Man of Steel

I literally don't know how to justify this, the last time I watched this maybe a 8 years ago I gave it 2 stars. Let me preface this by saying Zack Snyder is a mix for me, on the one hand, his movies feel a little passé, like of a different era, but they should be acknowledged for their immense cultural following of the time—for example, 300, we can all agree, was a pretty innovative type of movie, and while quite camp and clumsy in a way, reached beyond to appeal to a massive audience. The same can be said for The Watchmen, which is a movie quite dear to my heart, and as a fan of the graphic novel, I thought it was as close to a perfect adaptation as anyone could have dreamed of. Then came Man of Steel, which at the time was a dramatic re-imagining of the franchise, darker and a little more violent than fans of the comics were used to, and of course, it was part of the DC era of trying to be a grittier Marvel and appeal to a slightly different audience, and for all its faults, I can understand the reasoning. Man of Steel is faithful in many ways, and diverges in others. For one, it doesn't butcher the origin story like Gunn's 2025 Superman does (while Gunn's skips over the origin, he fundamentally alters it ||making Superman into a bad guy sent to claim dominion over Earth|| which is a very fringe subset of Superman comics and goes against what is understood to be Superman. In Snyder's Superman, the origin story is super faithful—Krypton is annihilated by its own folly, and Kal-El is a refugee on a distant world, sent to prevent Earth from committing the same Kryptonian folly. He is to be a 'saviour'. The movie plays with the theme of acknowledging the 'godhood', if and when there is ever a time for Clark Kent to reveal himself to humanity. He is given a lot more time to emerge as a person, and shows snippets of his adolescence and his internal strife with his identity. Both his earthly parents showcase deeply caring and brave moments to make sure Clark doesn't feel alone. Kevin Costner's character was ridiculed at the time ||for sacrificing himself, spawning the meme 'stop, invincible son', but I actually thought it was super in line for the character they set up. He spent his whole life genuinely believing humanity was not ready to acknowledge Clark, the alien being, and he paid the ultimate price, albeit maybe directiorally clumsily.|| The antagonist has a lot more depth, and motivations are crystal clear. Against the subtle backdrop of Plato's Republic (that Clark is reading in a flashback), and the first act on Krypton where Jar-El makes it clear their society is assembled by genetically engineered citizens that fulfill predestined roles, such as workers, warriors, leaders (as is written in The Republic), it explains completely why General Zod would go to any lengths to preserve his race, and commit genocide to do it. Even secondary warriors are given a little depth, Snyder doesn't bite off more than he can chew. Lois Lane is also given time to shine, conducting an entire investigation, discovering and meeting Superman, and falling in love. Their chemistry is in a different category than 2025 Superman, who spend much of the movie bickering and being unsure if they're even gonna work out. It's a lot darker than fans were probably expecting from a rendition of Superman. Fights feel cataclysmic, people die, you see cities genuinely and scarily collapsing, and Earth is genuinely, plausibly on the line, ||with a variety of alien machines engaged in a terraforming.|| But Henry Cavill absolutely knocks it out of the park, with a stoic, exceptionally cool Superman, engaging in fights straight out of Dragon Ball Z, which I can understand is divisive and some will either love or hate it—in my case the former. There is speed, precision, damage, in all the battles. Even humans are given a degree of competence, participating with what tools they have available, and displaying growth from initial fear and aggression towards an understanding for Superman. While there is a lot of collateral damage and people are dying that Superman isn't saving, I justify it internally because he is fighting his equals non-stop, and is in a way unable to save anyone. The most controversial aspect was ||Superman killing Zod. I understand that it was questionable for the character of Superman, but considering Zod was bred to save Krypton at all costs and never stop murdering people, and was about to, I suppose the point was to showcase the tragedy and darkness of this rendition of Superman, going against what he believes, and screaming afterwards for doing so. It did not bother me, and if anything, should have given the character more depth in sequels.|| And lastly, it has an amazing score. The whole movie is lifted up by it, and lightens the movie tonally. If heroism had a sound this would be pretty close. It's an exceptional film for those who can enjoy the above. This Superman isn't the most charming, but it has undeniable aura, power, and dignity. For me personally, dramatically better than the new 2025 rendition, and I wish sequels were made that showcased more of Clark Kent on other adventures rather than grouping up with the Justice League in a rather undeserved and lame group outing. Banger/10