Man of Steel. (12A.)
Directed by Zack Synder.
Starring Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane and Laurence Fishburne. 143 mins.
Sick of every big blockbuster being about superheroes? The makers of this latest Superman seem to concur. They don’t give us a superhero movie, they give us a fresh, new angle – an Aliens Invade Earth movie.
Less than a decade ago Warner Bros decided to revamp their two main superhero properties. Christopher Nolan produced Batman Begins and Bryan Singer turned in Superman Returns. Neither did stellar business (both stalled short of $400 million worldwide) but Warners stuck with Nolan but ditched Singer. Two Dark Knights later Nolan has been persuaded to oversee (producing and helping to knock up the storyline) the next resurrection of Superman and it just makes me yearn to see what Singer would’ve done with his follow up.
Superman Returns was no masterpiece – like the maiden voyage of the Titanic it was sunk by a giant iceberg half way through – but, just like Batman Begins, it seemed packed with ideas that could flourish in a second film. Man Of Steel is full of decent ideas that only partially work or fall a bit flat. It approach is half Dark Knight serious and half empty blockbuster spectacle. Phone box costume changes are out, Christ allegories are in. It is now primarily the story of an alien trying to fit in with human society, the Superman who fell to earth.
The film lost me from the start with a frantic and undignified Krypton sequence and never got me back. It’s not a bad film, just full of little disappointments. Michael Shannon should’ve been a great baddy but the step up to blockbuster level seems to have thrown him completely and his General Zod is shouty and unconvincing. Amy Adams is great but she’s no Lois Lane. The action sequences are on an epic scale but repetitive. Much of the production design seems to have been harvested from Matrix sequels, War of the Worlds, Independence Day, Alien.
The desire to not just turn out another Superman film is understandable but the best parts of the film are the bits that feel like a traditional Superman film. In the film Superman has two dead dads that won’t stay dead – Krypton biological father Jor-el (Russell Crowe) and adopted earth dad Jonathan Kent (Costner.) Costner’s dignified farmer embodies the simple homespun Americana that is at the heart of Superman mythology and represents what is best in the film. Crowe's Jor-El though embodies all that doesn't work in the film - he keeps popping up to calmly dispense wisdom (and push the plot forward) but comes across as a smug know-all. He’s like a Zen master Noel Edmonds.
Directed by Zack Synder.
Starring Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane and Laurence Fishburne. 143 mins.
Sick of every big blockbuster being about superheroes? The makers of this latest Superman seem to concur. They don’t give us a superhero movie, they give us a fresh, new angle – an Aliens Invade Earth movie.
Less than a decade ago Warner Bros decided to revamp their two main superhero properties. Christopher Nolan produced Batman Begins and Bryan Singer turned in Superman Returns. Neither did stellar business (both stalled short of $400 million worldwide) but Warners stuck with Nolan but ditched Singer. Two Dark Knights later Nolan has been persuaded to oversee (producing and helping to knock up the storyline) the next resurrection of Superman and it just makes me yearn to see what Singer would’ve done with his follow up.
Superman Returns was no masterpiece – like the maiden voyage of the Titanic it was sunk by a giant iceberg half way through – but, just like Batman Begins, it seemed packed with ideas that could flourish in a second film. Man Of Steel is full of decent ideas that only partially work or fall a bit flat. It approach is half Dark Knight serious and half empty blockbuster spectacle. Phone box costume changes are out, Christ allegories are in. It is now primarily the story of an alien trying to fit in with human society, the Superman who fell to earth.
The film lost me from the start with a frantic and undignified Krypton sequence and never got me back. It’s not a bad film, just full of little disappointments. Michael Shannon should’ve been a great baddy but the step up to blockbuster level seems to have thrown him completely and his General Zod is shouty and unconvincing. Amy Adams is great but she’s no Lois Lane. The action sequences are on an epic scale but repetitive. Much of the production design seems to have been harvested from Matrix sequels, War of the Worlds, Independence Day, Alien.
The desire to not just turn out another Superman film is understandable but the best parts of the film are the bits that feel like a traditional Superman film. In the film Superman has two dead dads that won’t stay dead – Krypton biological father Jor-el (Russell Crowe) and adopted earth dad Jonathan Kent (Costner.) Costner’s dignified farmer embodies the simple homespun Americana that is at the heart of Superman mythology and represents what is best in the film. Crowe's Jor-El though embodies all that doesn't work in the film - he keeps popping up to calmly dispense wisdom (and push the plot forward) but comes across as a smug know-all. He’s like a Zen master Noel Edmonds.
