Man of Steel Rewatch

This was posted on another site several years ago and I'm reposting it here now with minor alterations.

With the new cut of the Justice League film being release in a few weeks on the 18^th I decided to rewatch some of the DC films leading up to it. I’m going to put these up on my site as it allows me to be a bit more freeform than for example if I were to try to tweet this entire thing out.

Tonight I rewatched 2013’s Man of Steel, the first film of the DCEU. Overall I really like this film and think it’s great.

The Beginning

The Krypton sequence is kinda neat. We get a small glimpse into an alien world seeing some of the creatures there and the society they have. It’s a bit drab and grey but I think that reflects the fact that they are a withdrawn and dying people. While at this point I don’t think we need to see Clark’s origins as most people know it already it does make sense to have it as this film is largely about him finding out where he comes from. Further it serves to introduce Zod, the personal nature of the conflict, the macguffin and the different philosophies at play. I find the Krypton tech neat, I can definitely see how it would be a useful display technology though it wouldn’t be the most fun thing to watch tv on.

The Flashbacks

Overall I really like the flashbacks for a framing device. Showing them all in order would have made it a very long origin scene but seeding them into the film at relevant moments I think works really well. We get to see Clark grow up and learn to use his powers and how much his parents helped him along the way to be who he is. One thing I really appreciate is that in the bus scene he makes sure to rescue the kid that was bullying him and then later we see that same kid help him up after other bullies pushed him down. It’s a nice subtle touch showing how Clark can change people by what he does. Though there is one part of this that stands out that I don’t like. I don’t like this version of Jonathan Kent. I could look past the school bus thing as I don’t think he literally means for Clark to let a bus full of children die, I think he’s a scared father that said the wrong thing, but that combined with the dumb tornado scene? Yeah I’m not really a fan of how that plays out.

Adult Clark

I like that our first introduction to Clark is saving people. Pushing the captain out of the way, diving over to the oil rig to save those men and so on. I don’t like the scene in the bar, I get why he doesn’t fight back but the truck smashing is a little vindictive for my taste. The best thing about this part of the film I think is Lois tracking Clark down. I don’t have a problem with the whole glasses thing in the comics but I like that this sets Lois up as a clever and hardworking reporter who puts the pieces together. Further given that she knows this it shows her integrity as she chooses not to expose him.

The Kryptonians Arrive

Obviously this is where we begin the central conflict of the film. I will call out the Jesus imagery here as being laid on pretty thick. Comparing the Son of Krypton to the Son of God is nothing new but they overdid it. Further the whole thing about the Codex is dumb, it’s really just an excuse for Zod to not immediately kill Clark and that’s all. The conversation between Clark and Zod though is a very powerful scene especially when it ends with Clark descending into a pile of skulls as Zod towers over him. What’s really nice here is how active Lois is in her escape, Clark does rescue her in the end but she’s far from a helpless damsel. I really like this portrayal of Lois.

The Battle in Smallville

This is a rather interesting scene, we have Clark who while experienced with his powers has never actually fought anyone before up against people who have combat training and powers that match his but are not used to the powers. This probably leads to what is the most realistic super fight I’ve ever seen. I like that during the fight we see a reinforcement of the two sides’ core philosophy. The Kryptonians attacking civilians while Clark puts himself at a disadvantage to save the soldiers that just attacked him.

The Air Battle Over Metropolis

One thing that Jor-El had said is that Clark would be a bridge between the two people and that he would inspire them. It’s fitting then that the solution to the world destroyer is a combination of human effort and Kryptonian technology and that through his actions he convinces at least some of the military to trust him. Also it’s just a really good action scene. This movie does very good action.

Superman vs Zod

The previous big battle was in a small town in Kansas this one is smack dab right in the middle of Metropolis. Honestly this fight scene rocks. Look I love a good fight scene, it is one area where I’m not very complex and this one is very well done. It shows off the power of the two combatants very well, it shows Zod grow and adapt as it goes on and it shows just how small normal people are when 2 gods go to war but it also shows those same people trying to help each other.

Superman Finishing Zod

Now this scene is definitely one I’ve heard brought up a lot as controversial and a lot of people feel that Superman shouldn’t have killed him and I must agree, I mean he was already depowered and couldn’t do anything to hurt anyone so throwing down that chasm like that was just mean…… oh wait sorry that’s Superman 2.

What I meant to say was yeah, it didn’t feel right having Superman kill the three Kryptonians like that but they’d already wiped out all other life in the pocket universe and they’d sworn to get their powers back to get revenge, so maybe he was right to remove such a monstrous threat….. oh wait sorry that’s Superman 1988 #22.

What I really meant to say it Zod’s was own hubris that killed him by flying at full speed into Superman while he himself was vulnerable but Superman still could have dodged…. No wait sorry that’s Action Comics #805.

What I mean to say is there probably wasn’t much to be done to save him when he was being sucked into a black hole….. no wait sorry that’s Superman TAS.

I guess I really mean to say it makes sense to just let Zod escape the phantom zone and enslave an entire planet because that planet is over there and over there has to learn to take care of themselves…. Oh sorry again, another mistake that’s current DC continuity.

ok fine, Superman snapping Zod’s neck: I don’t have a problem with it. There was no other option, Superman had just fought the battle of his life, spanning all of Metropolis and even going to space against a super powered fascist eugenicist monster who was promising to wipe out the human race. He started the fight at an advantage but watched as Zod learned to use his new abilities multiple times in the fight making. There was no way for them to hold him or imprison him, he was a direct threat to everyone on Earth and in that specific moment he was a direct threat to that family, so he made the hard choice and did what he had to do.

The Ending

Overall I like this, it sets him up as Clark Kent ace reporter nicely, helps explain where he stands with the government and closes out with a nice moment with his mom and a really cute Flashback of him playing with his dog. I do think there’s a small slipup here, Clark telling the general that he grew up in Kansas is dumb considering the aliens landed in Smallville, it wouldn’t be that hard to put together.

Overall

I’m not really one to do number rankings because I doubt I’d really settle on the same number for something twice and there’s not really an agreed upon scale for them anyways. Some would say 7/10 is a bad film while others would put that at good but I will say I really enjoy this and think it’s great and has a great cast. I wish we’d spent more time with Laurence Fishbourne as Perry White but he’s a good choice.