June 18th, 2013
MEOW!
And I'll rhyme that word with another one: Wow.
No, I need to emphasize that: WOW! WOW! All I can say is....WOW!
As if it were Superman himself, MAN OF STEEL is an otherworldly miracle. Rarely do I feel an enormous amount of euphoria after watching a film, and discover that it's nearly impossible to put my reaction into words from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (other than WOW! of course), but I will certainly try my hardest here. While 2013 hasn't been a downright terrible year for films in general (Star Trek Into Darkness was absolutely wonderful, and it turns out I'm in the very, very, very small minority regarding my strong admiration for Spring Breakers), it also hasn't been a terribly great one either (Iron Man 3 is one of the few underwhelming disappointments this year, and Fast and Furious 6, while somewhat enjoyable, is so forgettable that I can't remember one line from it. Well, except for "HELP ME! I GOT A TANK ON MY A**!"). Overall, this year in film hasn't gotten off to an enthusiastic start.
But this film?
Oh. My. Zod. It's just...perfection.
Okay, maybe the critical nature inside of me says that it's not perfect, and maybe it's because I was so overwhelmed seeing it for the first time in IMAX (they offer an IMAX-only version if those are opposed to IMAX 3-D in select theaters. Keep in mind that this film was also converted into 3-D during post-production, so I'd suggest saving the money and go for any 2-D version available. It's already immersive and intense as it is anyways). But no matter how divided the amount of opinions are for MAN OF STEEL, it is, for my kryptonite, the absolute best film of the year so far, and one of the best (superhero) films I've ever experienced in the comfort of a movie theater. As an exhilarating, inspirational, and touching sensation, Zack Snyder has crafted a film that serves as a reminder of why I love going to the movies.
It may require a bit of patience to adjust to the style Snyder is attempting here, especially for those who are in love with the Donner films, but the set-up remains the same as it was forty-five years ago (or for any comic book fans, seventy-five years ago). As the planet Krypton is facing eventual doom, a child named Kal-El is born a rare, natural birth, much to the pleasure of Jor-El (the excellent Russell Crowe) and Lara Lor-Van (the lovely Ayelet Zurer). But when Zod (Michael Shannon) and his henchmen are rebelling against the Kryptonians amidst all of the destruction, Jor-El and Lara put Kal-El on a spaceship that would eventually head for Earth. So after that set-up, you'd think you know what to expect, right? Kal-El is raised by a heartfelt couple on a farm, tries to fit in at his school, learns about his true identity years later, eventually becomes Superman/Clark Kent, sparks up a relationship with Lois Lane (AMY ADAMS), and attempts to stop Zod and his henchmen from creating their own Krypton on Earth, right? Eh?
Well, yes, that's actually what happens. But instead of following a straightforward path that was seen in Superman: The Movie or Superman II, we immediately cut to Kal-El (the incredibly effective Henry Cavill) as an adult after he is sent to Earth inside his spacecraft, and a couple of the aforementioned events that happen in his life--Kal-El being raised by Jonathan (wonderfully portrayed by Kevin Costner) and Martha Kent (also wonderfully portrayed by Diane Lane), trying to fit in at his school, discovering his true identity--are told through wonderfully thoughtful flashbacks. In these flashbacks, we get to explore what made Kal-El the man he would became later on. They also allow him to be more human than alien while being instantly relatable, which are a couple of the many qualities that make him not only a great superhero, but a true hero overall. No matter which character stirs your emotions more, MAN OF STEEL is a film that largely focuses on the internal feelings of its protagonist, and the result is one of the most emotionally complex (superhero) films I've come across in a long, long time.
The flashbacks are also a part of how exciting Snyder envisions this story, especially in the glorious first half, which makes the film involving and unpredictable. After the opening sequence, you'd expect the film to re-develop Kal-El's relationship with his Earth-bound parents, but instead, it cuts to when he is an adult on a fisherman's boat. A very bold move, I may say, for people who aren't used to the Superman mythology, but it works brilliantly here. You would also believe immediately after he had officially learned his true identity and finally donned the suit, he would be flying as if it were no problem at all. Instead, he practices his flying techniques first until he gets it absolutely right, which leads to what I believe is one of the greatest flying sequences in cinematic history (not since How to Train Your Dragon have I felt the need to pretend I'm flying in the living room like a ten-year-old). It's those out of the many moments that add on to the exciting, surprising and unconventional nature of its storytelling.
The second half is a visually overwhelming, action-packed exhilaration, so much so that it could very well exhaust a viewer unprepared for such an intense half of the film. Then again, this is Superman we're talking about here. He's going to be flying faster than a speeding bullet, and he is going to fight off Gods who are as powerful as he is, even if he unknowingly causes a higher death rate than any of us could have predicted (Did you honestly think that he was going to entirely perfect his superpowers when Kal-El is fighting off Zod and his henchmen? These events were clearly unexpected of him, and he had to do whatever he can to save Metropolis. It just turned out that, like a tornado, there are things that he can't control. Of course, it's understandable as to why many are bashing his characteristics in this film; "they don't know what they don't understand"). Personally, I don't see the problem of the camera shaking us around as if we are Super-people ourselves trying to save the world from impending doom. You really believe that saving the word from impending doom will have a certain grace to it? There's an internal intensity to the proceedings, which also causes fear in our hearts. But don't take my word for it, take Mr. Wayne's.
As exhilarating (and exhausting) the action set-pieces are, what truly won me over were the little touches that make this film feel inspired. There's one scene when Kal-El is trying to stand up for a woman who gets spanked in the butt by a mean customer at a bar, and the customer mentally and physically abuses him as if he were a vicitm of bullying, almost like how he was when growing up as an adolescent. And what happens? Oh yeah. Two people FROM THE MILITARY sit on their bar-stools, and reluctantly stare at the situation; they do absolutely nothing to solve it at all. It's almost as if they were both in the same shoes as Kal-El: attempting to hide their powers from the people around them, while feeling as if it was a missed opportunity to stop the predicament. I found that to be an intelligent insight on the psychology of human beings without having to make it feel overly forced and obvious. Then there are the visual touches; because Snyder is more of a visual director, it allows him to work wonders by having the images enhance the story and its thematic elements rather than only using them for spectacle. For instance, there's a scene when Zod takes over every television across the world in order to convey a message along the lines of "YOU ARE NOT ALONE. THERE IS SOMEONE WALKING AMONG YOU." A scene like that could have been rushed, and have all of the televisions convey the message in the same native language. What's ingenious about that scene, however, is that on American telvisions, it's their native language, but on Russian televisions, it's THEIR native language, and on Chinese televisions, it's THEIR native language, etc., etc., e.,t.,c. But no matter how different their native languages are, it's the same message being conveyed for one global audience. Pure. Genius.
What also helps make some of the little touches work more than it should is its excellent ensemble. Although it's difficult to forget Christopher Reeve's portrayal of Superman/Clark Kent/Kal-El/TA-DA, Henry Cavill is a FANTASTIC choice for such an iconic role. His subtle expression when he's trying to stand up to that mean customer in the bar, the amount of joy he gets when he's finally taking flight as Superman, his charisma when he's being interrogated in handcuffs (he has a reason; don't fret), his facial expression of raw, emotional turmoil during one PIVOTAL moment near the end, he brings justice to the role as much as what Reeve brought in 1978. Amy Adams makes for a wonderful Lois Lane; although she does fall into damsel-in-distress territory in the second half of the film, she still maintains her integrity as a woman of curiosity and intrigue, which is exactly the type of person the Daily Planet needs ("You do realize that it's all downhill after the first kiss?" Lois asks Kal-El, which he then responds with "I think that only applies to humans." ZING!)! Although I admittedly haven't been an admirer of Michael Shannon's work, he does a great job as General Zod, especially when he rebels against the Kryptonians in the prologue of the film ("I WILL FIND HIM!"). And Russell Crowe makes for an excellent Jor-El; he has the logical strength to be a fighter and a lover, unlike Dr. Bones McCoy, who is only a doctor. He is also responsible for a little nod to 300 near the beginning of this film. Let's just say in a sarcastic sense that it's pretty hard to find (A little random theory I have about Russell Crowe: I believe that when he committed suicide as Javert, his soul was re-incarnated into a re-booted version of Jor-El on Krypton; when he battled internally about the difference between right and wrong, he decided to believe in the good of everything. Random thought, but you know, Cloud Atlas. You know...that film about...re-incarnation...that really, really, really awesome film about re-incarnever mind).
There are stand-outs to this excellent cast, however. I think Kevin Costner needs to portray more farmers from now on; his portrayal as Jonathan Kent may be brief, but he makes such an impact throughout the rest of the film {SPOILER TERRITORY AGAIN!: There's one pivotal flashback where Jonathan Kent is saving many from a deadly tornado. This has divided the fans since he actually dies of a heart attack in the comics, and while that would have been an intentionally tough scene to sit through, tornadoes are also a natural occurrence, and it shows how the mightiest of people, even with all the powers of another planet, can't save everyone even if they attempted anything of the sort. So, in many respects, it stays true to the comics. I also had to fight back some tears since it made me think about my own father, and how he was a hero in his own way. It was that rare combination of heart-breaking and inspirational at the same time. Kudos to everyone involved in that scene. It was excellently crafted. END OF SPOILERS}. Also adding to the heart of the story is Diane Lane as Martha Kent; she also has a brief amount of screen-time, but sometimes, less is more, and she is also responsible for providing some incredibly touching moments, even when she's not in the shot. There's one moment when she's being threatened by Zod, and eventually Superman attacks him while flying through a cornfield intensely asking "YOU THINK...YOU CAN THREATEN...MY MOTHER???"Awesome. Then you have Cooper Timberline and Dylan Sprayberry portraying the nine-year-old and thirteen-year-old versions of Kal-El; I've always believed that you can get great performances out of young performers ever since I saw HUGO, and this film further solidifies my theory. There's one flashback when the nine-year-old-Kal-El is hiding in a school closet in order to avoid the meticulous sound effects going on in his head, and then there is another flashback when the thirteen-year-old-Kal-El is being bullied for being different from the rest of his age group; those couple of moments show off how exceptional both of these actors are. And while we're at it, I'll praise the rest of the young actors in this film. It's not an easy task to act horrified inside a bus underwater (or...maybe in a water tank?), but they pull it off with ease.
I can't believe I've written so much without even talking about how much of an exhilarating audio-visual experience it is (it must be a rare compliment then; Snyder and company realizes that it still all comes down to great storytelling, albeit done in a unique style). It's a daring and surprisingly balanced vision--one with a muted color palette while still remaining hopeful and vibrant. Let's start off with Krypton; although some of the visuals are a little too reminiscent of the Jedi Council scenes in the Star Wars prequels (There are a couple of shots that are almost literally taken from Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith; to MAN OF STEEL's credit, though, the comic-book version of Superman came before any of the Star Wars films did so...moving on), it's creatively envisioned. The Genesis Chamber where Jor-El swims in is wonderfully visualized, even if it is a little disturbing that he's swimming in the middle of babies about to be born, but eh, it was an emergency. There's also one scene when Kal-El meets the holographic version of Jor-El inside the spaceship, and Jor-El tells him the backstory of what happened to Krypton all those years ago. Two things that stuck out to me: 1.) I loved that it was Russell Crowe portraying the holographic version of Jor-El rather than some CGI wizardry that represented it. As much as I am an admirer of visual effects, I found that to be a refreshing change of pace; the relationship between Jor-El and Kal-El needs to feel genuine since this is Kal-El's first introduction to him ever since he was born. So kudos to Crowe for pulling that off. 2.) Through the power of CGI technology, there is a silver mural that comes to life and shows Krypton's backstory through the imagery while Jor-El is telling Kal-El all about it. I won't give away any details as to what it looked like, but it makes the scene all the more beautiful, and one that will possibly get the film nominated for Best Visual Effects come Oscar season. What will also get nominated is Hans Zimmer's cathartic score. I challenge anybody of any age to NOT receive goosebumps in their soul listening to the composition that accompanies Kal-El's first flight. It's one of Hans Zimmer's finest scores, along with Inception, The Lion King, and Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron; it's a score that perfectly suits (PUN) the man of steel himself.
I mentioned that the critical nature inside of me says it's not perfect, and well, I do have a couple of nitpicks. Much like Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole, sometimes his visuals can be a little too reminiscent of films that were released in the past. Before the 'world engine' nearly sucks up all the debris of Metropolis, we get shots that are too similar to District 9 (Though once again, to MAN OF STEEL's credit, I didn't like District 9. Elysium does look interesting, however). There is also a scene near the end where soldiers are talking to Kal-El, and I thought that could have been replaced with something more meaningful. One of the soldiers says in the beginning of the scene "Are you effin' stupid?" and then a woman solider later in the scene says "I think he's kind of hot." It's funny, but not entirely necessary to the story.
Aside from that, there honestly isn't that much to nitpick. Even what I just mentioned before wasn't bad; it just didn't thrill me that much when compared to the rest of the film, which is an enthusiastic 99.9% rounding up to a 100%. No matter how divided opinions are for MAN OF STEEL as of this moment, in my eyes, heart, mind and opinion, it is what I like to consider as a perfect film. It's a film that reminds me why I love going to the movies: to enjoy, to feel, to learn and to see. MAN OF STEEL is an exhilarating, inspirational and touching sensation; it's easily the best film of the year so far, and one of the best (superhero) films that I have ever seen.
Until next time,
TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!
Wait...
UP, UP AND AWAY!
Meow, close enough.
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