Man of Steel - Review

So, Superman’s my favorite superhero.........besides Batman. Alright, so Batman’s my actual favorite superhero, but Supes is a very close second. Whenever the brooding, gothic, hard-hitting escapades of The Dark Knight begin to wear me down, the inspiring, diligent and sunny adventures of the Man of Tomorrow help me to catch my breath and not look at the world with such cynical and pessimistic eyes. DC’s philosophy of aspiration rather than relativity has always been close to me since I was a kid, especially a creative kid. However, Superman being unrelatable has always been a surface assessment at best. Superman’s origin is the original immigrant story and his alien heritage pulled the “fear of fitting in” card long before the X-Men hit the scene. In spite of this however, he hasn't had the same recent luck that Batman has had in film.

The Batman and Superman films had gone through an interesting parallel during the course of both their franchises. Prior to reboots, they both had four films under their belt, each one garnering significantly less critical praise than the previous entry and by the end of both Superman IV: The Quest for Peace and Batman & Robin, the franchises seemed stuck in limbo for the time being, with multiple attempts to re-oil the machine on both sides to no avail. But, the Caped Crusader struck a chord with audiences once again with Christopher Nolan helming Batman Begins. But, the same couldn’t be said for Bryan Singer’s admirable but misguided Superman Returns, a half-reboot, half-sequel that failed to bring the world’s first superhero back into the spotlight. Because of this fumbling, the series had been halted with failed attempts to produce a sequel to Returns and a desire to start completely from scratch much like the increasingly successful Dark Knight Trilogy. So here we are.

Man of Steel is the freshly rebooted take on the character written by David S. Goyer (Blade, The Dark Knight Trilogy) and directed by Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen), and produced by Christopher Nolan himself, although his stake on the actual film is very exaggerated. The film re-tells the origin of Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman in a modern context as Clark travels the world to discover himself whilst the threat of General Zod and a militia of surviving Kryptonians travel to Earth in search for him.

Now, the origin has been done a million times, this isn’t news to anyone, including myself. The Man of Steel, Superman: Birthright, Superman: Secret Origin, the list goes on. However, this is the first time audiences have experienced the origin on film in forty years, so I don’t think a renewal is unwarranted. As far the origin goes in this film, I felt the weight of Clark’s turmoil and comprehension throughout his young life, even if it doesn’t go as in-depth with his history as something like Batman Begins did for Bruce Wayne. But, considering the lack of enthusiasm and weariness towards superhero origin stories, I found it refreshing that we begin on Krypton and transition to an adult Clark travelling the world and his childhood is illustrated through flashbacks as the narrative progresses. Some may criticize this as being fragmented, but I found it an interesting change of pace and each stroll down memory lane felt natural and contextual to the situation whenever it occurred.

Russell Crowe was a great Jor-El, he actually gave his performance a bit of effort for once.

We’ve done away with the distracting miscasts of Brandon Routh and (especially) Kate Bosworth and now have the very likeable Henry Cavill and Amy Adams as Clark and Lois Lane, respectively. Not since Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder have there been such serviceable and accurate portrayals of both these characters. Henry Cavill portrays a more brooding Superman, no doubt about that, which may put off fans and casual viewers alike, but considering the events that surround him and the purpose of the film being that he’s on the road to becoming the hero he needs to be, it made sense. Besides, he’s not all frowns and sighs, there are plenty of moments of levity where Cavill can just stand and pull off that trademark smile so few actors can pull off.

From an aesthetical standpoint, this is a gorgeous looking film; Zack Snyder lends his cinematographic prowess to what is essentially the Superman film that we’ve been long overdue. The film is shot entirely on single-camera, and handheld, at that. Speaking of things belated to us, Man of Steel delivers non-stop ounces of mayhem, destruction and a threat worthy of the character for the first time since 1980, when Superman II hit theaters. The final forty minutes of the film are relentless but not without earning such a breathtaking climax after thirty-three years of dead space from this franchise.

I believe the film is worth it. I also believe the marketing is somewhat misleading, and the tone is more in line with later trailers, so I’d recommend not getting overhyped. For a first chapter in what will hopefully now become a recharged series, this film was a blast, especially after the polarizing and unsatisfactory Iron Man 3. It is most definitely a relevant but faithful take on the timeless character, even if it’s not as deep as you might as expect. But hey, after Superman III, IV, and Returns, this comes as blessing. As a huge Superman fan, it’s the most fun I’ve had so far this summer. There will be repeat viewings, and this will sit right next to my Superman: The Animated Series volumes and Superman Collector’s Edition DVD, where it belongs. 8.5 out of 10.

Comic Book: The Movie - Review

Given the popularity of superhero films in recent memory and my personal association with the comic book medium altogether. I couldn’t resist choosing Comic Book: The Movie as a mock documentary to write about, as I am the obvious demographic. Directed by Mark Hamill (known as Luke Skywalker and the voice of the Joker), this film documents the experience of Donald Swan (Hamill) being brought in as a technical director for a Hollywood adaptation of his favorite comic book character. Like any purist though, Donald is unhappy with the film’s direction, as it is adapting a darker, modern iteration of the character, and Donald slowly tries to conver the producers to his way of thinking, vain or not. As expected, what follows is a silly, geeky, enjoyable (to the right person) little journey that knows when to pay respect and knows when to laugh at itself.

Without retreading too much of the aforementioned description, I feel like this film was made for me. Being an avid comic book fan myself, the idea of Hollywood “distilling” or “bastardizing” the source material is a worry I go through whenever a new comic book film is released, since some have been satisfactory and some has been less so. On the other hand though, there is also the semblance of purism and looking at things through rose-tinted glasses, which Swan quite literally wears throughout the majority of the film as a clever touch. The majority of the film takes place during a comic book convention, which allows for some cameos by well-known voice actors, which also make up the entirety of the major cast. The casting is effective in this regard because these actors know the crowd, and are all in on the joke.

Over time, the plot seems to devolve into absolute mayhem when Donald becomes closer to the production and derails the producers’ intent. The conflict between nostalgia vs. topicality over the character’s past and current incarnation relates to a similar commodity in cinema all the time, adaptation. Whether it’s a book, or a comic book/graphic novel or an old television program, someone somewhere will cry foul if it’s not word-for-word when adapted into another medium, regardless of what merit the adaptation may have in its own right (e.g., The Shining, V for Vendetta). Until the ending, no side is necessarily right or wrong, considering both Donald and the corporate executives are almost cartoonish in their actions. What draws the line? When do you need to let go of something? Should fans oversee these kinds of endeavors? Can it become better when the attachment is diminished? In some cases, the source material wouldn’t be nearly as well-known as it might’ve been without a film.

I find this film to be a lot deeper than someone else might see initially, considering it is very much a comedy, and has plenty of in-jokes to back up that fact. But, I’ve always felt you can unearth genuine drama from exaggeration if the execution is right, the same way something like A Clockwork Orange demonstrates an ironic sense of reality through hyper-reality and bizarre settings and archetypes. Although, that’s the closest you’ll get to these films being even remotely comparable. 

Also enforcing its assumed legitimacy, like any effective mock documentary, is the intentional (or permissible, depending on how you interpret it) technical prowess of Mark Hamill’s character. Donald Swan is filming a documentary on his experience during the preparation prior to the making of the Commander Courage film and a lot of the convention happenstances. Everything is handheld unless it’s an interview, and sometimes the quality can falter depending on the situation, which only aids the illusion, albeit somewhat in vain considering the audience knows from the start that this is meant to be a farce. So, whether or not Mark Hamill can direct even remotely well is almost irrelevant as it’s supposed to look unprofessional and he can use that as an advantage (or a crutch).

I think it’s good that we have a film like this considering the age of The Avengers and the Christopher Nolan Batman films, since the medium does have a stake in the general public these days, and superhero films are the latest fad (much to my delight). Even though it was released in 2004, prior to Batman Begins, it holds relevance before and after this particular boom. Now we all sit and wonder how long it will last. Love them or hate them, denying their spotlight is futile. Donald Swan is an archetype, and there are plenty of those like him out there to either placate others like him or moan about their favorite character when Hollywood strangles the Easter bunny. 8 out of 10.