Before his home planet of Krypton was destroyed, baby Kal-El was sent to Earth so that his race might live on in the universe.
That baby grew up to be Clark Kent (Henry Cavill), a 33-year-old itinerant worker, travelling from town to town, occasionally using his amazing powers to quietly save people from peril.
Unsure how to best to live up to his purpose in this world, Kent’s hand is forced when General Zod (Michael Shannon) and a small contingent of Kryptonians come to Earth, demanding the humans release the unknown, as of yet, unnamed Superman.
We say, “It’s a bit too long and loud, but the first two hours are great.”
TAYLOR: I was looking forward to Man of Steel. We’ve been watching the trailer for months now. It has all the right pieces in place to be the mega-gigantic summer blockbuster. Director Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen), producer Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight series), and writer David Goyer (Dark Knight series, Call of Duty) are like a dream team of comic book action.
I’m happy to say that I was not disappointed, but at the same time, my approval comes with a caveat.
HOWE: Man of Steel started so promising. The opening half hour or so was very interesting, giving the background story of why baby Kal was sent to Earth and how Zod wanted to become leader of the Kryptonians. After that, I felt it slowly tickled down hill and become even duller than The Dark Knight Rises. I really was expecting more from it.
TAYLOR: There were a couple things about Man of Steel I didn’t like. The effects during the fighting scenes were very well done. For instance, when the Kryptonians were fighting hand to hand with Superman, they moved great distances very quickly.
However, when you consider that these beings are pretty much indestructible, battles go on and on, seemingly to no conclusion. Of course there is a conclusion to each of those battles. The problem arises in Superman’s methods of dispatching his enemy. (Why didn’t he just do that in the first place?) Secondly, as a by-product of their lasting power, these fights become dull. There’s only so many buildings to smash through, presumably killing thousands of people inhabiting those buildings in the process. Cut out 20 minutes of smashing and we’ll have a much better movie.
HOWE: I’m not saying the movie was a complete washout. There were some fine performances from the cast. It was great to see Kevin Costner back on the big scene. Yes, he’s made some hideous movies in the past, but you can’t say he’s not a fine actor, playing the role of Kent’s Earth father, he did very well. As for Amy Adams, who plays Lois Lane, no one will come close to Terri Hatcher’s version of her.
TAYLOR: That’s a joke, right?
HOWE: With the likes of last year’s superhero blockbusters, The Avengers and Spiderman, I am really looking forward to seeing their sequels, but with this, I really don’t care if they make more. It wasn’t that supery.
— Taylor gives Man of Steel 3.5 unworthy humans out of 5.
— Howe gives it 2.5 not so superhuman out of 5.
The film is currently showing at the Galaxy Cinemas in Vernon.
— Brian Taylor and Peter Howe are movie reviewers based in Vernon, B.C.
