With the trend of
realism and darker tales, this reboot follows the same path. It even
has an origin story that goes back and forth, just like our friendly
neighborhood Dark Knight. I will say, Kevin Costner is one of my
favorite parts of the film, so kudos to him.
Along with Kevin
Costner, Russell Crowe is undeniably awesome to watch as Jor-El,
Superman's actual father. The rest of the cast all look very pretty
in their scenes, but their purposes are only very slight, and add a
little characterization to this other-wordly feeling movie (I'll
elaborate more when I get to the director). But in all honesty, the
likes of Amy Adams and Laurence Fishburne don't add any big acting
chops for this film. Michael Shannon proves a worthy foe as General Zod. And on
that note, I must make a slight aside. I was quite impressed to come
into this film and not hear any mention of kryptonite or Lex Luthor
(yes, there's an Easter egg, but hush up). One of my biggest flaws
with Superman is that literally his only weakness is kryptonite;
thus, the story lines get dragged on too much. General Zod is a great
change of pace, even if he is similar to Iron Man or Hulk villains in
the sense that the villain features very similar powers to the
superhero (one huge upside to the Batman universe).
Then we have the
man of the hour. Probably the biggest praise I can give this film is
Henry Cavill. To me he represents the perfect Superman: the hair,
facial structure, body physique (ladies, be ready for an absolute
beast of a body), deep voice, and ever so slight mannerisms mainly
seen in a comforting grin. He truly is the Man of Steel.
If I'm being honest
here, I have to give it up to Zack Snyder. He takes this CGI-filled
movie, and he allows his decisions to dictate what you see. The
opening sequence on Krypton is a little much for me, granted, but
there's a lot of really power-packed shots like the sun glowing
between the fingers of Superman. Furthermore, such sequences such as
Superman testing his limits on flight show just how great a reboot is
supposed to look.
Zack Snyder isn't
perfect though. There were one too many shots of a broad landscape
only to zoom in on a speeding, flying object. His message of stepping
back and looking at this from a perspective of a human suddenly
finding signs of aliens works well, but it was used just too much.
The action sequences look great, but I do wonder if Batman vs
Superman will address the amount of damage caused to Metropolis.
Like, that economy is down the hole. And take it whatever way you
want, but the final fight reminded me so much of The Matrix
Revolutions.
The final issue I
take with the film is in its essence. At the core I feel like
Superman doesn't fit into a darker world that Batman embodies and
embraces. I understand the reboot and the direction the producers
wanted to take it, but there's a part of me missing John William's
“Superman Theme.” Sorry, Hans Zimmer, there's just a few
composers even you can't beat. There's plenty of merits on the film
from the director, main actor, and top-notch special effects, but the
separation of this reboot from previous Superman movies mirrors
Batman's reboot to a fault. And I don't think Batman should take this
issue lightly, so let him have it in the upcoming film, you old Ben
Affleck.
My original plan
was to take the 2 Dark Knight sequels and review those as the new
film comes out this week, but I think I'll save those for later and
instead turn to 2 big blockbuster action films that came out pretty
recently. We'll be heading to Australia, and we finally mark off one
of many Tom Cruise films to come. Depending on when I go to see Dawn
of Justice, there may be a review of that in the near future as
well. Until then, go crazy and compare cape sizes as to who will win
in a fight; but kids, just remember that in my heart, you're all
superheroes.
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