Man of Steel (2013)

Directed by Zack Snyder

All right, I've now seen Man of Steel for a second time, a few days after the first, after I'd had time to let things sink in and had thought of things to look for and pay attention to in a second viewing, and had a further week thereafter to reflect on it. The result is the longest blog post I've ever written on any single subject short of my monthly round-up of thirty or so DC Comics titles.

I want to lead off by saying my basic assessment, which I kind of soft-pedaled in my “First Impressions” post (link) in case I changed my mind, is that this movie is awesome. I was not at all disappointed in it as I feared I might be. In fact, I think I enjoyed it even more the second go'round, which is a really good feeling given how long I've been looking forward to it with a mixture of hope and dread born of my love for the character pitted against recognition of Hollywood's ability to completely miss the mark. As usual, this is not going to be some kind of carefully considered “review,” but more of a “Randomly Rambling” commentary on the things I liked, some things I didn't like so much – there were most definitely some – and so forth. Inevitably, there will be some repeating of points I made in the “First Impressions” post, but here I intend to develop them quite a bit more.

Although I'm not setting out to summarize the story, per se, do I really need to warn of Spoilers Ahead...?

Man of Steel -- First Impressions

I'm going to hold off a while before putting up a full blog-post with my "final" assessment of this movie, give myself more time to think about it -- and most likely see it again along the way.  Right now I'm just too close to it.  As I told a friend earlier today on Facebook, I've been looking forward to this movie finally appearing for so long, I'm not sure I can be anything approaching objective toward it.

I can put forth what are pretty much my immediate reactions to it, however, given only a few hours all told to consider it.  I saw it, of course, with pretty much the earliest "general release" viewers in the US, as part of the "Walmart" promotion last night at 7 pm.  

I must admit that the movie didn't exactly blow me away, at least in the short term.  Don't get me wrong -- I enjoyed it immensely, and so did my wife, who is not a comic book/super-hero fan -- at all -- and I intend to come back later with a full write-up of all the things I liked.  Among them will doubtless be the most fully developed treatment of a "realistic" yet very alien Krypton itself, as well as Jor-El and Lara, that I think has ever been seen in live action.  And, contrary to what some of the critics are saying, I think the story very much does have "heart," mainly in the portrayal of Clark's relationship with his earthly father and mother, Jonathan and Martha Kent.  And most definitely one of the strengths of this movie compared to any other Superman portrayal in the past is a real sense of the horrific devastation that would be caused by such super-beings engaged in an all-out, knock-down drag-out battle.  It's almost overwhelming.  If I would put forth an immediate criticism of the movie, it's that the full-on, relentless fighting that is basically the back half of the movie is downright mind-numbing.  That's kind of what I mean that it didn't "blow me away."  I was more stunned than anything else by the end of the two-hours-plus.  

Superman: Birthright (DC 2005)

I was motivated to reread Mark Waid's retelling of the Superman origin for the 21^st century by my growing awareness to near certainty that the upcoming Man of Steel movie is going to depend heavily upon it, much as the Nolan-helmed Batman Begins drew a great deal from Frank Miller's Batman: Year One. Having done so, I must say I am astonished that it does not appear among the “Six Must-Read Superman Stories” posted on the DC Comics website and blog just a couple of days ago.

Just to mention a some themes that the 2003-2004 miniseries and the 2013 movie obviously have in common: It was in Birthright that the \S/, which originated simply as a stylized “S” but with the 1978 movie became the crest of the Kryptonian House of El, was first explained as a Kryptonian symbol meaning “Hope”; the Kents exhibit a very realistic sense of trepidation and unease as to what might be the consequences should their son reveal himself to the world; Lois Lane tracks rumors of some kind of mysterious guardian angel; Kryptonians invade the Earth. Especially the latter element seems to be handled differently in the movie, where it appears that the invasion is very real, rather than being an elaborate ruse on the part of Lex Luthor, but the previews could themselves be deceptive. Part of me hopes not – if that is indeed a plot twist in the movie, it could be compared unfavorably to Iron Man Three even though Man of Steel is based on a prior source. And, to be sure, Zod doesn't play any part in Birthright. Some lines from Birthright seem to have made their way into Man of Steel, albeit differently: Ma Kent – “'Are we alone in the Universe?' is a question man has asked since time began … and you're the answer” (trade paperback, p. 74); Here it's Clark who assures Pa Kent, “You are my [father]” (p. 81). There are plenty of visual images, some of which are iconic and not at all original to Birthright, but striking nonetheless when reading it in light of the Man of Steel previews that have been appearing of late (Clark lifting part of a building on p. 40 is exactly the same angle as the movie's image, albeit without the flames). I hope we'll get an homage to the cover of the original Action Comics #1 in the movie as Birthright gives us on p. 50.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Directed by Christopher Nolan

Five minutes after getting back home from viewing the midnight premier of the last installment in Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy of Batman movies, I posted the following on Facebook:

“Just in from seeing The Movie ... Will have to process it, but first impressions are: 1) I liked it; even tho 2) It lacked the constant sense of anticipation as to what outrageousness will the Joker get up to next? But holding it to the Heath Ledger Joker standard is unfair anyway....”

Those words seemed a little on the sick side only a few minutes later when my son's girlfriend – who had also attended – called and told us to turn on the news. The emerging reports today that the perpetrator identified himself with the Joker only sharpen the sense of grotesquerie. The events in Colorado will, I believe, forever loom over this movie. They have already provoked both ends of the political spectrum to commence throwing around accusations and recriminations in a shocking, but entirely expected, politicization of a tragedy. Before I give a few thoughts on the movie itself, I feel the need to express my reaction to the murderous frenzy and its aftermath.

What happened early this morning was caused not by the Second Amendment or the Tea Party, nor by comic book or movie violence, nor by Right-Wing conservatism or Left-Wing liberalism. It was caused, apparently, by a single deranged individual with a sick need to win fame through infamy. To think or allege anything else, or to attempt to capitalize on his actions, I believe to be an insult to the memory of those – most likely of a range of political affiliations themselves – who were in attendance because they were fans of Nolan's vision of a hero who has been interpreted in many ways for seventy years. One of the messages that runs through Nolan's Batman movies, made explicit even at the end of The Dark Knight Rises, is that anyone can be a hero, although that heroism may well not be recognized or remembered. James Hughes' “alleged” actions in seeking attention through his horrific rampage are entirely antithetical to that.

Having said that, and expressing my heartfelt condolences to the victims and their families, who are in my prayers, what are my feelings about the movie itself? 

 Going back to my first impressions expressed above, I repeat again that I liked it. I enjoyed it thoroughly and came away satisfied. It did not rise to the level of The Dark Knight, although as yet I've not identified nearly as many plotholes and sheer implausibilities as several years' and viewings' reflection on the second movie has ultimately revealed, but it did make an overall better movie than did Batman Begins, which for me at least faltered in the last third or so. I could belabor a list of the things I really liked (Anne Hathaway's Selina Kyle) or didn't like (the significantly changed visual appearance of Bane), but see no real point in that. The most important thing is that this movie accomplished its task better than most film trilogy conclusions in that it did bring together all the various elements and themes of the first two movies and tie them up into a satisfying conclusion that brought in more of the myriad story-lines and plot arcs from the long history of the character, shook them up, and recombined them in sometimes unexpected ways. Nolan even allowed a fanboy shoutout – which his movies have noticeably lacked, instead carving out their own little universe – at the end, which I admit caught me unawares despite the rumors 'way back when as to what Joseph Gordon-Levitt's role in the movie might be. I grinned even as I thought how forced the moment seemed to me. And almost immediately afterward, Nolan allowed a satisfying concluding moment that up until virtually the last instant I expected to be a much more ambiguous ending.

Thanks for reading.