Post by Brad Nelson on May 21, 2023 6:50:45 GMT -8
I'm about 2/5 of the way through Man of Steel. Yes, it starts off with lots of action. But almost every scene is composed of a visual cliche. For instance, zoom something fast across a body of water and you'll leave some kind of disturbance-trail on the water's surface. That was maybe interesting the first time I saw it ten years ago.
And on and on. What story there is is hacked up into a disjointed set of flashbacks and flash-forwards. And they've turned Lois Lane into somewhat of a modern, resting-bitch-face woman. Worse than that, the only qualification that Amy Adams has for the part is that she's a woman. She's terrible in this role, bland and with absolutely no charisma.
Every movie is set in its own time, and it's no different for Man of Steel. Henry Cavil plays a Clark Kent who would have been at home in a Seattle grunge band. He exemplifies the modern yute who has an ever-present stance of being put-upon.
As for his motivation to do good, in the original movie (likely in the comics as well), Clark is raised by a decent Midwest family with traditional American values. In this one, it's hard to say. His adopted father (played bland, even by his standards, by Kevin Costner) wants him to stay a farmer. Worse (small spoiler), his father sacrifices himself during a tornado because he doesn't want Clark to save him, thus exposing to the public that he is something different. This horrible scene sets the tone for this film. Yes, it's about Superman, but this isn't the one raised by Glenn Ford's Jonathan Kent.
But this is a comic book movie. If you judge it by those standards (at least thus far), what can you expect? This is geared toward the lowest common denominator and it scores a bulls-eye in predictable blandness and lack of creativity. Perhaps it's the perfect movie for an audience that has grown morally and intellectually dull.
I'll watch the rest of it. Maybe there will be an upswing. But having read this review, I think I'll pass. Add to all the faults above, very little in the story makes sense. Look out into the culture right now. Not a lot makes sense. This is a movie for those kind of people.
And on and on. What story there is is hacked up into a disjointed set of flashbacks and flash-forwards. And they've turned Lois Lane into somewhat of a modern, resting-bitch-face woman. Worse than that, the only qualification that Amy Adams has for the part is that she's a woman. She's terrible in this role, bland and with absolutely no charisma.
Every movie is set in its own time, and it's no different for Man of Steel. Henry Cavil plays a Clark Kent who would have been at home in a Seattle grunge band. He exemplifies the modern yute who has an ever-present stance of being put-upon.
As for his motivation to do good, in the original movie (likely in the comics as well), Clark is raised by a decent Midwest family with traditional American values. In this one, it's hard to say. His adopted father (played bland, even by his standards, by Kevin Costner) wants him to stay a farmer. Worse (small spoiler), his father sacrifices himself during a tornado because he doesn't want Clark to save him, thus exposing to the public that he is something different. This horrible scene sets the tone for this film. Yes, it's about Superman, but this isn't the one raised by Glenn Ford's Jonathan Kent.
But this is a comic book movie. If you judge it by those standards (at least thus far), what can you expect? This is geared toward the lowest common denominator and it scores a bulls-eye in predictable blandness and lack of creativity. Perhaps it's the perfect movie for an audience that has grown morally and intellectually dull.
I'll watch the rest of it. Maybe there will be an upswing. But having read this review, I think I'll pass. Add to all the faults above, very little in the story makes sense. Look out into the culture right now. Not a lot makes sense. This is a movie for those kind of people.