Zack Snyder's work often goes unappreciated and misunderstood. People fail to see past the breathtaking visuals, and absorb the true character and story prowess that Snyder delivers time after time. Man of Steel is no exception, often mislabeled as over saturated with action and lacking in the true spirit of Superman. Despite this, Man of Steel proves viewing after viewing that it is one of the best comic book movies of the 21st century, and belongs in the same conversation as the acclaimed Nolan Trilogy and the best of the MCU.
The movie starts off by taking an
immediate risk, leading with Michael Shannon's General Zod taking on the
Kryptonian goverment and Russell Crowe's Jor-El, as the Kryptonian race faces
extinction. The importance of this intro is not in the amazing
science-fiction movie aesthetic or the telling of how Kal-El is sent off to
Earth, but in the key character moments between Zod and Jor-El. It is
evident from the start of the movie that Zod is not a stereotypical "wants
to see the world burn villain". His main motive is the survival of
his people, and he only contrasts with Jor-El in the means with which they want
to secure this fate. Zod may take the totalitarian and violent route, but
his intentions still fall in line Jor-El's.
After this mini-movie style introduction,
Snyder takes another risk. He starts the story off with present day Clark
Kent, trying to find his way in a world where he is not Superman. The beginnings of
Clark's time on Earth is than delivered in flashbacks that allow the movie to
jump right into the plot while still giving the important backstory
necessary to understand Clark and his character arc as the story
progresses. The audience gets to see Clark acting heroic despite the
warning given by his Earth parent Jonathan, all the way up until it is time for
Clark to save his dad. Clark, just a teenage boy, follows through on his
dad's dying wish and does not save him, keeping his identity safe. Seeing
Clark grow through these flashbacks, and develop to the point where hes
able to restrain and not use his powers shows the maturation he has gone
through in such a short period of time. This method was perfectly
executed by Snyder, who delivered the perfect lead-up to the events that
followed.
When the flashbacks finish, we get to see
Clark discover the truth of his origins and finally don the Superman outfit. In
this sequence, we see Clark speak to his birth father for the first time, and
the weight that Jonathan Kent had been trying to keep Clark from is finally
placed on his shoulders, as Crowe perfectly delivers line after line about
leading the people of Earth to a better tomorrow. Clark's donning of the
cape in this scene is his leap of faith in believing that human kind is
finally ready to accept and embrace his existence. This is followed by
epic shots of Superman walking out into the mountains and learning to fly.
This is the moment in the film where chills run down your spine.
Finally being able to see Superman's powers brought to life as we all
imagined reading the comics is truly one of the most beautiful cinematic experiences.
As the movie jumps into the thick of the
plot, we see Superman thrown into a fight for the survival of Earth
inexperienced and unprepared. Zod arrives almost immediately after
Clark fully realizes and accepts his responsibility. This is important in
keeping the realistic integrity of the film in tact. In recent comic book
movies, like Doctor Strange, we see characters quickly latch on to new found
powers and responsibility, and the films suffer accordingly because of it.
Superman makes mistakes. Lives are lost as a result and Superman
must face the responsibility for his deficiencies.
We see Superman angered at the threats
toward his mom, overcome with rage as he pummels General Zod. Key, small
character moments like, acted to perfection by Henry Cavill, keep a story about
a god-figure alien as human as possible. The action shot in this portion
of the movie is nothing short of breathtaking. Superman's first encounter
with Faora and her crew, put Snyder's CGI mastery on full display, as we see
faster than sound movements and attacks delivered in an extremely
destructive manor. For this reason, the fights span miles, and wreak
havoc in their wake. Superman begins to grow as a hero over the course
of these interactions, while Zod takes time to adapt to the Earth's
environement. This lapse in time is key, as it allows Superman time to
bridge the combat gap between himself and the bread military leader in General
Zod.
Finally, the movie reaches its climax in
an epic face off between Zod and Superman. Zod has lost the war, with one
of his teraforming machines in pieces and the other swept away in a worm hole.
Furthermore, Zod watched his preferred way to extend the Krytponian
race, the birthing pods, be destroyed by Superman, so he is fighting fueled by
rage and despair. He intends to take as much away from Superman as he had
taken away from him. This reckless transformation of Zod's motives puts
Superman in a lose-lose situation. He does not want to kill, but if he
does not, Zod will take as many lives as he possibly can. This is the
final step in the maturation process for Superman, as he sacrifices his image
and beliefs, and takes Zod's life in order to save millions. This was the
direction Snyder had to take in the film. Any deus ex-machina ending
where Superman is able to maintain his values and still dispatch with Zod
would feel artificial and damage the arc of Superman that they worked so
hard to build.
In sum, Man of Steel delivers the most
character and story driven Superman story in film history. The film does
not pull any punches. All the emotion and reality of the situation is
dealt with, and the film strives because of this. Man of Steel is truly a
comic book film masterpiece, and deserves to be in the conversation with the
other greats.
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