Well,
What can I say about this hotly anticipated reboot of the Superman franchise that hasn't alread been said?
How about I start at the beginning...?
I went to see this film at the AMC Cinema in Manchester, knowing their viewing experience to always, always be pleasurable compared to the sell out that is now the Odeon (or some other such in the Printworks!), but I'm leaving aside my preference for now...
This had to be viewed in 3D, it just had to be, despite me being sceptical to the initial hype of 3D cinema upon its initial re-emergence as the preferred viewing format for many people now venturing forth unto their local cinema complex.
The AMC is my nearest cinema and at a distance of over five miles away, it's not exactly local, but it's always worth the journey time of just over half an hour to get there.
There are only two films that I have seen before this in 3D: -
1. Titanic; and
2. Avatar (what 3D cinema was made for!)
The former was more out of a gesture of kindness to the only solid friend I made during my online dating exploits, whereas the later was... wait a minute that was also undertaken whilst on a first meet of someone I'd met online! FECK! Guess I do have the magicka then!
Back on point, bro', back on point!
Man of Steel was hotly anticipated by me because upon hearing that both Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan were to be involved I thought this had "sure-fire hit" written all over it!
Now, you all want to know whether I was wrong? Does a bear poop in your house (and I hope the answer to that is 'no, bro')? OF COURSE NOT!!!
Having come off the back of the hugely successful Batman (see what I did there? Clever huh?!) reboots, Nolan's follow up project left little to the imagination when it came to re-imagining the franchise that made the 'Man of Steel' famous since way back when. The first to go, controversially for some, was the red trunks, instead opting for an all blue suit with a completely CG'd cape (which I'll cover in due course).
This I thought was a bold move, given that so many fanboys would likely be up in arms...
"Who cares!" says I when given the chance to watch a film crafted by two of the greatest minds in modern day cinema-going history, this is a chance to see if great minds can either: -
- think alike; or
- work together
Though I mist the first five/ten minutes, I arrived just in time to see Kal-El (I won't waste my time insulting you by claiming to enlighten when you should already know this!) being borne (I prefer this spelling, always have and likely always will!) and seeing Russell Crowe as Jor-El would be a chance to put my mind at ease that they hadn't made a mistake in giving him the part and not Kevin Costner, who plays Jonathan Kent, Kal's Earthly father.
I must admit that my first choice of seats was not ideal and as such much of the early action looked blurred with the "RealD" glasses I purchased with my ticket, having not been to a 3D screening in some time that didn't require the return of said glasses. But after around ten to fifteen minutes of tolerance, I shifted myself back a row and that made all the difference.
The colours were sharp and the action fast paced as the only remaining survivors from Krypton were returning from the Phantom Zone to make a claim for the codex that they thought was contained in the skull that Jor-El stole and imbued the very contents within his son's molecular structure (that was a twist that was nicely handled, though I expected it, being well versed in the Superman mythos).
I lost count of how many frickin' skyscrapers bought it towards the end, but the main thing here is that heading towards the climax, parts of this reminded me of the sequence in G.I. Joe - The Rise of Cobra... don't ask me why, but that's the first thing I thought of when I saw Superman crashing through the skyscrapers as he was fighting with General Zod.
I could waste time waxing lyrical about casting choices, but I won't (and that may surprise you given that this is supposed to be a review!) except to say one person's name...
Henry Cavill
When listening to a commentary on Arsenal vs. Everton a few years back when Wayne Rooney used to still play for them and I have never forgotten what the commentator said as Rooney struck what would be the decisive winner as the Arsenal were carving opponents apart left right and centre on the way to their 49 game unbeaten streak. He said: -
"remember the name... Wayne Rooney!"
I'm now going to apply the same logic here, only saying Henry Cavill instead as this guy... this guy, I promise you this guy will be remembered as long as he is given roles of a sublime standard like this one!
As a fellow Brit, I think it nice for a change that we are getting to lead the lines of some of Hollywood's top outputs at the moment, proving that we have some of the best actors in the business (and no, I'm not starting a flame war, it's just a fact that, along with America, we have some truly, truly talented actors & actresses!). Cavill will go a long way and I'm sure he will be remembered for his iconic performance in this film that had Nolan's fingerprints all over the action sequences and story along with Snyder's unique vision sense.
I remember him in "The Tudors", Cavill, and even then I thought this guy had so much potential, just like Jonathan Rhys Meyers (who you'll be glad to know is due to play Dracula in the new interpretation of the lore coming to Living this year!), I knew he was worthy of leading the front lines in a major project, it's a long time coming!
I must say too, at this point, that I thought he was an excellent casting choice especially as he resembles the younger Clark Kent from the excellent series that ran for 10 years, Smallville. Now, I have the first eight seasons of that (which is another subject in itself), but know for a fact that the casting choice was a wise decision as I could imagine Clark growing up from how Tom Welling portrayed him (another superb actor in his own right too!) to Cavill's interpretation.
Casting thoughts aside for a minute, I truly was surprised when I heard that the trademark theme was being abandoned for this project in favour of a more energetic affair.
Having seen the film now, I can see why as it's like they are deliberately trying to reset the bar for all the atrocious treatment that Superman has had over the years (don't get me started on the embarrassing Dean Cain effort in the nineties!). It's like this was an attempt to, like with Batman, give a trademark DC character the makeover they deserved and yet have no links to the past.
Now, onto the cape... I discovered before seeing this film that the decision was made by majority to ensure that Superman's cape was done entirely via CG. This could have been a surprise for some, but not me as when I saw the work that they'd done with the 3D aspect of the film, it made sense in order for the cape to appear as though it was flapping out at the screen whenever Superman was motionless (which was never for long, I assure you!).
Was it the right decision? I'd say no if the job they'd done with it was poor, but it wasn't, it just felt, I dunno, right for the overall feel of the film that I went into it knowing that Cavill did not wear a cape whenever he donned the rebooted costume.
The surprising thing for me though, was that there was nothing after the credits, with only an emerging House of El logo in 3D (or the 'S' as we all know it!) the breakout factor during the closing credits.
Even if there were no plans to bring out a sequel to this affair, surely a teaser to say what could come next would have been worth dropping a hint at, if only for the possibility to then remain there (like at the end of Cloverfield!)!
The price of journalism though, shows that when the idiot that wrote Yahoo's review of 'Man of Steel' (I wish I could find it, just for the idiotic comment from the reviewer; Yahoo journalism at its finest!) on its opening weekend, said something along the lines of 'this time the S doesn't mean Superman, it is a symbol for the House of El'...
YOU IDIOT!!!
It always was representative of that and anyway, Superman was just a name that the humans gave him just so they didn't have to call him 'alien' or whatever else they might come up with (given our obsession with naming things!)!
Final Score
As for 'Man of Steel', there is little doubt what the score will be for this one:-
5 out of 5
Simply put, there have been superhero films and there have been superhero films, some have taken the cake and dropped it on the floor, whereas others "ahemBatmanahem" have taken it to all new levels of extreme heights that mean any further projects for said characters has to be even greater or else risks falling in the piles of rejects that have been made over the years and end up in stores' 'Bargain Bins'.
In closing then, I am left in awe of what was truly an awe-inspiring and a pure mintage-vintage (yep, I have coined another phrase!) experience at my local cineplex and fully intend on following this review up with one for 'Despicable Me 2' that came out this weekend, but that I will be going to see next weekend!
Peace out, bro's!
The Lanky Penguin
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