the place. The film started out well and set-up the story nicely, but then they jumped from him arriving on Earth to him being a fisherman and saving random people. Then we went back to the past...then back to the present...and then back to the part again. The movie never felt like it was moving in any sort of direction, just skipping around from moment to moment.
The Writing. I'm not sure the writers knew what the point of their own movie was. It all sort of got lost once Zod and Co. came to Earth and 40 minutes was spent on various people being slammed into or through buildings. Also, the plot (if one can call it that) was a giant mess of inconsistencies and unanswered questions. I spent a good 20 minutes outside the theatre going 'Why did X do Y...that didn't make any sense or they didn't explain that' (for example, why did Zod want Lois on the ship?). If the characters had been stronger, maybe I could have overlooked some of these...but they weren't. I didn't really care about anyone. Clark seemed nice enough...but I wasn't given much in way of his characters. At the end, the only people you really connected with were his (dead) parents.
The Romance. Tacked on, rushed, and poorly executed. The characters had one scene together that I liked (the interrogation room)...the rest felt horribly forced.
The Good
Henry Cavill, I think he was a good choice for the role. It's just that there wasn't much of a role. It seemed as if all he did was wander around and then fight some people. I wasn't even sure what his character's motivations were for half the movie, to be completely honest. In the right director/writer's hands, Cavill could be an exceptional Superman. In this, he was just okay-good.
The Visuals. The costumes were beautiful, some of the shots stunning, and I was impressed by many of the explosions.
The Okay
The Supporting Cast. Amy Adams, Russell Crow, Laurence Fishburne, and Diane Lane were all good....what there was of them, at least. Lois started out strong and then they seemed to lose track of her as a character about midway through. At which point she became a plot device. However, I felt like each of these actors fit into their respective roles well. Michael Shannon (Zod) was the only one that I wasn't feeling.
The Bad
The Editing. I don't really understand how this movie was cut...I don't. There's this constant back and forth between the past and present, and some of them felt incredibly random and weirdly placed. I liked a few of them on their own, but within the context of the film they felt jarring. Along those lines, the pacing of the film felt all over the place. The film started out well and set-up the story nicely, but then they jumped from him arriving on Earth to him being a fisherman and saving random people. Then we went back to the past...then back to the present...and then back to the part again. The movie never felt like it was moving in any sort of direction, just skipping around from moment to moment.
The Writing. I'm not sure the writers knew what the point of their own movie was. It all sort of got lost once Zod and Co. came to Earth and 40 minutes was spent on various people being slammed into or through buildings. Also, the plot (if one can call it that) was a giant mess of inconsistencies and unanswered questions. I spent a good 20 minutes outside the theatre going 'Why did X do Y...that didn't make any sense or they didn't explain that' (for example, why did Zod want Lois on the ship?). If the characters had been stronger, maybe I could have overlooked some of these...but they weren't. I didn't really care about anyone. Clark seemed nice enough...but I wasn't given much in way of his characters. At the end, the only people you really connected with were his (dead) parents.
The Romance. Tacked on, rushed, and poorly executed. The characters had one scene together that I liked (the interrogation room)...the rest felt horribly forced.