Alles in Wonderland

MAN OF STEEL (2013) – WARNING: SPOILERS!

One of the first movies I watched on VHS when I was a kid was the original Superman. I was already a budding comic book geek back then, but that movie certainly pushed me over the edge into fanboy-dom. As a kid, you don’t necessarily recognize all the flaws, and Superman 1 and 2 are certainly flawed movies but, again, as a kid, they were awe-inspiring.

Then you had Superman 3, which was embarrassing in its attempt to shoehorn Richard Pryor, who absolutely did not match the tone of what a good comic book movie should be. We’ll barely mention Superman 4, which was cheaply made and it showed. Even good ol’ Christopher Reeve disowned that abomination.

In 2006, we had Superman Returns, and considering that was directed by Bryan Singer, who had acquitted himself well with the X-Men movies, I went into the theater very hopeful that I was going to recapture some of that boyhood magic I had when I viewed the original two Supermans. Unfortunately, Singer was TOO reverent of those movies, and so we had an awkward attempt to continue the Superman from the 70’s into the 2000’s, and it just didn’t work.

So, I went into Man of Steel tonight with some trepidation. Would it be another letdown like Returns? I am happy to say it is not. In fact, and this may be blasphemy to the 8-year-old Brent Alles, but I think it’s the best Superman movie ever made.

That’s not to say it’s perfect. It has flaws. However, on the whole, this perhaps best captures the essence of Superman and not once makes you roll your eyes at corniness or anything of that nature.

Let’s start with the elephant in the room: Henry Cavill. How did he do? He did fine. Christopher Reeve remains the best Superman ever. Sorry, but you’re never defeating that icon. Brandon Routh did fine as well, but anybody playing Superman will always have to be in Reeve’s shadow. Heck, Reeve himself couldn’t really get out of the shadow of Superman! However, Cavill is a good actor; and he does a good job here at conveying the uncertainty of being a “stranger in a strange land,” so to speak.

Michael Shannon is also a good actor, but he also has a shadow to step out of, that of Terrance Stamp as the original General Zod. He also cannot quite escape that original shadow. Stamp was just so memorable, uttering lines like “Why do you say this to me when you know I will kill you for it?” Shannon definitely has intensity, but his performance as Zod is a bit one note, all things considered.

Amy Adams also doesn’t quite work as Lois Lane. She does all right, but I think the chemistry between her and Cavill just isn’t quite there. I do like the fact that they removed the silliness of Lois Lane not being able to figure out that Superman is Clark Kent right off the bat. Fortunately, there was no silly “memory removing kiss” in this movie as there was in Superman 2. Adams is definitely better than the cardboard Kate Bosworth, but Margot Kidder still remains the best Lois Lane.

Kevin Costner and Diane Lane are PERFECT as Ma and Pa Kent, though. Especially Costner. This is perhaps one of his better performances in a LONG time. You really get the struggle that Pa Kent has to let his son run free or hide in order to protect himself.

Russell Crowe also does a great job at Jor-El. He’s actually better than Brando was at it, no lie. He brought necessary depth to the role that really helped move the story along.

Now, after the nitpicking above, why do I still say that it’s the best Superman movie ever made? Because of the sheer scope of it. We’re given a full-blown Krypton, with mystical beasts and science fiction galore. We’re given truly epic battles in Smallville, Metropolis, and elsewhere that aren’t just mindless battles but mean something to the overall point of the movie. I was riveted the whole time, unlike Returns, where I had fits of interest but overall had that gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach much as I had when watching The Phantom Menace.

No post credits scene, but I really wish they would have had the following: Show the back of a certain bald-headed individual and just hear a voice saying, “We’re going to have to do something about the alien.” THAT would have been awesome. Oh well… maybe in the next sequel, which I think is going to struggle to match the impact that this movie has. After defeating Zod and all his minions, where do you go from there? It will be interesting to see.

GRADE: A-