Last night, Amanda and I watched Man of Steel. About time, given it's been ages since it came out and I've been listening to the soundtrack for weeks. In short, I'm still processing it. I didn't love it. I didn't hate it, but I certainly didn't love it. I think the reason why is that there are core elements to the movie that simply rubbed me the wrong way and, as time went on, really ground on my nerves. Here are a few of the big ones:
1. Product Placement
Dear God, product placement was rampant in this film. Every screenshot was taken as an excuse to slap us, the viewers, in the face with some sort of new product, but especially IHOP. We get it; Pete Ross works at IHOP. People who want to fight crime go to IHOP (or at least smash up an IHOP). I don't want to go to IHOP and pound down pancakes. I want to watch Clark Kent do battle. When product placement gets this bad, I truly start wondering when we're going to start seeing films produced by products on the whole. Pepsi's Man of Steel is not a film I want to see.
2. Jonathan Kent
I will start this by saying spoiler alert, ye be warned.
This is the first time I have ever not liked Jonathan Kent. I felt that the whole point of his character is missed in this movie. Jonathan Kent is meant to instill a deeply entrenched moral code in Clark. He is supposed to be a guide who teaches Clark to use his powers for the right purpose. Yelling at him for saving a school bus full of drowning kids is not being a good parent; it's being an ass. Jonathan Kent should praise Clark for using his powers for good - for saving people's lives.
Refusing to let Clark save you in a tornado is also not good parenting. Seriously, dude. Hold up a hand to stop me and I would flat out ignore you. I'm not going to stand there and watch you die when I could do something. Instead of giving Clark a sense of justice and wisdom, he simply taught Clark to be deeply paranoid that people will automatically hate him for having his powers. Jonathan Kent is not that kind of a father. He believes in the value of keeping Clark's secret, yes, but not to such an awful degree.
Then there's his death! There is a reason Jonathan dies of a heart attack, and not a tornado, in real canon (immediately, I don't think of this movie as canonical). In a tornado, there is no reason that Clark could not save Jonathan. Period, end of story. As I said, I would have (and Clark Kent of the comics and classic movie series would have) ignored that raised hand and saved my father's life. The point of the heart attack is to teach Clark that some things cannot be predicted and sometimes, no matter how hard you fling your fists around and bash up walls, your efforts aren't enough. Jonathan Kent's death is supposed to be a cataclysmic event in Clark's life, as it both means the loss of a mentor and the acceptance of the fact that he was powerless to stop it. Jonathan's death is supposed to be his last lesson. Sometimes people can't be saved. Not this fricken' tornado nonsense.
Setting aside canonical inconsistencies: what kind of loving and attentive father imposes such guilt on his own son? More to the point, what kind of son - let alone one destined to become Earth's greatest hero - listens to such an insane order and doesn't save his own father? This scene did not move me. It infuriated me.
3. It is Purely and Completely Joyless
I think there were two points in this movie where I might have cracked a smile, and it's pretty easy for me to find something funny. However, it's not even about being funny.
Man of Steel was constantly and consistently miserable. There was no happiness to this movie. Everyone is scared and everyone is very serious. That bugs me. Life is not all one note. Superhero movies should not be one note. No matter how dire things get, if there's too much of a sense of urgency it gets tiresome, and fast. The movie felt more to me like it was trying to be The Dark Knight and less like it was trying to just be its own movie. The result was that it developed a bloated sense of self importance and witlessness. I like wittiness and I like banter. No matter how serious the situation, I feel that it's important. Except in battle. People don't talk in battle. And Faora and Zod's constant pontificating during fights got old. At least Superman was less chatty and just wanted to get the job done.
When all is said and done, not a great movie. As I said, I didn't hate it. It wasn't the worst thing I've ever seen. But there were more flaws than the three I listed above, and that made it less enjoyable to me. I do like Hans Zimmer's score, though I felt that it was overused and bogged down the movie by constantly playing. Perhaps it would have been better with more direction from Christopher Nolan, and less from Zack Snyder, whose style simply doesn't agree with me at all. I don't know.
But it was okay. My thoughts? Probably wait until it's on Netflix or Redbox.
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