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So about the movie then. Despite the best efforts of friends, acquaintances and people I stalk on the internet, I managed not to read the reviews or watch a single trailer leading up to the movie. So I didn't know a single thing about it other than have a mild awareness that Henry Cavill seemed to be able to pull off a skin tight onesie. Having now watched the movie I am sad to say that had I been unaware of a single element of the Superman mythology, it would have been so much easier to enjoy the movie. If all that the audience knew about Superman was that he had a red cape and could fly, then they would have been completely satisfied with Man of Steel because it features a Superman who not only wears a red cape, but flies. In case this sounds too harsh, that's not all the movie got right. They got everyone's names right for one thing. But somewhere along the way, between the explosions and the expositions, the movie seems to have misplaced its heart.
Look I understand that when you reboot a franchise, (for what is it, the third time?) that you need to come up with a totally different story line from the ones that came before. And if you want to mess around with the timeline well, I can accept that too - albeit a bit uncomfortably. But what I didn't expect or understand was why I felt nothing, absolutely nothing for the main character. I’m someone who already loves Superman. So for you to make me feel indifferent towards him movie, that was quite a feat.
The first part, the part set in Krypton, was fine. Maybe a bit fantastic than necessary but hey, at least Russel Crowe can rock a onesie too. Then when the ship holding Kal-El landed on Earth I expected the story to continue - at least for a bit - along the familiar lines. But instead we are slapped in the face with a completely grown up Clerk Kent. Sure there are flashbacks showing us how he gained control over his powers and so on. But usually, in a movie, we get stuff that gives us a strong sense of the protagonist's personality. But with old CK, there is nothing there to establish what he's all about. His moral and behavioural code just seems to be what Jonathan Kent told him it should be. Honestly, what Henry Cavill doesn't do in three hours, Hugh Jackman does in two seconds using just one eyebrow.
Then there are the little things that really bugged me. The flying - does he really need to wait till Jor-El points out the whole gravity thing? Did he make it through 33 years without jumping even once and realising it for himself? The stuff at the Daily Planet - Lawrence Fishburne as Perry White is an awesome concept - if we'd actually been allowed to watch him BE the character. Then there was that time Lois turns up at the train station. Superman and Zod had been battling it out all over Metropolis. The whole damn city was their arena and yet at that crucial moment Lois somehow figures out exactly where they ended up and managed to run there using her non-superspeedy legs in a matter of minutes. Even the whole Lois and Superman thing felt perfunctory.
Gripes aside, did I like Man of Steel? Well, yes, I liked some of it. The action sequences were quite nice - up to the point where they deciding leveling Metropolis was the way to go, that is. Seriously, superman would never allow for that sort of super-battle to take place in a crowded city - he'd take it out into space. Anyway, as I was saying, some of it was alright, BUT watching this movie, I didn't feel the way I wanted so much to feel. I'll give the whole thing a generous 'meh' and be done with it.
