Man Of Steel

Man Of Steel – The planet Krypton is doomed to implode when General Zod stages a coup. Jor-El hides the ‘codex’, the basis on which all genetic life on Krypton is based, inside the escape pod of his son, Kal-El. The pod arrives at Earth and once there, the baby Kal-El is adopted by a human couple who raise him as their own and name him ‘Clark’. Once Clark develops amazing powers, his adoptive father teaches him to keep these hidden, fearing that Clark will be rejected by humanity. Many years later and searching for Kal-El, the exiled Zod and his followers threaten to destroy the Earth. Clark must decide between becoming a part of a new Krypton or defending a humanity that isn’t ready to accept him.

Man Of Steel (2013) – Director: Zack Snyder

Rating: 12A 

Running Length: 143 mins

Starring: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon

Genre: Comic Book, Action

REVIEW: ‘MAN OF STEEL’

‘Man Of Steel’ represents yet another re-boot of the Superman franchise after Bryan Singer’s box office disappointment, ‘Superman Returns’. This time around the screenplay has been written by David S. Goyer, the writer of the Dark Knight trilogy, and directed by Zack Snyder, whose previous films include the big budget adaptations ‘300’ and ‘Watchmen’. When we are first properly introduced to the adult Clark Kent he is bearded and living a nomadic lifestyle; having been taught by his father (played by Kevin Costner) to keep his powers hidden from humanity.

All the actual ‘origin’ elements of this origin story are told through flashback but these add up to little more than Clark restraining himself from hitting people due to the constant warnings of his father; there is a lack of dialogue in these scenes which make them feel kind of flat.  The first half of ‘Man Of Steel’ takes things slow. It tries to install a sense of gravitas into the viewer by indulging in wide panning shots of open landscapes and dressing this with a huge swelling score. What it summarily fails to do is spend any time exploring the feelings of its characters. With Clark having no real character to talk to (except in flashback) and no scenes where his resolve is tested, the decision to don the cape of his planet and launch into the sky lacks any emotional punch.

As a blockbuster ‘Man Of Steel’ certainly packs a wallop. General Zod’s appearance heralds a wave of large-scale devastation that fills the screen with explosions and fireballs for the entirety of the third act; any fan of superhero action should find the payoff a lot of fun. It’s hard to talk about Lois Lane (Amy Adams) because her character never gains any traction with the screen; she merely acts as a conduit through which the plot can continue. General Zod is entertaining as a cruel elitist who wants to destroy Earth in order to build a new Krypton. It is telling that Zod’s past off-screen relationship with Jor-El (Clark’s biological father, played by Russell Crowe) seems to have the most emotional weight; a feeling of mutual respect that has soured as ideals change. Zod’s fury provides a solid, if shallow, presence amongst the big budget spectacle.

Despite solid performances from its leads, ‘Man Of Steel’ sorely lacks any heart and soul, making the slow build-up little more than dull, cliché-riddled dialogue. Even the action scenes, with excessive use of CGI, lack the excitement that the build-up has promised. Those involved in the fights are practically invincible and the spectacle of them throwing each other through skyscrapers soon becomes tedious when just getting up and dusting yourself off is the only consequence.

It is a shame that all ‘Man Of Steel’ accomplishes is being a shallow spectacle that, despite aspiring to be more, never connects to the humanity it is trying to portray.

CONTENT: IS ‘MAN OF STEEL’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

Early in the movie there is a big fist fight between Jor-El and General Zod and although this isn’t bloody at all it does result in the use of a long, sharp, needle-like weapon being stabbed into someone. The character then collapses backwards.

Some Kryptonions are imprisoned in devices that encase them in an ice-like substance. The ‘ice’ grows from the feet up until covering the prisoner’s faces. The process appears to be painful and there are close-ups of the characters gasping as they are encased. Shortly after, a sympathetic character stands still while a large fireball engulfs her although we do not see any suffering.

When Clark is working in a bar he witnesses a man being very disrespectful to a waitress. The man slaps her behind and is clearly bothering her. This is a very short moment and Clark disrupts the man before anything happens. Lois receives an injury whilst exploring an ice cave which is shown as a dark red patch on her clothing. This injury needs to be cauterised and during the process Lois screams in pain whilst the camera pans out. A little later there is a flashback in which a queue of traffic finds itself in the path of a twister. A major character is unable to escape and is sucked into the twister. This scene is played to be very upsetting; there are strong reactions and upsetting music.

When General Zod arrives on Earth, he takes over all of the TV screens on the planet in order to broadcast a message. This is quite frightening as all electric lights are blown during the process causing the scene to take place in relative darkness. The screens flash with static both visually and audibly while Zod commands the people of Earth to turn over Kal-El (Clark’s real name).

In terms of violence, come the third act of the movie when Clark is battling the exiled Kryptonions, there is a large amount of high energy fist fighting. Due to everyone’s superpowers the characters are often shown to be thrown through buildings and smashing into roads. Ordinary people are often trying desperately to get out of the way but the large-scale of the destruction means that many people are most likely killed, although this is never shown on camera. Indeed it is never mentioned by anybody and so most children will probably not pick up on this. There are two moments when someone’s neck is forcibly broken. The first is an unnamed soldier, and the second is during the climax of the movie.

One last point to mention is the sheer volume of this movie in theatres. Once the destruction starts, the soundtrack becomes extremely loud almost constantly, including some very deep booming bass and high-pitched screeching noises. Any children who are scared by loud noises may struggle with the last act. There is also a lot of excessive use of shaky-cam during scenes where there is fighting and when civilians are seen running away from danger. Being on the big screen, this, along with the volume, makes the movie quite difficult to watch at times.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘MAN OF STEEL’ FOR KIDS?

Regardless of trying very hard to be a deep statement about a person coming to terms with becoming the fullest that they can be, what ‘Man Of Steel’ essentially boils down to is another run of the mill blockbuster with a large history behind it. The last act will undoubtedly be a pleasure for children who enjoy a special effect extravaganza of destruction, although the slow build up may be dull for younger kids. Even with the points we mention above, there is little strong questionable content in this film and we would therefore recommend that it is appropriate for kids aged 8 and over.

• Violence: 3/5 (there is very little blood or injury in this movie but there is a lot of fighting)
• Emotional Distress: 2/5
• Fear Factor: 2/5 (this relates mostly to the scene where General Zod addresses humanity)
• Sexual Content: 0/5 
• Bad Language: 2/5 (some mild swearing and profanity. When in the school bus Clark is threatened by another child who uses some mild sexual curse words)
• Dialogue: 2/5 (General Zod is a very imposing figure and his dialogue is largely threatening. Similarly there are around three scenes where a younger Clark is threatened by bullies and is unable to respond)
• Other notes: Deals with themes of genocide, the responsibility of power, being scared of things people don’t understand and fulfilling your potential.

Words by Mike Record

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