Man of Steel starts out with an impressive sequence during which Zack Snyder channels the spirit of James Cameron and unleashes some sci-fi action that sets the pace for the film (even if it doesn't really resurface until the second half). This brings me to the first topic of discussion; the action.
Zack Snyder is a masterful action director and this is undeniably an epic work to add to his already impressive portfolio. The opening sequences were incredible because they took a distinctly more science fiction approach, something that has been lacking in sleekness in other Superman iterations. It was fast paced and alien and awesome but it had a purpose and that itself was really interesting to think about. Then we're slapped down to Earth where more typical Superman action starts to take place, trucks end up impaled by telephone poles and large structures get lifted. But because it wasn't "Superman" doing this stuff and because it was happening in little chunks amid more personal struggles we were following a journey, watchin Kal-El's development as a person. And then about halfway in we get to the big action, the Superman of modern comics action, and everything exploded. The fight scenes in Smallville were incredible, granted, but from that point on the movie kind of dissolved into one over-the-top ongoing action sequence that literally beat you over the head.
While the action was really incredibly designed it was disappointing that the film chose to abandon some of the more contemplative and developmental elements in favor of an onslaught of stylized destruction. Particularly so because these elements, like Clark's connection to his father and mother or his connection to the last survivors of Krypton, were actually powerfully presented. They just weren't presented prominently or long enough. The first half of the film was wonderful because it introduced Clark Kent in an artistic and compelling manner. Something which I don't think any previous Superman managed to do. It made you care about his character and his family. Above all it made you feel that Kal-El was an outsider and you could connect with and understand his struggle to fit in on an alien planet.
I feel like this has turned into more of a critical summary than a review so I'll talk about a couple other filmmaking elements before I wrap up.
I was hopeful, impressed, and then finally not as excited as I had hoped about Hans Zimmer's score for the film. I felt like his score for TDKR was a departure from the excellence that he and James Newton Howard had achieved with TDK but the teasers and previews for MoS presented emotion and depth which got me incredibly excited for the soundtrack. This however may have biased my opinion for the film as a whole. As I was expecting more contemplative and compelling on-screen action I expected the entire score to reflect that. As I've previously mentioned the film kind of dissolves into an hour long slug-fest so those musical ideas largely go out the window. That's not to say the score wasn't great. It fit the action 100% and it is one of the most pounding and dramatic scores that Zimmer has ever produced. Perhaps his best percussive score.
Cinematography was amazing. Snyder has one of the sleekest styles in Hollywood which made his partnership with Amir Mokri perhaps the greatest film directorial pairing in recent sci-fi action history.
Writing was pretty good though a little heavy handed at times. It was definitely engaging and what's most surprising is that the slower moments of the film were the more intriguing. The dialogue between Clark and Zod (particularly the vision sequence) was fantastic and despite the over-the-top superhero narrative quite a lot of the film didn't feel too convenient.
Which brings me to my final point. I'm not sure whether it's a writing or an acting issue. I did not enjoy Lois Lane's character or the majority of the characters from the Daily Planet. Not because they were particularly weak characters but because they felt out of place and unnecessary. Lois Lane was the biggest "convenience" of the film, that she could be involved in such a wide space of the action despite having such a minimal connection to Clark bothered me. And the connection to the Daily Planet was even weaker. The sequences involving those characters felt trivial and weightless compared to everything else that occurred. In fact because the film chose to focus on the action so prominently there was little time for much development of a relationship between Clark and humanity and thus scenes that didn't revolve around Clark were sort of jarring in that they felt vastly less important. It was also for this reason that scenes like the ultimate fight between Clark and Zod had less gravity than they should have had.
In summation: Man of Steel is an incredible superhero film helmed by a team of masterful filmmakers. The style of which both ascends and grounds the character of Superman and which stylistically and narratively introduces a rebooted Superman which can fit into the new genre of gritty superheroes (I can definitely see the strengths of this film and the Dark Knight trilogy playing into a potential Justice League film, but with conflicting films like The Green Lantern and a lack of any other Justice League live action features DC is a long way away from that). While the film had some heart it was greatly overshadowed by a slew of manic action and disappointingly this action became less entertaining than the quieter moments of the film. And despite the brief glimpses of relatable human emotion ultimately the film sacrificed itself (Jesus style) in favor of (admittedly impressive) fight scenes. Final verdict: 7/10
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