Movie- Superman: Man of Steel
Review by Lauren
IMDB Summary: A young itinerant worker is forced to confront his secret extraterrestrial heritage when Earth is invaded by members of his race.
Review: I’m going to break this movie review into Likes and Dislikes. I first want to say, however, that I saw this movie at my local drive-in and it certainly adds a lot for action films!
Superman Likes
*While I love Lex Luthor as a villain, I like that this first film focused on a baddie from Krypton, General Zod.
*I liked the relationship between Clark and his parents, both biological and adopted.
*Instead of having “growing up Clark” scenes in the beginning of the movie, they were strategically placed in the movie when the information was needed or helped explain the man Clark turned into…based on his past. Definitely a good way of doing things!
*I appreciated the way the movie ended. It sets things up for another movie, yes, but it also differentiates this movie from how other directors do Superman films. Man of Steel is almost a prequel to those type of movies and it certainly makes it different.
*Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman. I think he did a wonderful job, and I liked that he showed Clark’s vulnerability.
*Finally, it was interesting to hear the reasoning for what he does straight from General Zod. It adds a psychological aspect to the question of “good vs. evil” and asks the question “Is Zod the only one at fault?”
Superman Dislikes
*Like a lot of superhero films, this was definitely a bit too long. Random parts throughout felt like they could have been excluded or trimmed down.
*The fight scenes were something that could have been shortened, especially since so much of it was the bad guys shoving and/or throwing each other through buildings, etc. It turned a lot of it into a blur, which wasn’t that engaging for me.
***
Alright, so obviously more likes than dislikes. I’ve grown up watching a variety of Superman shows and movies as my dad – and then my sister – are big fans. However, I won’t lie and say I know a lot about his history in terms of the comics, etc. Therefore, if you’re curious about that aspect of the movie, you might want to do more research. If you want a good superhero film that tries to make a more unique Superman film…I think you’ll find it here.
Overall, I’d give the movie a B or so. Make the action scenes a bit more interesting for viewers and trim the overall movie down, and it would be a lot better!
EHRMG Mag, I'm going to see this movie on Wednesday and yeeeep I'm so excited. I LOVE Superman, although he isn't my favourite superhero (that spot goes to Spiderman or Wolverine), I'm a sucker for the Superman movies. Henry Cavill seems so good to play Superman, I'm glad you liked him as the lead! Great review Mag, thanks for sharing. 😀
I watched nearly EVERY episode of Smallville growing up, but I have never so much as seen a Superman film – this one sounds good. 🙂
I want to see this so much! We're going Tuesday. I've always been a Superman fan, but it's really the hotness of Henry Cavill that has me eager to see the movie.
I actually haven't seen a single Superman film… I know! Where have I been? The only superhero movies I've seen are the Spider Man ones and one Captain America film. I didn't even see the Avengers (and, let's face it, EVERYONE saw the Avengers!).
I've been hearing a lot about this one all over twitter. It seems like people are having mixed feelings about it. I'm glad this actor showed the more vulnerable side to Superman–I think that's awesome!
I might have to see this in theaters soon. 🙂 Fantastic review, Lauren! Glad you enjoyed the film overall!
The superhero movies do tend to be long.
I'll wait for this to get on satellite. I'm emptying out my DVR this summer by watching things I've recorded months back.
I'm eh on this one. I'm not huge on Superman, and I dislike that there's no Lex Luthor.
Super hero movies are always so long but usually I don't mind too much, example Iron Man. I really want to check this one out though! Glad you liked it!
I'm really glad that you enjoyed Man of Steel Lauren, I've never really been a huge fan of Superman except when I've watched a couple of episodes of Smallville. But my sister really wants to go see this, so I will probably end up watching it. I hope I end up enjoying it as much as you did 🙂
Reading lots of good things about this but also more not so good things than I had expected so thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I've heard both good and bad things about this movie, I guess I'll have to go see it for myself!
I generally like the superheroes movies but I've never liked Superman. Maybe it's because I don't see him so interesting, but I've heard this movie is good 🙂
Loved this review since it pretty much sums up exactly how I felt about the movie. Really enjoyed the background/flashbacks and definitely the scene where Clark was shirtless but the movie was a little too long for my taste. I started to get bored halfway through :/